THE LITTLE CITY THAT COULD AND DID
The capital of Tasmania may have been given a terrific boost by the Museum of Old and New but Hobart has picked up the challenge and run with it, writes Judy Skatssoon.
Once considered something of a bogan backwater, Hobart is now a hip and happening destination where you can, all in one day, enjoy edgy modern art, eat deconstructed pavlova and visit whisky bars staffed by bartenders with bushranger beards and sleeve tattoos.
Anthea Pritchard is one of many Tasmanian tourism insiders who credit Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) with the city’s recent image makeover and an uptick in visitors to the state.
“It’s been an incredible drawcard for Hobart,” says Pritchard, general manager of the Salamanca Wharf Hotel, which opened three years ago and is a perfect base for exploring the city.
The sun’s out but it’s chilly when I arrive at beautiful Salamanca Place by Hobart's harbour. They say the air’s clean in Tassie and it hits my lungs with a blast as we walk to Pritchard's hotel.
On the way she points out the red Antarctic icebreaker Aurora Australis and its French counterpart Astrolabe, both moored in the harbour for winter, and the new Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, which has helped give Hobart the highest concentration of Southern Ocean scientists in the world.
From the Salamanca Wharf Hotel it’s a short brisk walk to the Brooke St Pier, where I board a ferry to MONA. The trip on this charmingly retro ferry is an experience in itself as I sit on a “sheep” bench and take in the scenery.
MONA lives up to everything I’ve heard. It combines an amazing architectural space — a veritable Escher’s staircase of underground exhibition spaces — with contemporary art, including a “poo machine” installation that produces actual excrement, and walls featuring rows of vagina plaster casts.
Give yourself at least half a day to explore the museum (you can do it with the help of a guided audio tour) and you’ll be ready for a change of pace with a tour of Hobart’s foodie highlights.
Mary McNeil has been operating walking Gourmania tours of Hobart for five years. She traces her ancestry to the Second Fleet and knows the town's ins and outs like no one else.
Today’s tour includes a gin tasting at a pop-up cellar door at the Brooke St Pier hosted by Louise Radman, owner of Domaine Simha wine, and a visit to the Wursthaus, a gourmet deli showcasing some of the state’s best produce and owned for the past 15 years by Peter Trioli.
“We support local industry,” Trioli says. “That’s why we exist and that’s probably why we do pretty well,” he says modestly.
Next McNeil and I hit the Lark Distillery for herb-infused gin and tonics, then it's Blackman Bay oysters at Frank on the waterfront and a sumptuous dinner at Peacock and Jones Restaurant and Wine Bar.
The following day we spend exploring the Coal River Valley, which is home to Pooley
Wines and the Frogmore Creek Winery.
I have just long enough before the flight back to Sydney to pop into the Coal River Farm to sample artisan cheeses and chocolates and have a quick meet- and-greet with Daniel Leesong, who started the operation just over 12 months ago.
The food on offer in Tasmania is as good as you’ll find anywhere and Kit Wilkinson, from Pooley Wines, says it’s a “common thread ” in Hobart’s attraction as a visitor destination.
If you’ve overdone Hobart’s wine, whisky, cheese, chocolate and fine food, there’s always a 12km run to the top of Mt Wellington, part of the annual Point to Pinnacle course held each November, to set you right. And don’t forget to enjoy the view while you’re there.