Deloraine

What’s special about Deloraine?

• The town is classified by the National Trust.
• Home to the Tasmanian Craft Fair.

Take a leisurely walk through Deloraine’s streets, lined with Georgian and Victorian buildings, many which have been carefully restored. The bridge, Bonney's Inn and the Baptist Tabernacle are just a few of the historic features that give this riverside village its charm.

Deloraine's resident population of around 2,000 swells by 30,000 around November each year when Australia's biggest working craft fair comes to town. With more than 200 exhibitors, four days seem hardly enough time to take it all in. Indulge in some of Tasmania's finest food and wine, try your hand at candle wicking, watch as kites and kaleidoscopes are crafted before your eyes and talk to the creators of fine silkscreen paintings, woodcarvings, lead lights, and hand-blown glassware. If you can't make it during fair time, you'll find a wide selection of fine arts and crafts year-round at the many local galleries.

Take time to also explore 41 Degrees South Salmon Farm and Ginseng Farm an ecotourism business where you can experience a self-guided walk through diverse vegetation including wetland and woodland areas. View the fish farm, learn about ginseng and keep an eye out for platypus on the nature trails.

In an easy day-trip from Deloraine you can tour the limestone caves of Mole Creek Karst National Park, visit Liffey Falls, watch Tasmanian devils being fed at Trowunna Wildlife Park and still have time for a delicious serving of fresh berries and cream at the Christmas Hills Raspberry Farm. Also nearby is The Honey Farm and Stephens Honey, where you can taste Tasmania's distinctive leatherwood honey, and Ashgrove Cheese Factory, which sells both traditional cheeses such as Lancashire and contemporary flavours including pepperberry and wasabi.

On the road to the Golden Valley look out for Peppers Calstock Country Guest House and gold and silversmiths Mary and Hugh McLachlan. McLachlan Studios are open by appointment and you can choose from a stunning range of contemporary jewelry designs.

Deloraine's average maximum temperature in January is 21.5 degrees Celsius (70.5 degrees Fahrenheit), while in June it's 11 degrees Celsius (52 degrees Fahrenheit).

More things to do:

Antique shopping
Bushwalking
Museums & galleries

The story of Deloraine:

Deloraine was explored in 1823 by Captain Rolland who was searching for good agricultural land. The town was named after a character in a poem by Sir Walter Scott, The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805). Tasmania's first rail link was laid between Launceston and Deloraine in 1872.