St Helens And The North East Guides Attractions Events in Tasmania

Bridport in Tasmania’s north east is a popular holiday destination overlooking Anderson Bay. Surrounded by bushland reserves, white sand and the sloping vines of Pipers Brook wineries, Bridport is an ideal place to unwind.
The town’s population of 1,350 almost triples in summer when holidaymakers flock to the beach. Bridport’s main industries are tourism, vegetable farming and fishing. Local specialties are scallops, lobster and trout from Australia’s first freshwater rainbow trout farm. Bridport is also a port for the Matthew Flinders cargo vessel, which travels to Port Welshpool in Victoria and Flinders Island.
In spring, the wildflowers and birds are prolific in the Granite Point Coastal Reserve and Bridport Wildflower Reserve. Other nearby reserves have spectacular coastal views, waterfalls, white sand dunes and native wildlife.
You can tee off at Barnbougle Dunes, a classic links golf course, considered one of the best in Australia; water-ski at Weymouth, or fly in (literally) to the Flying Teapot Garden Café and Gallery, which has its own airstrip.
Lavender-perfumed air emanates from the purple-washed paddocks of Bridestowe Estate Lavender Farm – one of the world’s largest lavender oil producers.
The coastline was navigated by Bass and Flinders in 1798, but Bridport was not settled until 1830, by Thomas Lewis. Chinese tin miners were among the early pioneers. It was a port for the timber industry and enjoyed periods of prosperity in the late 1860s, when gold was discovered in a nearby village.
Hit the beach in January when Bridport’s average maximum is 23 degrees Celsius (73.5 degrees Fahrenheit). Wine and dine by a log fire in June’s average of 12.5 degrees Celsius (54.5 degrees Fahrenheit).
Bridport is 85 kilometres (53 miles, or one hour’s drive) north-east of Launceston on the B81 and B84.

Derby is about 104 kilometres (65 miles) north-east of Launceston.
Mountains, rainforests and old tin mines surround this classified historic town. In the late 1800s it was a booming mining settlement and at the Derby Tin Mine Centre you can pan for a bit of raw tin - metal we use every day of the week without thinking about where it comes from.
Derby still has the feeling of a pioneer town, and you explore the quaint shops for antiques, second hand books and modern crafts. Then discover for yourself that Blue Lake really is blue; take a long walk or paddle a canoe on Cascade Dam to sharpen your appetite for a homemade afternoon tea in one of Derby’s cafes.
In October each year, you can enjoy the madcap Derby River Derby - a river race with very different rules.

Founded in the 1870s as part of the tin mining boom in northeast Tasmania. On the road to the northern entrance to Mt William National Park.

Scottsdale is administrative centre for the north-east and is about 70 kilometres (44 miles) from Launceston.
It is a friendly and busy town with a population of around 2,000, surrounded by farmlands, where you’ll see crops growing, contented dairy cows grazing and forest-based industries.
Visit the Forest EcoCentre, a unique architectural experiment in energy-saving design, showcasing Tasmania’s finest timbers, forest ecology and history of the area. North East Park is a good place for a picnic, and then challenge yourself to a half-day return walk to the summit of Mount Stronach for panoramic views of the forests and farms.

St Helens is the largest town on the north-east coast with a population of about 2,000. The town is known as the game fishing capital of Tasmania, and each March the St Helens Game Fishing Classic is the highlight of the year for locals and an increasing number of interstate visitors.
From St Helens you can explore Binalong Bay and Bay of Fires, which extend to Eddystone Point. The Bay of Fires (named by British Captain Tobias Furneaux who only saw the smoke from the fires of the local Kunnara Kuna tribe), has white sandy beaches, giant granite boulders, and the area is popular with divers because of its kelp forests and underwater caves.
St Helens is a fishing port sheltered by Georges Bay and St Helens Point, a long headland, 1,066 hectares (2,500 acres) of which is reserved as a public conservation area. The other side of the bay - Humbug Point - is also protected.
The town was established in the 1830s when tin was discovered in the Blue Tier mountains. The history of the town and the region is told in displays in the St Helens History Room.

If there’s a single keynote for Tasmania’s north-east, it’s colour - travelling through this part of the Island, you will be aware of the changing tones and hues of the land, the sky, the sea.
On the coast at Bridport, you will find one of Australia’s top golf courses – Barnbougle Dunes – overlooking Bass Strait. From Bridport to Tomahawk, you will see long sandy beaches, the bright orange of lichen-splashed granite and the clean, clear turquoise of the sea.
St Helens is a picturesque fishing port on the shores of Georges Bay and is the north-east coast’s largest town. Beyond the sand bar, the ocean offers up game fish and the town is Tasmania’s game-fishing capital. To the north is the pristine coast of the Bay of Fires.
In Scottsdale’s green and fertile valley, beyond the dark green of tall pines, dairy herds graze rich pastures and the fertile red soil nourishes wonderful vegetables - onions and peas, carrots and potatoes. In summer fields of poppies splash the landscape, and lavender bushes grow in tidy, purple stripes.
This is a region of surprising variety - from neat croplands of Scottsdale and Ringarooma to coastal heathlands and pastures of Mount William, where Forester kangaroos graze; from the rugged summits of Ben Lomond and Mount Barrow to the dairy pastures of Winnaleah; from the exciting offshore fishing at Bridport and St Helens to the rows of green-blossoming hops around Branxholm.
Each place has its own surprises - sapphires panned from old mines near Branxholm and Derby, impressive wood sculptures of our proud war heroes at Legerwood; farm cheese at Pyengana; skiing and walks on Ben Lomond’s craggy heights; echoes of a mining heritage at Derby and the Blue Tier; rough-cut local granite in the towering Eddystone Point lighthouse; sweeping views of forests and farmlands as the Mathinna road descends to Fingal Valley.