On the picturesque Low Head Peninsula at the mouth of the Tamar River is Australia’s oldest pilot station, dating from 1806. It is a delightful collection of cottages in a beautiful setting. The Museum occupies the 1835 convict-built Pilots’ Row, the oldest and largest building on the site. It tells stories of shipping on the Tamar River, and has an extensive display of relics from the days of sail and steam.
The museum is a delight for families, having something of interest for people of all ages. Children are encouraged to handle the ship’s helm, operate the engine room telegraphs, sound the fog horn, ring the ship’s bell and send messages in Morse Code. There is a collection of small craft in the boatshed (open on request) and other exhibits around the grounds.
Continue to the headland, past the old cable station to Australia’s third oldest light station, with its grand lighthouse. Here is the only operating G-type fog horn in the Southern Hemisphere. It sounds at noon each Sunday.
Low Head is less than an hour from Launceston along the East Tamar Highway and only five kilometres from George Town which has museums, good accommodation and shopping facilities.
Place Categories: See & Do in Launceston.
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