Southport, Tasmania: Travel guide and things to do

Located 104 km southwest of Hobart, Southport can claim to be the southernmost settlement in Australia. It can, however, hardly claim to be a settlement of much significance any more, a far cry from the early 1800's when it was Tasmania's second largest town and it was proposed as the capital of the colony. Two hundred years and several bushfires have left little of the former convict station or bustling mill town and international port taking timber to Europe. For the past fifty years it has consisted of shacks for families from Hobart and south, and home for a couple of farmers and few fishermen. Only a handful of houses have survivied, the most notable being The Jetty House, a heritage listed building built in 1875.

Like most of the southwest coast Southport was first explored by Admiral Bruni D'Entrecasteaux in 1792 who named the bay 'Baie des Moules' (Mussel Bay).

In the nineteenth century Southport prospered as a port serving whalers, sealers and the local timber industry. There was a time when there were a number of substantial wharves and jetties dotted around the bay. Today Southport's only industries are tourism and fishing.

Things to see

Attractions in the Area
Local attractions include coastal walks, swimming, surfing, the Hastings Caves and Thermal Springs (swim in the pool int he rain forest but be warned, the spring water is a tepid 28 degrees), Adamson's Falls and Adamson's Peak, the Mystery Creek Caves, and Lunaris Gemstone Museum shop, A comprehensive display of fossils and agates fromthe local gem fields as well as minerals, rocks and fossils from around the world.

There is a road around the coast which leads to Roaring Beach (the local Surf Beach) and on to Sisters Bay and Lady Bay, also former mill towns now all but abandoned but very pretty. Heading south towards Australia's southernmost point and the end of the road at Cockle Creek, is Lune River (the post office is recognised as the southernmost in Australia), Ida Bay (where a 6 km railaway line once used to transpport limestone now transports tourists). There is a monument on Southport Bluff (a healthy 40 minute walk from the road) to the convict ship George III which was wrecked off the coast in 1835 with the loss of 94 passengers. It is said that the guards on the ship, fearful that the convicts would panic if the ship went down, shot indiscriminately into the ship's hold. This is supported by the peculiar death toll which saw 81 convicts lose their lives while only 13 passengers and crew were drowned.