Touring Tasmania – St Helens
Bay of Fires (Photo: Tourism Tasmania & Glenn Gibson)
One of the more major towns on the Eastern Coast of Tasmania, St Helens has grown from a small fishing village into a popular tourist town and has built a reputation as the ‘game fishing capital of Tasmania’. The fact that St Helens has a nice selection of hotels was our main influence for stopping here for the night, as we can’t claim to be big on game fishing!
What to See and Do in St Helens
St Helens was named after the English town of St Helens, on the Isle of Wight, and was established as a whaling base in the early 1800’s. By the 1870’s it had grown into a small shipping port in order to ship out the tin which had been discovered nearby. Now St Helens is primarily a tourist destination, though fishing and timber are other important sectors too, the warm microclimate experienced here makes St Helens a pleasant destination in both summer and winter.
Local History Room – St Helens own little museum gives visitors further insight into the tin mining which helped to develop the region. As a result of the tin mining, many Chinese people were attracted to the area, and you can find out more about them as well as the Aboriginals of the region.
Water Based Activities – With lovely sandy beaches and the calm waters of Georges Bay, St Helens is a great place to enjoy swimming and relaxing on the beach, and with 50 kilometres (31 miles) of coastline there’s enough space for everyone! For a little more activity try fishing, whether it’s game fishing or a more casual kind – Scamander River is renowned for its bream, for example. Surfing is also another popular pastime here in St Helens.
Restaurants and Hotels – Considering the huge influx of tourists into St Helens, you would expect there might be more in the way of restaurants and places to stay, though these are actually fairly limited. If you are planning to stay in St Helens, make sure you book your hotel well in advance as demand is high and space is limited. Make sure you visit Book it Now for your St Helens accommodation.
In terms of restaurants there are a number available, several of which are attached to the hotels and motels. With so much fishing around St Helens, seafood should feature highly – the town is most famous for its scallops, crayfish, flounder and abalone, so look out for these!
‘Touring Tasmania – St Helens’ by Claire Bolgil
