Free Attractions Guide - Hobart, Tasmania

1. Aart. Gallery of Fine Art

Aart. Gallery of Fine Art, in central Hobart, specialises in exhibiting work by Tasmanian artists. Aart exhibits work in a range of media, including drawing, oils, acrylic, sculpture and photography. You can purchase original artwork from the gallery or choose from a range of prints and cards.

63 Macquarie Street (cnr of Market Place), Hobart

2. Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts

Henry Allport bequeathed the contents of the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts to the people of Tasmania in 1965. It is intended as a permanent memorial to his family, who had settled in Van Diemen’s Land in 1831. Convict artists and the work of many colonial landscape artists is a feature of the collection. The Allport is a living collection. More than 2000 items - book and artworks have been added since Henry's death through purchase from his Endowment Fund or by donation.

+61 3 6233 7484 91 Murray Street, Hobart

3. Art Mob, Aboriginal Fine Art Gallery

Exhibiting Australia's best range of Aboriginal art and craft from many communities and artists. The gallery is easily accessible in historic Hobart's waterfront and is inspired by a passion for Aboriginal art. ART MOB specialises in Tasmanian Aboriginal art with a number of rare and exquisite necklaces and baskets as well as prints and paintings by noted Tasmanian Aboriginal artists.

+61 3 6236 9200 29 Hunter Street, Hobart

4. Battery Point

Hobart's oldest district, once home to sailors, fishermen and prostitutes, is now a fashionable inner-city neighbourhood. The Battery Point of today retains much of the character of 100 years ago and when people seek accommodation in Hobart this is one of the most popular places to stay. Battery Point is named after a Battery of guns (long since removed) that were established on the point in 1818. The features of the area that people talk about most are the Real Estate, Restaurants, History, for tourists it's often the Bed and Breakfasts and Salamanca Market.

Battery Point, Hobart

5. Female Factory Historic Site

The Cascades Female Factory operated in South Hobart from 1828 to 1856. After it ceased operation as a female factory in 1856, it continued as a gaol under the administration of local authorities from 1856 until 1877.

Governor George Arthur purchased the site at Cascades for the female factory in 1827 from the owner of a failed distillery, TY Lowes. The factory's first intake of female prisoners was in 1828, and it gradually expanded to hold 700 female convicts and their children, though at its peak it was even more overcrowded than usual, holding 1200 women and children.

Rules and regulations for the management of the Factory were published in 1829. Women were employed at the factory in washing, sewing, carding and spinning.

+61 3 6223 1559 16 Degraves St, Hobart

6. The International Wall of Friendship

The International Wall of Friendship was built to bring all of Tasmania's communities closer together and to provide a tribute to the contribution that migrant communities have made to the states development. Individually unique and of substantial value, the wall constitutes a priceless collection that is recognised as a significant tourist attraction and place of tranquillity and reflection.

188 Collins St, Hobart

7. John Elliott Classics Museum

The John Elliott Classics Museum is housed in the University Centre on Churchill Avenue and contains representative examples of the art and culture of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, Greece, Etruria and Rome. It contains approximately 800 pieces with new additions purchased or donated on a regular basis. The Museum is open Monday to Thursday 9am to 4pm (closed 12noon-1pm).

+61 3 6226 2235 University of Tasmania, Churchill Ave, Sandy Bay

8. Kangaroo Bluff Historic Site

Kangaroo Bluff Historic Site is situated on Hobart's Eastern Shore, only 10 minutes drive from the city centre with your campervan hire Tasmania. From Hobart, head east over the Tasman Bridge to Bellerive, then along Victoria Esplanade and Gunning Street. The Kangaroo Bluff Battery was built to support the Queens Battery (located at the Domain in Hobart) and the Battery Point battery. It was developed to stop any enemy vessels from shelling Hobart Town from just outside the range of the Domain and Battery Point batteries. Although the proposal was mentioned in the early days of settlement, procrastination was the order of the day.

The Historic Site is open between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm every day and entry is free.

Kangaroo Bluff, Hobart

9. Lady Franklin Gallery

The charming little sandstone building, in the style of a Greek temple, was erected in 1842 by Jane Franklin, wife of then Governor of Tasmania, Sir John Franklin. This brilliant and gifted woman was appalled at the lack of appreciation of the Arts in the raw penal colony.

So she sought the plans of a suitable building of Greek architecture to house sculpture, paintings, prints and books for appreciation by the people of Hobart. At the opening on 16th March 1842 the foundation stone was laid including a document signed by each of those present and written on parchment in six languages.

With the return to England of the Governor of Tasmania and Lady Franklin in 1843 the building fell into neglect until an Act of Parliament handed over the building to the Hobart City Council. More than a century passed before the building was again used in the spirit intended by Lady Franklin.

In 1948 the Art Society of Tasmania Inc was given a lease of the building as headquarters for the Society and as a gallery for displaying art. This historic building is now referred to as the Lady Franklin Gallery as the original contents of the Lady Franklin Museum are no longer housed there. At the Gallery there is an album of photographs recording the Hobart Art Society's occupation of the building.

+61 3 6228 0076 268 Lenah Valley Road, Hobart

10. Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens

Established in 1818, these gardens house an extensive collection of native and exotic plants. Features include a cactus house, herb garden and Japanese Gardens. The Botanical Garden is located approximately 2kms from the heart of Hobart and is open 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

+61 3 6236 3076 Upper Domain Road, Hobart

11. Salamanca Market

Salamanca Market takes place in Hobart every Saturday between 8.30am and 3pm – rain, hail or shine. At Hobart’s popular outdoor market you’ll join the locals for a shopping experience with a difference.

Salamanca Market is one of those special places where you actually meet the people who create, make or grow what they sell. You can shop here for locally grown organic fruit and vegetables, freshly cut flowers, fine Tasmanian arts and crafts and an array of odds and ends.

Once the haunt of sailors, whalers and workmen, the old Georgian warehouses that line Salamanca Place are today Hobart's cultural hub; home to galleries, theatres, cafes, craft shops and restaurants.

+61 3 6238 2843 Salamanca Place, Hobart

12. Seven Mile Beach

Protected by the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service, this stretch of beach is a popular, but uncrowded, recreation spot. It is literally pine fresh, with clean air and sand. There is an occasional surfing swell, but the beach is suitable for shallow bathing and ideal for walking the dog on a leash or riding a horse. Riding is prohibited in summer between 10am and 5pm. Barbecue areas, a golf course, an equestrian centre, several shops, a tavern and a holiday resort are all in close proximity, making the area suitable for an extended stay in your campervan hire.

Surf Road, Hobart

13. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG)

Exhibitions are open from 10am-5pm daily (Except Anzac Day, Good Friday and Christmas Day). Free guided tours are available Wednesday to Sunday at 2.30pm. Groups depart from the main entry foyer and the tour goes for approximately 50 minutes. During the tour you will learn about: TMAG’s historic site and buildings, The Tasmanian Aboriginal Community, Early European Settlement, Life as a convict, The thylacine (Tasmanian Tiger) and Colonial artists including John Glover and Benjamin Duterrau.

+61 3 6211 4114 40 Macquarie St, Hobart

14. The Shot Tower

If you are a Tasmanian, you may have many times driven past this odd tower without ever stopping to satisfy the curiosity it provokes. Located in Taroona, a suburb just 11 kilometres from the centre of Hobart, the Shot Tower is a unique historic site. It is the only remaining circular sandstone shot tower in the world.

The distinctive circular tower stands 48 metres tall and was built in 1870 for the purpose of producing lead shot. Lead, with added arsenic and antimony was cast into ingots, remelted in cauldrons and then poured through colanders, forming droplets which became roughly spherical as they dropped into a tub of water at the base of the tower. The top of the tower can be accessed via a 259 step circular staircase and offers spectacular views up, down and across the Derwent River.

There is a museum at the base of the tower and a tea rooms alongside.

+61 3 6227 8885 Channel Highway, Hobart

15. Wellington Park

Stroll through cool forested gullies along the historic Pipeline Track, or traverse Wellington Range in the saddle (on horse or mountain bike). Four wheel drive along rough mountain trails, climb leaning dolerite towers or sit quietly among the birds.

While essentially a secluded natural environment, there are plenty of activities for visitors to the Park to enjoy. For the less active there are grand vistas and pleasant places to enjoy a cut lunch or picnic. After a cold southerly, visitors might enjoy the delights of snowplay on the Mountain. Snowfalls can occur in the Park in any season but changeable weather and the proximity to the sea make persistent snow cover a rarity.

Pinnacle Road, however, may be temporarily closed at any time of year due to icy conditions or snow. Visitors should check the Pinnacle Road Information Line (03 6278 0200) for more information on road closures. Do your research before you visit as there is no information centre in the Park.

Pinnacle Road, Hobart