Casino city bare three hours from Christchurch

Press, 16 March 1982, Page 24

Casino city bare three hours from Christchurch

With the Christchurch-Hobart direct air link now in full swing, Hobart is, understandably, the best place for New Zealand visitors to start their holiday in Tasmania. The state capital is only 10km, or 15 minutes driving time from the airport. . Since a passenger on a direct connection arrives in a climate similar to that of Christchurch at a time almost exactly the same as when he left New Zealand (allowing for the two-hour time difference and the two hour 45-. minute flight), everything, augurs well for a bright, alert start to one’s vacation. . Hobart, Australia’s second oldest capital city, was founded in 1804 on the western banks of the Derwent River near a broad estuary. It is an attractive, picturesque city with scenes of harbour, hills, and suburbs. . Named after the Earl of Buckinghamshire, Robert Hobart, Secretary of State for the colonies, it today has more historic buildings than any other Australian city, most of them in impressive Georgian and Regency architecture. Many of the sandstone buildings erected before the 1850 s are still standing-' at Battery Point, New -Town, and the city centre At Salamanca Place on the waterfront' at Battery Point (a must for all . tourists)’ a.. whole terrace of warehouses dating back to the 1830 s are among the finest groups of early nine-teenth-century buildings in the Southern Hemisphere. This historic row has been put to excellent use and now houses quaint restaurants as well as arts and crafts shops where visitors can discover the delights by making brass rubbings or buy

good quality works by Tasmanian craftsmen and women. The broad range includes leatherwork, ceramics, glassware, jewellery, framed prints, and furniture and smaller articles crafted out of the world’s finest timbers, Tasmania’s beautiful Huon pine and blackwood. Here , too one can have one’s fortune read, visit a puppet theatre or, on Saturday mornings, enjoy a concert. _ Battery Point is Hobart’s oldest centre, a promontory of land with many old inns (now renbvatqd and very fashionable as restaurants and night spots) and early settlers’ homes many of which are now in use as, for instance, a folk museum, or the historic Lenna, a delightful hotel/ motel with old world charm. Numerous specialist shops rich in antiques also abound in this district. Among other places of special interest are the Royal Botanical Gardens, the Anglesea Barracks, the view from Mount Wellington, Runnymede historic homestead, the vineyards at Berriedale, the Cadbury chocolate factory at Claremont, textile mills in Derwent Park (offering “seconds” in sheeting, furnishing and dress materials), and the Bowen pyramids at Bowen Park, known for its Aborigine exhibits.

Hobart’s night life consists not only of the famous Wrest Point Hotel-Casino, but also hotel cabaret shows, discotheques, two live theatres, cinemas and drive-in theatres. Licensed. restaurants of note include the Ball .and Chain (rollicking colonial entertainment), the Rampant Bear (medieval banquet), Beaujangles (pancakes), the Sakura Room (Japanese), and the Casino revolving restaurant, to mention but a few.

There is also a good selection of unlicensed eating houses, including the Pumpkin Eater (specialising in vegetarian dishes). But no visitor can claim to have savoured the taste of Tasmania until he or she has feasted on the local seafood, a most memorable experience. Specialist restaurants include Mure’s Fish House, the Medallion, the Red Crab Seafood Inn and Claws. It is also possible to buy fresh seafood from Constitution dock on the Hobart Waterfront, including live specimens from punts. Hobart is the base for many tours. The Hobart Chamber of Commerce has produced a special brochure for motorists, outlining points of interest to follow, such as parks and gardens. Also available are mini-bus tours of the city and outskirts; walking tours of Battery Point (organised by the National Trust); and camping tours for under-30s. Day trips to scenic and historic places throughout the island’s south and southeast regions are also strongly recommended for Hobart-based visitors. One of the best trips is to Port Arthur, 114 km away on the Tasman Peninsula, not only for the interest of the destination itself (see feature on page 29), but also for the attractions en route. This is particularly so for private motorists who can stop as they please. Of major interest is the Taranna wildlife park, one of only two in the state which have Tasmanian devils. The park, 115 km from Hobart, specialises in unique island species and also screens a rare 50-year-old film of the Tasmanian tiger, now believed to be extinct. Another attraction at Taranna is a replica of Australia’s first railway, a tram car which was hauled along a 7km track by teams of four convicts harnessed together like horses. Shortly before reaching Port Arthur the road passes a well-designed Tudorstyle hotel/motel, The Fox and Hound. w Although fairly new, it looks as though it has been nestled in the bush for a few centuries. Recommended accommodation is also available at the New Plymouth Holiday Village self-contained log cabins set in waterfront bushland. A further family attraction in the region is the Bush Hill logging museum,

with a wood-cutter’s camp, wooden tramway, steam-powered sawmill, and a blacksmith and wood-turner hard at work. Another interesting day excursion takes the visitor 70km inland to Hamilton, a classified historic town on the Clyde River. There are many stone buildings of early settlement in the district.

Virginia creeper enhances the charm of the Lenna Motor Inn at Battery Point, Hobart. The motor inn is part of the Innkeepers chain. The circular tower block of the Wrest Point Casino stands out clearly in this aerial view of south-easi Hobart.