Alonnah connects island history with tangible places: the History Room offers access to Bruny Island’s history through numerous exhibitions, and the Alonnah Foreshore Walk passes remains of settlements from the 1850s. Also here are a Romanesque church building, three weatherboard-clad school buildings and a breakwater with a history reaching back to Hobart. When choosing where to stay, history, architectural styles and an easy walk are therefore the main considerations.
Bruny Island history at the History Room
The History Room in Alonnah was established in 1997 as a community facility and central archive for the Bruny History Collection. Numerous exhibitions give visitors access to the history of Bruny Island. The venue thus combines a local community function with an offering for visitors: its archival role is part of the Bruny History Collection, while its exhibitions explore the island’s history. If you would like to include cultural content in your stay, the exhibitions here offer access to the island’s history.
The Alonnah Foreshore Walk
The Alonnah Foreshore Walk is an easy, 3 km-long trail that starts at the Alonnah jetty. Along the route, it passes remains of settlements established by early settlers in the 1850s. Unlike at the History Room, you encounter history here along a route rather than in an exhibition. Its length, difficulty rating and starting point give you specific details to consider when deciding whether to include the walk in your plans for Alonnah. The distinctive feature of this walk is the combination of its easy rating and historical traces along the route.
Church and school buildings
St Brenadan's Catholic Church in Alonnah is a Romanesque building. Bruny Island District School consists of three timber buildings clad in weatherboards. These offer different architectural points of interest: a Romanesque church and a school made up of three weatherboard-clad timber buildings. If you are interested in architectural styles, both buildings are distinct local examples that add an architectural dimension to the town’s character.
The boat harbour breakwater
The breakwater at Alonnah’s boat harbour was built from the only surviving section of Hobart’s original pontoon road bridge. This bridge connected Hobart across the Derwent; the pontoon is heritage-listed. The breakwater thus connects a harbour structure with the history of Hobart’s infrastructure. Unlike the settlement traces along the Foreshore Walk, the historical connection here lies in the material’s origins and its link to an earlier bridge.
Visitor information and tour bookings
The Gateway and Visitor Information Centre in Alonnah is the island’s official tourist information centre and can arrange tour bookings. It therefore serves a different purpose from the History Room: while the History Room’s exhibitions provide access to Bruny Island’s history, the centre offers tourist information and can help with tour bookings. If you would like to include a tour in your plans, this booking assistance is the centre’s practical offering.
When deciding whether to stay in Alonnah, you can consider what you are most interested in: exhibitions about the island’s history, an easy walk with traces of settlement, local architectural styles or tourist information. These interests represent different aspects of the town; consider which will have the greatest bearing on your travel plans. Alonnah is particularly worth considering if you would like to discover history through a range of different forms.
Discover more destinations: Randalls Bay, Rowella, Sorell, Carrick, Derwent Bridge, Cygnet, Branxholm, Scamander
View the broader travel overview: Tasmania.
