Historical Sites & Heritage

The standouts are Highfield Historic Site at Stanley, the mining town of Waratah, Tiagarra and the Bass Strait Maritime Museum in Devonport Tasmania, and the Penguin Heritage Trail. For something quieter, try Sheffield Museum or Home Hill. Most stops are small and local, so pair two or three into a day rather than racing between them.

In Devonport Tasmania, Tiagarra on Mersey Bluff is an Aboriginal-owned museum and keeping place focused on the Devonport region. Further west, the Circular Head Heritage Centre in Smithton has local Indigenous cultural artefacts and information. The takayna / Tarkine coast around Arthur River is a cultural landscape in its own right, so stick to formed tracks and leave everything where you find it.

Tiagarra is an Aboriginal-owned museum and keeping place on Mersey Bluff in Devonport Tasmania, run by Six Rivers Aboriginal Corporation. It opened in 1976 and is one of the oldest Aboriginal-operated museums in Australia. It focuses on the Aboriginal people and history of the Devonport region, and opening arrangements have changed over the years, so check tiagarra.com.au before you go.

takayna is the palawa kani name for the Tarkine, a region of wet forest and wild coastline in the far north west. The English name Tarkine is understood to mean belonging to, or of, the tarkiner people. It’s a cultural landscape, with stone tools, old campfire sites and large shell middens along the coast.

preminghana is Aboriginal-owned land, managed by the Aboriginal community, and it isn’t a drop-in stop. Don’t turn up uninvited. If you’d like to learn more, the Circular Head Heritage Centre in Smithton is the closest place to start.

Only on a booked guided tour. Woolnorth is privately owned and closed to the public, and trespassing is taken seriously. Woolnorth Tours runs a half day tour taking in the wind farm, kennaook / Cape Grim and the homestead precinct, leaving from the Bluff Point wind farm gate, about a 40 minute drive from Smithton. Check current departure days and book ahead.

Highfield at Stanley was the headquarters of the Van Diemen’s Land Company, formed in 1824 to supply wool to British mills. It now shows a gentleman’s home and farm of the 1830s, set on a hillside above the town.

Close to the ferry you have Tiagarra on Mersey Bluff, the Bass Strait Maritime Museum, Home Hill (the home of Prime Minister Joseph Lyons and Dame Enid Lyons) and the Don River Railway. Latrobe, a ten minute drive away, has the Teddy Sheean Memorial and Sheean Walk.

Waratah is a mining town at the eastern gateway to takayna / Tarkine, about 40 minutes south of Burnie. Kenworthy’s Stamper Mill (an old ore-crushing mill), the Courthouse Museum and the 1886 Athenaeum Hall cover its mining past. The hall houses the Tarkine Interpretation Centre, which is open weekends from January to March only.

Not always. Many are small and volunteer run, with limited or seasonal hours. The Tarkine Interpretation Centre in Waratah, for example, is open weekends from January to March only. Check each venue’s hours before you drive out, especially in winter.

Most museum and town stops are short and easy going for kids. Access varies by site, and older buildings like Highfield and the Athenaeum Hall may have steps or uneven ground, so check with the venue first if mobility is a concern. Waldheim Chalet is a 20 minute, Grade 1 walk.

Yes, if you pick a section. A day around Devonport Tasmania can take in Tiagarra, the Bass Strait Maritime Museum, Home Hill and Latrobe. Waratah is a half day on its own, and Stanley, Smithton and Woolnorth suit a day further west. Trying to see everything in one go means a lot of driving.

Most of these stops work indoors. The Bass Strait Maritime Museum, Home Hill, Sheffield Museum, Wilmot Heritage Museum and the Waratah Courthouse Museum are all under cover. Check hours first, as small museums can close early.