Salamanca Place

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Salamanca Place
Hobart Tasmania Salamanca Place.jpg
Salamanca Place and Kunanyi / Mount Wellington
Country Australia
State Tasmania
City Hobart
LGA
Postcode
7004
Localities around Salamanca Place
Hobart Hobart River Derwent
Hobart Salamanca Place River Derwent
Sandy Bay Battery Point River Derwent

Salamanca Place is a historic waterfront precinct in Hobart, the capital city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Centred on the street of the same name at the foot of Battery Point, it includes a row of nineteenth-century sandstone warehouses, the weekly Salamanca Market, and restaurants, bars, galleries and public spaces.

Contents

The precinct developed as part of Hobart Town’s working port and whaling economy. Following a period of decline in the mid-twentieth century, its warehouses were progressively adapted for cultural, commercial and hospitality uses, while the former quarry behind them was redeveloped as Salamanca Square.

History

The barque Loongana moored at New Wharf, with the Salamanca Place warehouses behind, c. 1880. Loongana barque at New Wharf, Hobart, circa 1880.jpg
The barque Loongana moored at New Wharf, with the Salamanca Place warehouses behind, c. 1880.

The area was formerly known as “The Cottage Green”. It was renamed Salamanca Place after the British victory at the Battle of Salamanca in 1812, fought during the Peninsular War; the name reflected the colony’s strong identification with Britain and its military successes during the Napoleonic Wars. [1] [2]

Waterfront and warehouses

In the early 1830s, the growth of shipping and whaling prompted the development of "New Wharf" at the foot of Battery Point. Warehouses were constructed to serve Hobart Town’s expanding maritime trade, using sandstone quarried immediately behind the site. [3] [2]

Built with convict labour, the three- and four-storey buildings served as bonded warehouses. They featured loading openings on their upper floors and substantial internal timber structures. Goods stored in the warehouses included whale oil, wool, grain, spirits and imported merchandise. [2] [3] [4]

As whaling declined in the later nineteenth century, the warehouses were adapted for other commercial and industrial uses. Fruit processing became an important activity, with buildings used for the production and storage of jam, cordial and canned fruit. [4] These industries employed many workers, including women, before declining during the twentieth century. [3]

Writing in 1957, author and journalist Michael Sharland described the warehouses at Salamanca Place as "the most attractive group of colonial buildings gracing any Australian waterfront". [5] Similarly, the Register of the National Estate described the warehouses at 47–89 Salamanca Place as "undoubtedly the best group of waterfront Georgian warehouses remaining in Australia". [6] Salamanca Place's historic sandstone warehouses have been compared to Campbell's Stores at The Rocks in Sydney. [7] [8]

Decline and adaptive reuse

By the mid-twentieth century, parts of the warehouse precinct had deteriorated and were threatened with redevelopment. Conservation and arts advocates campaigned for their retention and reuse. The Tasmanian Government acquired buildings that were subsequently adapted for arts and community activities, and the Salamanca Arts Centre opened in 1976. [3]

The precinct’s redevelopment continued with the adaptation of warehouses for galleries, shops, offices and hospitality businesses, and the creation of Salamanca Square behind the warehouse row in the mid-1990s. [3] [9]

The former wheat silos at the edge of Salamanca Place were also converted to residential use. The eleven-storey building retained its original external concrete structure and was adapted to accommodate thirty apartments, alongside an adjoining building containing commercial premises and serviced apartments. [10] [11]

Culture

Outdoor seating of restaurants at Salamanca Place Restaurants at Salamanca Place.jpg
Outdoor seating of restaurants at Salamanca Place
Salamanca Lawns during the Winter Feast as part of Dark Mofo festivities Dark Mofo + City of Hobart, Winter Feast, Dark Mofo 2019. - 48064065596.jpg
Salamanca Lawns during the Winter Feast as part of Dark Mofo festivities

Salamanca Place accommodates restaurants, bars, galleries, studios, craft shops, hotels and offices. The Salamanca Arts Centre occupies former warehouses within the precinct, while adjoining laneways and public spaces connect Salamanca Place with the waterfront and Battery Point. [3] [2] [12]

The precinct hosts events associated with Dark Mofo, the Museum of Old and New Art's midwinter arts and music festival. [13]

Salamanca Place is also associated with live music and nightlife, and is colloquially known as the "Salamanca strip". [14] Musician Paul Kelly has recalled playing his first gig there in 1974. [15]

Salamanca Arts Centre

The Salamanca Arts Centre is a major arts hub and multi-disciplinary creative precinct established in 1976. Located within several sandstone warehouses, it houses various performing and visual arts venues, artist studios, administrative offices, and retail spaces.

Salamanca Market

Salamanca Market is held along Salamanca Place each Saturday. Established in the early 1970s, it has become a major visitor attraction and a regular feature of the precinct. [16] [17] [18]

Salamanca Place appears as a property in the Australian edition of the board game Monopoly. [19]

Public spaces

Salamanca Square was developed behind the warehouse row in the mid-1990s. The sheltered public square includes lawns and a central fountain, with shops, cafés and restaurants around its perimeter. [9]

Kelly's Steps connect Salamanca Place with Battery Point. Constructed during the nineteenth-century whaling boom, they provided a pedestrian link between the waterfront and the residential area above. [2]

Tasman Fountain

The Tasman Fountain The Tasman Fountain.jpg
The Tasman Fountain

Located between Gladstone Street and Montpelier Retreat, the Tasman Fountain is a monument and water fountain unveiled by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands during her visit for the Australian Bicentenary celebrations in 1988. [20] The fountain was constructed with finances provided by the Dutch government, with additional funds raised by the Dutch Australian Society of Tasmania. [21] Sculpted by Stephen Walker, the monument features a bronze statue of Abel Tasman holding a globe and a nautical compass, set near a water feature depicting his ships, Heemskerck and Zeehaen. [20] A commemorative plaque providing historical details of the project and Tasman's 1642 voyage was added in 1999. [22]

Sources

References

  1. ↑ Everist, Robyn (4 September 2024). "How big news in Europe inspired the Salamanca name". ABC listen. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "The naming of Salamanca Place". Hobart History. 8 July 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "History". Salamanca Arts Centre. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  4. 1 2 History of warehouses: 65-67 Salamanca Place, Hobart 1960.
  5. ↑ Hobart Steps to Maturity 1957, pp. 14–15.
  6. ↑ "National Trust Tasmanian Heritage Register Top 1-27". Tasmanian National Trust. 23 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2026.
  7. ↑ Sullivans Cove and Precinct 2007.
  8. ↑ Darby 1997, p. 11.
  9. 1 2 "Salamanca Place". Our Tasmania. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  10. ↑ "Salamanca Silos". Programmed. Retrieved 24 October 2026.
  11. ↑ "Grains of wisdom in silo reuse" . The Australian . Retrieved 24 October 2026.
  12. ↑ Winder, Adair (1 December 2025). "$30 million expansion of boutique hotel in Salamanca Place granted approval". ArchitectureAu. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  13. ↑ "Dark Mofo". Art Almanac. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  14. ↑ Jacka, Monty (9 July 2026). "How cost of living and changing drinking habits are affecting Hobart's nightlife". ABC News. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  15. ↑ Baxter, Kylie (11 November 2024). "A love affair with Tasmania". ABC listen. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  16. ↑ "The Thrift Store Tourist: Salamanca Market". Everyday Tourist. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  17. ↑ Edwards, Rachel (3 April 2021). "Tasmania's iconic Salamanca Market kept afloat by volunteers during coronavirus pandemic". ABC News (Australia) . Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  18. ↑ A short history of a long market 2014.
  19. ↑ Devine, Aidan (14 November 2015). "Real estate Monopoly: How rising property prices have made Sydney the most expensive city in Australia". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  20. 1 2 Design, UBC Web (27 October 1988). "Abel Tasman". Monument Australia. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  21. ↑ "Abel Tasman Fountain Project". Dutch Australian Weekly . Vol. 36, no. 21. New South Wales, Australia. 8 August 1988. p. 11. Retrieved 2 November 2026– via National Library of Australia.
  22. ↑ "Wie, Wat, Waar? Tasmania". Dutch Weekly . Vol. 48, no. 9. New South Wales, Australia. 15 February 1999. p. 14. Retrieved 2 November 2026– via National Library of Australia.

42°53′12″S147°19′55″E / 42.88667°S 147.33194°E / -42.88667; 147.33194

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