What are the opening hours?

Monday 9:30am - 6pm Tuesday 9:30am - 6pm Wednesday 9:30am - 6pm Thursday 9:30am - 6pm Friday 9:30am - 6am Saturday 9:30am - 2pm

State Library and Archives of Tasmania

Home
Australia
Hobart, TAS
State Library and Archives of Tasmania

Directions Website

Connect with Tasmania's stories, identity and history.

15/10/2026

Who is your favourite Tasmanian writer and why?

Your favourite Tasmanian writer could be a novelist, journalist, historian, poet, storyteller, publisher, playwright or screen writer who has either lived in Lutruwita/Tasmania or reflected an aspect of Lutruwita/Tasmania in their work.

‘Raise your Tasmanian Voice’ and spark curiosity, conversation and discovery about the people whose words and stories have helped shape Tasmania’s cultural identity.

Two new Tasmanian Voices will be selected from public nominations and announced in December 2026.

🔗Submit your nomination here: https://tinyurl.com/y5j4y5ps
⌛Nominations close Sunday 1 November 2026 at 11:59 pm

12/10/2026

Written in a single sentence - a single roar - it centres on an aging poet who has fallen down a mineshaft on the West Coast of Tasmania. And from that point of view the novel veers across time and space. Through hauntologies, to Antarctic, to the tragic Mt Lyell Mining disaster that happened on October 12, 1912, and beyond. The poet considers deeply his life and times, and the very essence of place, in this case Tasmania.

Ouston is an erudite and considered speaker, and the humour that runs through this novel is sure to shine through at this free lunchtime lecture.

🗓️ Wednesday, 14 October
⏰1pm
📍Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts, Ground Floor, 91 Murray Street, Hobart
🎟 Free entry | Open to the public, registrations required.

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/lunchtime-lecture-series-adam-ouston-discusses-his-new-novel-mine-tickets-1998829426622

Image 1: Cover of novel 'Mine' by Adam Ouston.
Image 2-3: tile advertising free event at 1pm, Wednesday 14 October, State Library and Archives of Tasmania, Hobart.

09/10/2026

Who is your favourite Tasmanian writer and why?

This year, the State Library and Archives of Tasmania is inviting Tasmanians to help shape the next chapter of the Tasmanian Voices: the writers who make us program.

‘Raise your Tasmanian Voice’ by nominating a Tasmanian writer, storyteller or creative voice that has inspired you.

Two new Tasmanian Voices will be selected from public nominations and will be announced in December 2026.

🎤 Nominate here! https://tinyurl.com/y5j4y5ps

Nominations close Sunday 1 November 2026 at 11:59 pm.

07/10/2026

It’s tulip time this Saturday at the 34th Wynyard Tulip Festival

With spring in the air and celebrations afoot, we'd like to add a pop of colour to your socials with a selection of recently digitised photographs from our collection, featuring the Table Cape Tulip Farm between 1992 and 2001.

Image 1: AF494/1/7068 - Photograph - photographer John De La Roche - Table Cape Tulip farm 9/24 (c. 2001)
Image 2: AF494/1/5023 Photograph - photographer Robert Thompson - Tulip farm, Table Cape 9/12 (c. Oct 1998)
Image 3: AF494/1/1358 - Photograph - photographer Steve Mihalenko - Tulip farm, near Table Cape 7/23 (c. Sep 1992)
Image 4: AF494/1/7066 - Photograph - photographer John De La Roche - Table Cape Tulip farm 7/24 (c.2001)
Image 5: AF494/1/5024 - Photograph - photographer Robert Thompson - Tulip farm, Table Cape 10/12 (c. Oct 1998)

04/10/2026

Tell us why your chosen Tasmanian Voice deserves recognition.

📚Tasmanian Voices: the writers who make us: https://libraries.tas.gov.au/slat/tasmanian-voices-the-writers-who-make-us/

📅 Nominations close Sunday 1 November 2026 at 11:59 pm

🎤 Nominate here! https://tinyurl.com/y5j4y5ps

30/09/2026

Join the exhibition team for a free guided tour of 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘦𝘢 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺.

Discover the stories, inspiration and themes behind the exhibition.

See how 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘚𝘦𝘢 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 has been brought to life through the book, animation and art.

Gain a deeper understanding of Tasmanian Aboriginal culture, connection and continuity.

📅 Tuesday 6 October 2026
🕕 11:00 am
📍State Library and Archives of Tasmania, Level 2, 91 Murray St, Nipaluna/Hobart

Reservations required: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/here-on-sea-country-4861436

Images: Exhibition launch by Jillian Mundy

28/09/2026

An aging poet has fallen down a mineshaft on Tasmania’s West Coast. Where does his mind take him?

In a new novel from the Miles Franklin Award longlisted, Adam Ouston, Mine is told in a single sentence. It ranges wildly over topics such as Douglas Mawson’s dogs in Antarctica, reflections on the poet’s life and an interrogation of Tasmania’s enduring extraction industries.

On October 12, 1912, the tragedy of the disaster at My Lyell Mine on the West Coast killed 42 miners. The poet considers this loss, all the while searching for his last, great work.

The State Library and Archives is a custodian of Tasmania’s mining history, including records of the 1912 disaster that befell the West Coast community.

Ouston’s novel has been received to great critical acclaim and we welcome him as our inaugural Lunchtime Lecturer. The monthly Lunchtime Lecture Series offers a glimpse into the many wonders of Tasmania’s cultural heritage.

🗓 Wednesday, 14 October
⏰ 1pm
📍 Allport Library, Ground Floor, 91 Murray Street, Hobart
🎟 Free entry | Open to the public, registrations required

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/lunchtime-lecture-series-adam-ouston-discusses-his-new-novel-mine-tickets-1998829426622?aff=oddtdtcreator

25/09/2026

Artist Highlight, All the fires come alive: Marion Abraham

Based in southern Lutruwita/Tasmania, Marion Abraham makes darkly atmospheric paintings, where restless figures move beneath skies of perpetual twilight. Comets and full moons appear through grand architectural windows inspired by memories of Lebanon.

A comet blazed across a third of Tasmania’s sky in 1843. Some called it a miracle, while others feared the worst. Marion Abraham’s commissioned triptych 𝘝𝘶𝘭𝘨𝘢𝘳 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘢𝘥 𝘖𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘴 (2026) responds to this extraordinary event and Mary Allport’s celebrated lithograph of the phenomenon.

Image 1-2: Vulgar Minds and Bad Omens, 2026, triptych, oil on canvas. Courtesy of the artist and Sullivan + Strumpf.
Image 3 (left): Walter Synnot (1773–1851) Sketch of a comet as it appeared on the evening of the 4 March 1843 7 o’clock pm bearing nearly west from Launceston Van Diemen's Land. 1843, watercolour. State Library and Archives of Tasmania, Allport Collection.
Image 3 (right): Mary Morton Allport (1806–1895) Comet of 1843: seen from Aldridge Lodge, V. D. Land. 1843, lithograph, State Library and Archives of Tasmania, Allport Collection.

All images by Rosie Hastie.

23/09/2026

We are saddened to learn of the passing of Dr Aunty Patsy Cameron AO.

Aunty Patsy was a highly respected Tasmanian Aboriginal Elder, author, researcher and educator whose work has helped generations learn more about Aboriginal history, culture and Country.

Libraries Tasmania is privileged to hold her publications within our collections and to share her stories and knowledge with communities across the state.

We extend our deepest condolences to her family, loved ones and community.

Address

91 Murray Street
Hobart, TAS
7000

Opening Hours

Monday	9:30am - 6pm
Tuesday	9:30am - 6pm
Wednesday	9:30am - 6pm
Thursday	9:30am - 6pm
Friday	9:30am - 6am
Saturday	9:30am - 2pm

Website

https://libraries.tas.gov.au/slat/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when State Library and Archives of Tasmania posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Want your museum to be the top-listed museum in Hobart?