Princes Park Magazine

Architect: Unknown / Colonial military works (c. 1840)

Architecture Below Ground

What lies beneath the lawns of Princes Park?

Step below one of Battery Point’s favourite public spaces and discover a remarkable piece of Hobart’s military history hidden underground.

Built in 1840 as a gunpowder magazine for the Prince of Wales Battery, the subterranean structure could hold up to 144 barrels of powder, or approximately 200 rounds. Today, the magazine sits beneath the park, largely intact and hidden from view.

Look closely at the architecture and you’ll discover an ingenious response to the dangers of storing gunpowder. The magazine was constructed as a “room within a room”, with its inner chamber separated from the surrounding structure to help absorb the force of an accidental explosion.

By the 1880s, the former military site had been transformed into a public recreation ground, creating the park we know today above this hidden remnant of Hobart’s defensive past.

Come underground, explore the atmospheric spaces and discover the surprising story beneath your feet. You may never look at Princes Park quite the same way again.

Open: Sat 7 Nov, 10.00am – 4.00pm