Low Head Pilot Station Maritime Museum

03/06/2026

Many articles in the Low Head Pilot Station Maritime Museum's collection are the products of a shipwreck on the notorious H**e Reef and it's always interesting to know how they came to end up in the museum.
Items are often donated from a family collection after a decision is made to place it in safe custody to be shared with others. The stories that often accompany these items are just as important as the item itself - giving it provenance.
The reef is named after its first 'victim' the 'H**e', wrecked in 1808. In some wrecks where the ship didn't immediately sink, like the 'Eden Holme', much of the cargo was salvaged and subsequently sold by those who had the 'salvage rights'.
But when the ship breaks up, the cargo and parts of the vessel could be washed up along the shores of the river and the northern coastline.
The washed-up cargo legally belongs to those who have purchased the rights to it, but they will usually pay a percentage to anyone who the finds it and presents it to them. No doubt some found items may have been kept 'as a souvenir'.
In June 1883 the 'Asterope' barque sailing from London came too close and was claimed by H**e Reef. Some of the cargo was able to be taken off before she broke up and the rest of it ended up on the beaches.
You can read here what happened to someone who thought he'd make a little more than the 25% offered for salvaged items by the owners of it. # SEE THE COMMENTS FOR MORE INFORMATION

Before the Stipendiary Magistrate, and Messrs. Warren, Morris, and Tregurtha, J's.P. James Stephens were charged by the Superintendent of Police (Mr. Harris) with having, on ...

29/05/2026

If you've visited the Low Head Pilot Station Maritime Museum on a Sunday or maybe a Monday, you may have been greeted by volunteer Jean Hampton.
Jean has been at the desk from 10 am till 4 pm on alternate Sundays and the following Monday from 10 am till 1 pm for the past 20 years, welcoming visitors, answering their questions and generally engaging in conversation and promoting our history.
Sundays are often some of the busiest days and Jean claims the unofficial record for the number of daily visitors!
She also volunteered in the Watch House for many years and only retired from doing Red Cross Meals on Wheels when she turned 80.
(We won't tell you how long ago, but it was before COVID 19 😉)
In 2022 Jean was made a Life Member of the Low Head Pilot Station Support Group that runs the Museum in recognition of her outstanding service to the group.
And last week JEAN HAMPTON was named as the winner of GEORGE TOWN'S LIFETIME VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARD (over 20 years)!
Congratulations on your well-deserved award, Jean!

14/05/2026

We'd like everyone to know that the Low Head Pilot Station Maritime Museum is STILL OPEN EVERY DAY FROM 10 am till 4 pm.
A friendly volunteer will be there to greet you and answer any questions you may have.
While the Pilot Station Cafe and Accommodation and public toilets are closed until another leaseholder is secured, there is still plenty to enjoy at the Pilot Station site - and even more interesting things to do and see inside the Maritime Museum.
Have you ever seen a Breeches Buoy? Or a line throwing rocket?
Do you know how they work?
Together these two pieces of equipment may have saved lives when a ship came to grief in the Tamar.
The rocket was part of the equipment for the pilot service and was found in the loft of the boatshed in 1975.
And the Breeches Buoy was from the Port of Launceston Authority's (PLA) tug, Wybia II.
The chart shows how a rescue is undertaken using these items, which are just a couple of the many on display in the 13 rooms of Pilots Row!

22/04/2026

The Low Head Pilot Station Maritime Museum is still open from 10 am to 4 pm every day of the week.
It's a great place to visit during your school holidays. Be a PIRATE CAPTAIN and find your way to the TREASURE.
Or try out more of the interesting activities designed especially for kids by the local members of the Children's University Australasia - there's a reward to collect at the end!

Low Head Pilot Station Museum

10/03/2026

The brig "Lady Nelson" played an important part of the Tamar's maritime history and will be shared by Malcolm Riley at next Monday's meeting of the George Town and District Historical Society. Make the most of the opportunity. Everyone is welcome.

The NEXT MEETING of the George Town and District Historical Society Inc. is THIS COMING MONDAY 16 March.

This meeting will be held in the Bass & Flinders Maritime Museum in Elizabeth St (not The Grove), starting at 7.30 pm.

SPEAKER: Malcolm Riley (from Hobart)
TOPIC: "Lady Nelson Voyagers" - where she went, what she did and who sailed in her!
Mal Riley sailed on, and then skippered, the replica "Lady Nelson", based in Hobart, from 1999 to 2026.
He has written two books on the "Lady Nelson Voyagers", with a third volume due later this year.
His emphasis for this talk will be on Bass Strait and the River Tamar.
Mal believes the "Lady Nelson" is the most important vessel in Australia's history.
She certainly played a large part in northern VDL/Tasmania's early colonial history:
She was the first ship to sail through Bass Strait in 1800, following Bass and Flinders' circumnavigation of VDL;
She brought the first Europeans right up the Tamar to the Cataract and further up the North Esk in 1803;
And then she helped bring the first Europeans to settle at Outer Cove (George Town) and York Town in 1804 - and that was just the start!
See the flyer for more details of what to expect.

There will also be a chance to see the wonderful Model Boat Exhibition in the Bass & Flinders Maritime Museum if you haven't paid a visit yet.

Everyone is welcome to attend.

27/02/2026

LOW HEAD owes its name to Matthew Flinders and George Bass who, as they proceeded along the NE coast on 3rd November 1798 in the sloop "Norfolk" on their exploratory circumnavigational journey of VDL, sighted and rounded the 'low head' to find shelter in Port Dalrymple, which they also named.
Six years later in November 1804, the first 205 or so Europeans arrived to camp at Outer Cove before moving across the river and up West Arm to build a more permanent settlement at York Town and then later moved up to Launceston.
The need for pilots to guide ships into and along the river was immediately apparent, and a pilot service has operated since 1805. The Low Head Pilot Station was an isolated, but self sufficient little settlement of mariner families up until convict gangs were finally moved down from Launceston to begin building the township of George Town in 1816.
Later on Low Head grew when business families from Launceston built the first holiday homes and Low Head became a popular holiday resort along with George Town.
The "Low Head Room" has some wonderful photos and artefacts on display from the very early and more recent days of this unique little 'seaside village' that is loved by so many who have a special connection to it.
Read more here or call in and see it for yourself.

07/02/2026

Well, we THOUGHT there were going to be a few quilts hanging in the courtyard, but look what greeted all those entering the Pilot Station grounds today - about 50 of them!!!
And they will be there again tomorrow - weather permitting. Today's breezes threw up a few challenges to those looking after these colourful creations, but that was the purpose of airing the quilts.
What a wonderful display of another 150 quilts on the Star of the Sea College fence on the way into George Town central, in shops and the Bass & Flinders Maritime Museum, hanging from the verandah of The Pier Hotel and a huge display in the Hall - all made by around 15 ladies!
Congratulations to all involved from Tamar Sew-Ciety and thanks for including the Low Head Pilot Station Maritime Museum.

06/02/2026

The quilts should get a good airing at the Low Head Pilot Station Maritime Museum over this weekend!
There will be quilts on display in the courtyard just outside the museum entrance on Saturday and Sunday and anyone participating will only need to pay the concession entry fee of $4 to view the 13 rooms of displays on show in the 1835 Pilots Row building.
The Museum is open from 10 am until 4 pm every day and you may be lucky enough to see the pilot service in action if there's a ship coming in to Bell Bay leaving the Tamar - that's usually around high tide or low tide.
Sunday visitors will also have the opportunity to see the acclaimed Marine Education Centre that's now in the Old Quarters near the Lighthouse, and to hear the Foghorn sounded from 12 noon.
Dedicated volunteers are at the Lighthouse to open the MEC and set up the Foghorn from around 11.30 am each Sunday. There's no charge, but donations are always welcome and much appreciated.

10/01/2026

A newspaper photo from the past, taken at the Low Head Pilot Station Maritime Museum and featured on the George Town Pictorial History page recently!
Who knew that our diving suit was known as "Old Harry"?
He's now been properly restored, at considerable expense, and is properly protected in a specially made Blackwood and glass display case.
Some children - and adults - are quite taken aback when they come across him in the museum.
It's certainly one of our premier exhibits along with the winch beside it that was used to lower and raise the diver.
AND - our most senior volunteer Don Heather who recently celebrated his 90th birthday, has actually been inside that diving suit and underneath the wharf at Beauty Point when he was first employed on the Marine Board as a young tacker!
Surely a 'baptism of fire' arranged by his older colleagues - Don says it was definitely a 'one off' for him - he never repeated the performance!
There have been a couple of visitors to the museum who've told us that their father had used that suit.

1980. Photo taken at the Low Head Pilot Station Maritime Museum.

19/12/2025

Slight correction here: THIS lighthouse was only built in 1888 - at Low Head. It replaced the original John Lee Archer designed Low Head Lighthouse that was built by convicts in 1833. THIS was the third one built in Australia, following those in Sydney and the Derwent.
The Lighthouse is not open to the public, but next to it is the Marine Education Centre in the 'Old Quarters' and also the Foghorn building. Both are open from around 11.30 am each Sunday when volunteers are on site to sound the Foghorn at noon. You may be lucky to find them open at other times when volunteers are working there.
Low Head is about 6 kms north of George Town and the Lighthouse is around 1/2 km north of the Low Head Pilot Station where the Maritime Museum is open every day (except Christmas Day) from 10 am till 4 pm.

A front-row seat to history and the Bass Strait 🌊⚓️

The historic Low Head Lighthouse has been guiding ships since 1833, making it the 3rd oldest light station in Australia. Standing proudly at the mouth of the Tamar River in George Town, Tasmania, it’s a must-visit for history buffs… and adventure seekers! Explore world class mountain biking trails nearby or finish the day with a magical penguin tour along the coast. 🐧

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📍 Low Head, Lutruwita/Tasmania