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As Australia’s second oldest city, Hobart is rich in colonial and maritime history.

Hobart is also the second sunniest city in Australia, after Adelaide, contributing to its bustling café culture, which is focused on the waterfront, where fishing boats are berthed next to cruising yachts and a square rigger or two.

Hobart's history

First populated in 1804, as a ragtag collection of tents and huts with a population of 262, of which 178 were convicts, Hobart soon developed into a penal colony.

Convict and early settlement history highlights begin with the diverse Salamanca Place and its many galleries, cafés and the extraordinarily vibrant Saturday market, or you can venture up ‘Kelly’s Steps’ to emerge in the city’s best preserved village area of Battery Point, so called after the defensive guns built by the British.

Exploring Hobart

Also worth including are the views from Mount Wellington, the serene parkland of the ‘Queen’s Domain’ and the harbourfront heritage area of the Henry Jones Jam Factory, established by its rags-to-riches namesake, who was, at one point, the largest private employer in the Southern Hemisphere.

Hobart offers so much to see within its own boundaries, but it is also a marvellous base from which to explore the surrounding area’s diverse attractions, whether taking wildlife cruises or guided convict tours.