Franklin, on the banks of the Huon River, was named after Sir John Franklin, former Governor of Tasmania in the early 1840s and is 45 kilometers south-west of Hobart. Before the 1920s, the Huon Valley Council headquarters were in the Franklin Town Hall. After the Council moved to Huonville, this heritage building became a community events center and recently has been given a new lease of life. Franklin was once a busy port where timber was loaded for transport to Hobart. Today, the Shipwright's School teaches the craft of wooden boat building to world acclaim.