Tasmanian history and heritage

Wander through ancient forests, and learn the story of the island’s first people.

Visit places where convicts lived and toiled (and occasionally escaped). Tap into the pioneering spirit of the island through ambitious engineering projects. And find living history all around on town walks and country drives. 

Heritage highlights

Natural heritage

About 40% of the island is protected as national parks, reserves and UNESCO World Heritage areas and, remarkably, these wild places are easily accessible. Glimpse true wilderness, walk one of 880 trails in 19 national parks, and take a deep breath of the cleanest air on Earth. 

Aboriginal heritage

Trace the footsteps of the island’s first people on the north-east coast. Follow the route taken to old Government House in 1832 by members of the Aboriginal resistance on a walking tour of Hobart.

Convict heritage

Delve deeper into the lives of tens of thousands of men and women convicts who laboured and lived at five of Australia's 11 World Heritage-listed convict sites, and see their life’s work on roads, bridges, farms and architecture along the Heritage Highway.

Maritime heritage

Cruise the coastlines that have challenged generations of explorers, whalers, and traders. See relics of shipwrecks and shipbuilders at maritime museums in Hobart and Low Head, the site of Australia’s oldest pilot station. And tour some of the nation’s oldest lighthouses.

Historic buildings 

Stroll Georgian-era estates with regal connections, marvel at Art Deco fantasies of industry and progress, and make yourself at home in Battery Point, the best-preserved colonial-era suburb in Australia.

Industrial heritage

On the self-drive Highlands Power Trail, traverse alpine landscapes dotted with ingenious feats of engineering, the likes of towering dams and radical hydroelectric schemes, remote railways and mining boomtowns.