BEHIND THE SCENES OF MAC POINT

THE stories of Hobart’s “engine room” can now be told to locals and visitors alike, through a tour launched by MACq01 in time for World Storytelling Day.

Macquarie Point’s history and evolution, which until recently has not been accessed by the public for more than 150 years, can now be explored through tours to be run by Federal Group’s Macq01 hotel every weekday at 12.30pm, and free until Friday April 12.

MACq01’s master storyteller Justin Johnstone said the tour led people through the area that has shifted along with the needs of Hobart, revealing the secrets that lie hidden in the city’s back yard. “It’s a stroll through the engine room of Hobart,” Mr Johnstone said.

“Even from the days of the Mouheneener people and early settlement it has been a bit of land that has constantly changed and evolved to meet the needs of Hobartians, and it’s still doing that now. It’s starting to evolve through another stage.”

Mr Johnstone said the tours would tell stories of characters that played a part in the story of Mac Point.

Federal Group executive general manager Daniel Hanna said World Storytelling Day was a great opportunity to celebrate the fact that MACq01 was the world’s first story-telling hotel. “We know that the whole storytelling concept is really powerful for visitors. It helps them to gain a strong understanding of the place,” Mr Hanna said.

“For the first time since 1850 it is open to the public, and in the next 50 years Mac Point will look quite different, it is an evolving story.”