Triabunna with Maria Island in the background
Is the largest township on the east coast of Tasmania, is the civic and municipal heart of the Glamorgan Spring Bay Council, and is located 84 kilometres to the northeast of the state capital Hobart. It is a coastal town situated on the Tasman Highway, and is sheltered within Spring Bay at the mouth of MacCleans Creek and Vickerys Rivulet. The nearest township is Orford, 6 kilometres to the south on the far side of the bay. At the 2001 census, Triabunna had a population of 796.
The nearby resort and residences of Louisville are considered a satellite community of Triabunna.
“Triabunna” is an Aboriginal Tasmanian word for the endemic Tasmanian native-hen. The town was founded in 1830 as a station of the 63rd regiment, and later the 51st regiment also called Triabunna home for a time.
Triabunna is a scenic township surrounded by beaches, hills and beautiful tracts of eucalyptus forest. The area contains many historic buildings from Tasmania’s colonial period. Triabunna also commands excellent views of Maria Island, which can be reached by a short ferry ride from the town.
The weather on the east coast of Tasmania is particularly mild, and warm sunny summers are a feature of life in Triabunna, which makes it a good holiday or retirement destination. The pleasant beaches and ease of access make the town a haven for those who enjoy watersports such as fishing, sailing, surfing, and diving. Triabunna also has excellent facilities for tennis, cricket, golf and Australian rules football. Bushwalking in the nearby forests is also popular.
The Story of Triabunna
Australia’s first rural municipality, Triabunna was established in the 1820s as a whaling station and garrison town servicing the Maria Island penal colony. Its colonial past is reflected in several historic buildings, including the sandstone St Mary’s Anglican Church (1880) and Spring Bay Hotel (1838).
Triabunna is an Aboriginal word meaning native hen – a fast-running, flightless bird found only in Tasmania. Many of these birds – which can reach speeds of up to 50 kilometres/31 miles an hour – can be seen foraging near streams and pastureland in the area.
Triabunna Pleasant port on the east coast near Maria Island.
Located 88 km north east of Hobart on the Tasman Highway, Triabunna (the word is reputedly an Aboriginal term for a native hen) is a pleasant working port which started life as a garrison town for the penal colony on Maria island. Today it is a town driven largely by its fishing industry (it is known for its scallops and abalone) and the huge woodchip mill at Point Home (it can be clearly seen from the ferry across to Maria Island).
The first European to visit the area was the French explorer Nicholas Baudin who sailed into Spring Bay in La Geographe in 1802. With the establishment of a penal colony on Maria Island some of the officers decided to settle on the mainland. One of the earliest European settlers was Major Thomas Lord who was the Commandant of Darlington Penal Settlement on Maria Island from 1825-32. He called his property Okehampton and had a signal station set up so he could communicate with his officers on the island. It was around this time that whalers moved into the area and by the mid-1820s there were four whaling stations operating along the coast.
As a result of all this activity farmers moved into the area and by 1860 Spring Bay had been declared a municipality. The local Council chambers were built in 1862.
Today the town is surprisingly ordinary. A town for fishermen and timber workers rather than a place full of interesting history although the Spring Bay Hotel, a rather modern building, does claim on its from that it is circa 1838.
Such Is life Gallery
Such Is Life is a gallery and gift shop at Triabunna on Tasmania’s east coast. Triabunna is a scenic port town on Tasmania’s east coast, 88 kilometres/55 miles north east of Hobart.
The Such is Life Gallery specialises in work by local artists, including a permanent exhibition of landscapes, seascapes and contemporary paintings and drawings. The Gallery also showcases crafts by local artisans, including traditional handcrafts, ceramics, handcrafted furniture and shellwork and there is a collection of work by several textile designers, including a range of ready-to-wear art, created using new and recycled fabrics.
You can visit the gift shop to choose from the range of locally produced, handcrafted cards, paper, candles, clothing and jewellery. Browse through high quality vintage goods and uncover treasures including collectable glass and ceramics, clothing and books.
From Triabunna you can see Maria Island National Park. Originally a colonial penal settlement, Maria Island is now a haven for bushwalkers, cyclists and wildlife. Here, you can see historic ruins, sweeping bays, rugged cliffs and mountains, and wildlife including pademelons, Forester kangaroos, Bennetts wallabies and Cape Barren geese.
Girraween Gardens and Tearooms
Girraween Gardens is a private garden and tea rooms at Triabunna on Tasmania’s east coast. Triabunna is a scenic port town, 88 kilometres/55 miles north east of Hobart.
You can visit Girraween to stroll through a hectare (2.5 acres) of beautifully designed gardens. Absorb the heady fragrance of the rose garden, enjoy the massed colour of beds of agapanthus and day lillies, sit by the lily pond or enjoy the beauty of thousands of other flowering plants and shrubs. After strolling through the grounds, you can enjoy a drink and tasty snack in the tea rooms. Girraween Gardens are located in central Triabunna, and are open every day except Christmas Day and Good Friday.
Australia’s first rural municipality, Triabunna was established in the 1820s as a whaling station and garrison town servicing the Maria Island penal colony. Triabunna is an Aboriginal word meaning native hen – a fast-running, flightless bird found only in Tasmania. Many of these birds – which can reach speeds of up to 50 kilometres/31 miles an hour – can be seen foraging near streams and pastureland in the area.
Tasmanian Seafarers Memorial
The unpredictable seas around Tasmanias coastline have claimed lives since the days of sail. This memorial on the waterfront at Triabunna is dedicated to all Tasmanian seafarers, civilian or members of the armed services, who have lost their lives at sea, and to all those, regardless of occupation, who lost their lives in Tasmanian waters.
Plaques are fixed to the top of a low brick wall in the shape of the first Christian symbol, a fish, and the wall is surmounted by an anchor cross.
Triabunna Cabin and Caravan Park
If you are looking for a small, quiet, boutique caravan park, close to shops and amenities, then Triabunna Caravan Park is the place to stay.
With barbecue and laundry facilities, on-site power, genial welcoming hosts living on-site and the shops just a two minute walk away in the fishing village of Triabunna, you may never stay in a prettier caravan park.
Bring your own caravan or tent, or stay in one of ours.
Among the experiences is a trip to Maria Island.
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