Ferries in Hobart are a form of public transport in the city of Hobart, Tasmania. Though for decades they had not provided a major alternative public transport service for commuters and tourists in Hobart across the Derwent River, a renewed ferry service began in 2021. This has resulted in a revival of ferry transport in Hobart, including long-term plans to expand the network.
Since the earliest times of settlement in Hobart, river transport has been used to allow people to move around the city. Prior to the construction of the Hobart Bridge, and its replacement the Tasman Bridge, ferry services were far more important, and previously called at more locations. Following the reconstruction of a public jetty at Opossum Bay in December 2006, calls were made for a more organised and regular commuter ferry service.
A vehicle ferry operated between the Hobart central business district and Bellerive until the Hobart Bridge opened in 1943. [1] Passenger ferries continued until replaced by Metropolitan Transport Trust buses 1963. [2]
In August 1978, P O'May commenced operating a Hobart to Bellerive service with two vessels. It ceased in August 1980. [3] It recommenced in September 1981, ceasing again in November 2002. [4] [5]
Hobart has also had a long shipbuilding industry, which continues through Incat and Richardson Devine Marine who manufacture catamaran ferries.
Following the Tasman Bridge disaster in 1975, services across the Derwent River were operated by Sullivans Cove Ferry Services (owner Bob Clifford - vessels Mathew Brady and James McCabe) and Roche Brothers (Cartela) while the Public Transport Commission loaned the Sydney ferries Kosciusko and Lady Wakehurst . [6] [7]
Later ferries Included Sullivans Cove Ferry Services (Martin Cash) and Wakatere (hovercraft). The Tasmanian government purchased the passenger and vehicular ferry Man On from Hong Kong. It was converted to a passenger only vessel with a capacity of 900 and renamed Harry O'May. [8]
In May 2018, it was announced that the State Government would introduce legislation to allow Metro Tasmania to introduce a service from Bellerive to Sullivans Cove. [9] However in March 2021 the Roche Brothers who also run the Maria Island ferry service, the Port Arthur Historic Site ferry and MONA ferries were selected as the preferred proponent of a trial service between Bellerive and Brooke Street Pier in Sullivans Cove. [10] [11] [12] Derwent Ferries a subsidiary of the Roche Brothers' Navigator Group was later selected as the operator. [12]
Commencing 9 August 2021, the first year of the Derwent River ferry trial provided 15 crossings of the River Derwent each weekday (excluding public holidays) operated by Derwent Ferries between the City and Bellerive. [13] Travel was free for Greencard holders and those travelling with a bicycle or e-scooter until the 8 August 2022 when fares were introduced for these passengers for the second year of the trial.
Derwent Ferries runs services on the single F2 route across the Derwent River out of Hobart between Bellerive Pier (Victoria Esplanade) and Brooke Street Pier (Franklin Wharf), with the Excella as the sole ferry within the fleet.
A one-way trip takes approximately 15 minutes, with the ferry starting the weekday at Bellerive and departing eight times there from 6:20 am as the first time and 5:30 pm as the last (40-minute intervals), before returning from the CBD at 5:50 pm to Bellerive. The service has capacity for 535 city bound and 321 Bellerive bound passengers per day. The ferry is fitted with an accessible toilet and can hold 107 passengers as well as 15 bicycle spots. [14] Starting on the 29 October 2022 services were extended to Saturday (14 crossings between 9:00 am and 4:00 pm) and 130,000 passengers were reported to have taken the ferry by this date. [15]
A 20% discount on fares is provided for Greencard users, with free transfers from Metro Tasmania bus services within 90 minutes (located at Victoria Road and Elizabeth Street) and without traversing additionalzZones. Cash and EFTPOS are also accepted. [16]
| Cash | Greencard | |
|---|---|---|
| Full fare adult | $1.70 | $1.36 |
| Adult concession | $1.20 | $0.96 |
| Child/student (5–16yrs) | $1.00 | $0.80 |
In 2022 three new locations were planned in Sandy Bay, Lindisfarne and Wilkinsons Point after the Albanese government provided an additional $20 million for the new terminals, matching the state government. [17] The masterplan released in November 2023 planned for six new locations in Regatta Point, Sandy Bay, Wilkinsons Point, Howrah Point, Lindisfarne and Kingston Beach. [18] In June 2024, Greater Hobart councils initiated testing for the initial three new terminal sites, employing Burbury Consulting. [19]
There are a number of other operators that run ferries out of Hobart which include Hobart Historic Cruises (Spirit of Hobart), MONA (Mona Roma 1 or MR1 and Freya or MR2), Navigators (Peppermint Bay II and Peppermint Bay 1 or MR0) and Pennicott Wilderness Journeys. The majority of these services are for tourism related purposes.
Short services include Derwent Harbour cruise, Moorilla Estate, Iron Pot, Bruny Island and Storm Bay. Longer ferry services take passengers to visit the D'Entrecasteaux Channel and stop at Woodbridge and Kettering. Jet Boat services also operate out of Hobart, New Norfolk and Huonville.
Ferry Services operate out of
HobartHOH-bart) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly half of Tasmania's population, Hobart is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smallest by population and area after Darwin if territories are taken into account. Its skyline is dominated by the 1,271-metre (4,170 ft) kunanyi / Mount Wellington, and its harbour forms the second-deepest natural port in the world, with much of the city's waterfront consisting of reclaimed land. The metropolitan area is often referred to as Greater Hobart, to differentiate it from the City of Hobart, one of the seven local government areas that cover the city. It has a mild maritime climate.
Councils of Tasmania are the 29 administrative districts of the Australian state of Tasmania. Local government areas (LGAs), more generally known as councils, are the tier of government responsible for the management of local duties such as road maintenance, town planning and waste management.
The Tasman Bridge is a prestressed concrete girder bridge connecting the Tasman Highway over the River Derwent in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. When it opened on 29 March 1965, the Tasman was the longest prestressed concrete bridge in Australia, with a total length measuring 1,396 metres (4,580 ft), including approaches. The bridge provides a vital link between Hobart's city centre on the western shore and the City of Clarence on the eastern shore. Averaging 73,029 vehicle crossings per day, the bridge is the highest volume road section in Tasmania. It features five lanes of traffic including a central lane equipped for tidal flow operations and separated shared-use walkways on both sides, with ramp upgrades for improved access and cyclists completed in 2010.
The history of Tasmania begins at the end of the Last Glacial Period when it is believed that the island was joined to the Australian mainland. Little is known of the human history of the island until the British colonisation of Tasmania in the 19th century.
Bruny Island is a 362-square-kilometre (140 sq mi) island located off the southeastern coast of Tasmania, Australia. The island is separated from the Tasmanian mainland by the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, and its east coast lies within the Tasman Sea. Located to the island's northeast Storm Bay, is the river mouth to the Derwent River estuary, and serves as the main port of Hobart, Tasmania's capital city. Both the island and the channel are named after French explorer, Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux. Its traditional Aboriginal name is lunawanna-allonah, which survives as the name of two island settlements, Alonnah and Lunawanna.
Clarence City Council is a local government body in Tasmania, and one of the five municipalities that constitutes the Greater Hobart Area. The Clarence local government area has a population of 61,531, covering the eastern shore of the Derwent River from Otago to the South Arm Peninsula and the smaller localities of Cambridge, Richmond, and Seven Mile Beach.
Bellerive is a suburb of the City of Clarence, part of the greater Hobart area, Tasmania, Australia. It stretches from Kangaroo Bay, bordering Rosny Park, along the shoreline of Bellerive Esplanade to Kangaroo Bluff, then to Bellerive Beach, and east to Second Bluff where Bellerive meets Howrah. To the north, Bellerive is bordered by the foothills of Waverly Flora Park.
Montagu Bay is a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, located in the City of Clarence on the eastern shore of the Derwent River, about four kilometres from the city centre of greater Hobart. It is a small primarily residential suburb located between Rosny, Rose Bay and Lindisfarne and is centred on a small bay of the same name, formerly known as Smelting Works Bay. The bay has a boat ramp and jetty, and is frequently filled with yachts and other vessels at anchor.
Geilston Bay is a largely residential suburb of Hobart between Risdon Vale, Shag Bay, and Lindisfarne, in the City of Clarence located on the Eastern Shore of the Derwent River, taking its name from an inlet of that river of the same name. The inlet and locality were sometimes known by the alternative name "Limekiln Bay" on account of lime kilns which operated there between approximately the 1830s and the 1920s, the remains of which remained visible for some decades thereafter; another early name for the Bay was "James's Bay". The present suburb name derives from an early land holding "Geils Town" in the region purchased by Andrew Geils, Commandant of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) for a brief period in 1812-1813, who subsequently left his Australian holdings behind when he moved back to Scotland.
The Tasman Bridge disaster occurred on the evening of 5 January 1975, in Hobart, the capital city of Australia's island state of Tasmania, when the bulk carrier Lake Illawarra, travelling up the Derwent River, collided with several pylons of the Tasman Bridge and caused a large section of the bridge deck to collapse onto the ship and into the river below. Twelve people were killed, including seven crew on board Lake Illawarra, and the five occupants of four cars which fell 45 metres (150 ft) after driving off the bridge. Hobart was cut off from its eastern suburbs, and the loss of the road connection had a major social impact. The ship's master was officially penalised for inattention and failure to handle his vessel in a seamanlike manner.
The MV Cartela is an excursion vessel operating on the Derwent River in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. She is now Australia's oldest continuously-licensed passenger vessel, although there are several older vessels still in service that have been restored after lengthy periods in dereliction.
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Metro Tasmania, commonly called Metro, a Tasmanian Government business enterprise, is the largest bus operator in the state of Tasmania, Australia, with operations in three of the four largest urban centres of Hobart, Launceston, and Burnie. Urban services in Devonport are provided by a private operator, Kinetic. Services are provided by Metro under a range of urban and non-urban contracts with the Transport Commission, a division within the Department of State Growth.
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The city of Hobart, Tasmania is served by a wide variety of transport. While the city's main form of transport is private transport on the road network, transport is also available by bus, ferry and aircraft. A suburban train service operated between Hobart and Brighton from the 1870s until 31 December 1974. There has been, however, talk in recent years of reinstating a train service in the northern suburbs.
The Brooke Street Pier is a floating pontoon building at Sullivans Cove in the waterfront area of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It was constructed in 2014–15 at a cost of A$13 million. It weighs 5,300 tonnes and was Australia's largest floating building upon completion. It is connected to the Hobart shore at Franklin Wharf, near the base of Brooke Street. Primarily a ferry terminal, the architect has described it as a "tourism transport hub".
Richardson Devine Marine is an Australian company, situated in Tasmania on Hobart's Derwent River.
Hobart Historic Cruises operates cruises and charter routes on the Derwent River, Tasmania. These ferry tours have operated on the Derwent Harbour since the 1980s.
Bellerive Beach is a suburban beach along the River Derwent in Bellerive, Hobart, Tasmania. The south-facing beach is located near the historic Kangaroo Battery coastal defences to the west and Howrah Beach to the east. It offers views across the Derwent estuary to Howrah, Tranmere, and Sandy Bay. Bellerive Beach is accompanied by parkland featuring play equipment, barbecues, and bathroom facilities. The beach is also bordered by the Bellerive Oval, a tree-lined reserve, and private residences.