Inspiring Island Communities

Live like the landed gentry and the wealthy merchants of the Australian 1800s in a full-bodied city that retains its links to the era of convicts and colonials.

The northern Tasmanian city of Launceston was moulded by a melting pot of aristocrats, middle-class entrepreneurs, and a ragtag group that included chain gangs, political prisoners and convicted criminals. The mix makes for fascinating history and diversity.

Launceston has some of the country’s best examples of Edwardian, Victorian and Federation architecture. Gracious streetscapes give way to the green heart of Launceston, the 160-hectare Cataract Gorge Reserve – a popular nature retreat since the city’s establishment in 1805 – featuring the world’s longest single-span chairlift, alongside cliffs and across raging waters.

Launceston, with a population of 98 500, is located in wide valleys formed where the South and North Esk rivers meet to become the Tamar River. For many years it turned its back on the Tamar River, which was merely a waterway for despatching goods like the fine Merino wool produced on midlands pastures. These days, the city is incorporating the river into its lifestyle, with a river festival, pontoons for special events, and even a new riverside lifestyle precinct at the Seaport hotel and marina.

Like the wealthy founding fathers, Launcestonians know how to indulge themselves. The city is the gateway to the Tamar Valley wine region, famed for producing some of the world’s best cool climate wines, as well as home to what is probably Australia’s best beer, James Boag’s Premium.
Stroll the city and feast your eyes on the acclaimed Tasmanian Wood Design Collection, based in Macquarie House and representing Tasmania’s finest artists and craftspeople. Browse George Street’s craft and gift shops or stroll through the contemporary Inveresk Railyards site of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery.

Launceston’s heritage extends along the Heritage Highway, linking the city to the capital of Hobart. Follow the path of convicts and bushrangers through historic village after village, where sandstone buildings have remained untouched for more than 160 years. The Heritage Highway features Georgian and Victorian mansions, colonial homesteads, coaching inns and quaint country pubs still in use.