Mariners Cottages

Architect: Unknown (1839)

Where Hobart’s Shipbuilding Story Lives On

Step inside two of Battery Point’s rare survivors and discover a remarkable connection to the people, ships and working waterfront that helped shape Hobart.

The Mariners Cottages are believed to be the oldest surviving buildings on the site of the former shipbuilding yards in Napoleon Street. Built in the early nineteenth century, the simple painted brick cottages preserve traces of their working past, from their thick English-bond brick walls and timber interiors to the roof battens where shingles were once fixed.

The site became home to shipbuilder John Watson, who established his business here in the 1830s. Among the vessels built at his yard were the famous Flying Squadron: Flying Squirrel, Flying Fish, Flying Childers and Flying Fox. The Flying Childers even features on the crest of the City of Hobart.

Look closely and you can still imagine the working shipyard that once surrounded the cottages, with timber, workshops, blacksmithing and carpentry all part of the busy maritime landscape.

Come and have a look inside these rarely opened cottages and discover the people, craftsmanship and shipbuilding stories embedded in one of Battery Point’s most intriguing historic places.

This open has been facilitated with the assistance of TasPorts and the Wooden Boat Guild of Tasmania.

Open: Sat 7 & Sun 8 10am-1pm and 1pm-4pm

Note: Visitors will have the opportunity to enter the Wooden Boat Guild of Tasmania’s Classic Dinghy Raffle.