Top 5 micro museums in Tasmania
Part pit stop, part time travel, Tasmania’s best micro museums offer history, culture and local flavour in modest doses.
1 Willie Smith’s Apple Shed, Huon Valley
Take a 20-minute self-guided tour in the Apple Shed’s museum to learn about the rise, fall and recovery of Tasmania’s apple industry. The collection contains picking, grading and box-making equipment from the late 1800s to the 1970s, along with photographs and local artefacts. After soaking up some history, head to the restaurant for a slice of apple pie with a shot of Apple Pommeau liqueur or sit on old packing crates sipping local ciders.
2 West Coast Heritage Centre, Zeehan
Explore the West Coast’s colonial history at one of four historic buildings: the former School of Mines and Metallurgy, post office, police station and Gaiety Theatre Grand Hotel. The 30 exhibition spaces range from a simulated underground mine to a pioneer women’s gallery. Climb aboard historic trains, visit photographic galleries tracing Zeehan’s past, drop in to a courtroom ripe for
re-enactment or explore the once-secret world of Freemasonry.
3 kipli takara (bush tucker) experience
Tasmania’s pre-colonial history is best explored outside of traditional museum walls. This 90-minute bush food tour takes place across culturally significant lands at Risdon Cove in Hobart, the site of the first British settlement in Tasmania (1803) and of the first Palawa deaths at British hands. Led by Palawa guides, you’ll sample native tucker straight from the bush while hearing about the history of the land. The experience ends with a shared platter of native foods from Aboriginal catering company palawa kipli.
4 George Town Watch House
Learn about life as an early settler (or convict) at this gallery and museum in the town’s old jail building. Explore the model village that depicts the township in the early 19th century and see a real jail cell to get an idea of conditions prisoners faced long ago. A dedicated gallery space hosts contemporary art exhibitions in partnership with Creative George Town Gallery Program.
5 Mawson’s Hut Replica Museum
Just 200 metres from the wharf where Douglas Mawson and his crew departed for the Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911–14, this replica hut painstakingly recreates the ‘home’ where Mawson’s group of photographers, writers and geologists slept, shared meals and developed their photos through two dark winters of exploration. All profits go towards the conservation of the original huts in Antarctica.
Credit: Robert Wyatt / Alamy Stock Photo