Tasmania For Everyone: Margate

Margate

A small bayside town, Margate is a frequent ‘pit-stop’ for those travelling south towards Snug, Kettering or Bruny Island. Vineyards, grazing fields and stands of trees surround the town and its approaches.

Where is it?

20 km south west of Hobart, 7 km south of Kingston, 6 km north of Snug, on the Channel Highway between North-West Bay and the Snug Tiers.

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Things To See And Do

Markets

MARGATE COMMUNITY MARKET
1640 Channel Hwy, Margate
Trading: Every Wednesday – 10am – 3pm
Type: General. Phone: (03) 6267 2880
MARGATE TRAIN SUNDAY MARKET
1567 Channel Highway, Margate
Trading: Every Sunday. Type: General. Phone: (03) 6267 1667
SNUG COMMUNITY MARKET
Snug Community Hall, Beach Rd, Snug
Trading: Last Sunday of the Month – 10am – 2pm
Type: General

Margate Train

The Margate Train, formerly the Tasman Limited, is Tasmania’s last passenger train. The restored railway carriages of the train, open daily, now house a range of businesses including arts and crafts, bric-a-brac, a specialist book exchange, a pancake restaurant, and the original buffet car is now a café. There is also a huge antiques warehouse and second hand shop here, located in an old IXL apple packing shed. The Tasman Limited was built in England in 1950 and served as a passenger service between Hobart and Launceston until 1978. Each week at the Margate Train Sunday Market you can browse stalls of antiques and collectables, crafts, second hand clothing, plants, and fresh produce.

Brookfield Margate

The historic Brookfield Shed was built in the early 1940s for a German Man called Eugene Klinger. Its purpose was to collect flower and vegetable seeds for Yates Seeds. The slatted drying floor is still in place. Other uses have been Chandlers Seeds, Hops and a Co-Op Apple shed for Henry Jones and Co. Today the complex is a vineyard, function centre and restaurant/cafe and well worth a visit. The mezzanine floor houses the Tudor Court Model Village and German Model Train World.
The cafe/restaurant’s healthy diverse menu is suitable for both el fresco and indoor dining. The bright canary room offers you a contrast to the mellow theatre that is often filled with the hum of live music. The program of entertainment with both local and international artists is always available on our website.

Inverware Native Gardens

Inverawe Native Gardens is a Tasmanian garden landscaped along traditional landscaping lines. In 2001 this was 22 acres of weeds. Work commeced on the central section and that is the most developed part of the garden. Work continues on more far flung areas.
The gardens were created primarily as a showcase for the natural flora of Tasmania. Plants have been placed in a semi formal landscaped design and walking paths give access to the vast array of plants in its two distinct areas – a natural woodlands remnant and a former tidal swamp that has yielded to rich, grassy flats. Rabbit Hill, at the northern end of the grasslands, affords views across the gardens down North West Bay to Bruny Island. Being a fringe habitat, where forest and pasture meet the shoreline, the wetlands and the tidal flats is an ideal place for bird watching. Entry fees apply. Contact: (03) 6267 2020.
Location: 1565 Channel Highway, Margate.

Surrounding Area

Kettering

Kettering and Woodbridge nestle on the coast on D’Entrecasteaux Channel opposite Bruny Island - two tiny settlements across the narrow channel from the island’s low lying hills. With its Marina and its regular ferry service to Bruny Island, Kettering is an important tourist mooring and departure point.

Bruny Island

Across the D'Entrecasteaux Channel a short drive south of Hobart, Bruny Island is effectively two quite different islands connected by a narrow neck of sand. With its wild seascapes and sweeping surf beaches, rich maritime history, abundant birdlife and wildlife, tall forests and historic lighthouse, Bruny is an island paradise in Australia's deep south.

Peppermint Bay

Peppermint Bay is home to Peppermint Bay Cruises, which operates cruises of the River Derwent and D’Entrecasteaux Channel on its luxuty catamaran. Cruises include general sightseeing, wildlife adventure around the shores of Bruny Island, or are available for charter.

Huon Valley

Travellers wanting a short cut across to the Huon Valley can take picturesque mountain road behind Woodbridge and Kettering. It passes through the Woodbridge Hill area, a 400 ha park characterised by rainforest vegetation and the presence of the rare Bell Everlasting. Woodbridge Hill, which rises 580 m above sea level, is part of the mountain range which runs between the D’Entrecasteaux Channel and the Huon River.

Snug

Snug (7 km south) is a small coastal town located on the Channel Highway. A carbide factory operated at Snug from 1917. The carbide was used in the manufacture of acetylene gas. The factory was converted to a silicon smelter in 1979, but was closed in 1991. During the 1967 Tasmanian bushfires the town of Snug was devastated, two-thirds of the town’s houses were destroyed, along with two churches and half the school. Snug is home to the Channel Folk Museum.
Snug Tiers is a Nature Recreational Area 8.7 km west of Margate. Walking tracks lead to a number of waterfalls, including the popular Snug Falls.

Coningham Beach

Coningham Beach on the southern shore of Snug Bay is one of Tasmania’s most sheltered, offering year-round swimming. The highway eventually leads to Kettering where you can join the vehicular ferry for Bruny Island.

Gordon

Gordon (29 km south) is a pleasant resort town on the shores of D’Entrecasteaux Channel facing Bruny Island. Near the shoreline is a monument to Bruni D’Entrecasteaux, who spearheaded French interest in the region. He discovered the channel and offshore island which bear his name, and the Huon River, in 1792-93.