Tasman Peninsula

Turrakana / Tasman Peninsula sits in southeast Tasmania, about 75 kilometres down the Arthur Highway from Hobart. It lies south and west of the Forestier Peninsula, linked by Eaglehawk Neck—a strip of land less than 30 metres wide at its narrowest. That neck connects through East Bay Neck near Dunalley, roughly 60 kilometres by road from Hobart. Water surrounds the peninsula: Norfolk Bay to the north, Frederick Henry Bay to the northwest, Storm Bay to the west and south, and the Tasman Sea to the east. The Tasman Council governs the area, which covers 660 square kilometres.

The largest towns on the peninsula are Nubeena and Koonya, with smaller settlements including Premaydena, Highcroft, and Stormlea. Popular attractions include the Conservation Park on the main highway at Taranna, the World Heritage Port Arthur Historic Site, and several beaches.

The original name for this land is Turrakana. Before Europeans arrived, the Pydairrerme people lived here, their territory covering what is now the Tasman and Forestier peninsulas. They belonged to the larger Paredarerme language group, whose lands stretched across much of Tasmania’s east coast. After colonisation, the area was named after Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, and in March 2021 it received the dual name Turrakana / Tasman Peninsula.

The first European settlement was Port Arthur, established in the early 1830s as a penal settlement. Its isolation made it ideal—hard to reach by land but easier by sea than Macquarie Harbour on the west coast, which could then be shut down. The site also had abundant timber for shipbuilding and construction, plus a deep, sheltered harbour for repairing British warships. To prevent convict escapes, guards and guard dogs lined Eaglehawk Neck. A few convicts did get away, including bushranger Martin Cash. Near the peninsula’s northern tip, the Coal Mines Historic Site was originally a convict-operated coal mine.

Today, Port Arthur is a tourist attraction, and tourism is a major industry, as in much of Tasmania. Bushwalking draws visitors to the rugged terrain, especially Cape Raoul and Cape Pillar at the peninsula’s southwest and southeast ends, separated by the entrance to Port Arthur.

Between the convict era and the rise of modern tourism, locals mostly worked in timber and fishing. The terrain and soil made large-scale farming difficult, though orcharding and general farming happened in suitable spots. The region stayed highly isolated until regular river steamer services began between it and Hobart in the 1880s—boosted by the tourist trade to Port Arthur that started when overseas steamships called at Hobart, also in the 1880s. From 1900 to the 1930s, the main operator was the Huon Channel & Peninsula Steamship Company, which owned several vessels, including the still-existing MV Cartela.

The rare Cape Pillar sheoak, a shrub or small tree, grows only in Tasman National Park, limited to the Cape Pillar area and Tasman Island. The peninsula is part of the South-east Tasmania Important Bird Area, recognised by BirdLife International for its woodland birds, especially the endangered swift parrot and forty-spotted pardalote.

Though best known for its convict history, the peninsula is now a key site in efforts to save the Tasmanian devil from extinction due to devil facial tumour disease (DFTD). Its isolation from mainland Tasmania—where DFTD has killed more than half of all devils—makes it ideal for maintaining a healthy wild population. This project involves the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park at Taranna, along with government and university scientists.

The rugged coastline has seen many shipwrecks. Two large steamers sank after hitting Hippolyte Rocks off the east coast: the *Tasman* in 1883 and the *Nord* in 1915. Munroe Bight, north of Cape Pillar, is named after the American barque *James Munroe*, wrecked there in 1850. Much of the eastern coastline is now Tasman National Park, with geology of limestone and Jurassic dolerite. At Eaglehawk Neck, strange rock formations include the Devils Kitchen, Tasman’s Arch, the Blow Hole, and the Tessellated Pavement. Further south, at Cape Pillar, the highest sea cliffs in the Southern Hemisphere rise 300 metres above the Tasman Sea. Surf spots include Cape Raoul, Roaring Beach, and Shipstern Bluff. A historical survey map outlines the geology and vegetation of the Tasman and Forestier peninsulas and the area southeast from the Coal River.