BICHENO

Located 176 km south east of Launceston and 182 km north east of Hobart (via the Tasman Highway), Bicheno is a charming seaside resort town noted for its good motels, its excellent fishing facilities, its safe and attractive beaches and its interesting coastal walks which include some superb rocky outcrops and spectacular blowholes.


Bicheno was established as a whaling centre as early as 1803. It was at this time that the sealers and whalers arrived and began using Waubs Boat Harbour (the old name for Bicheno) as a base for their activities on the east coast. The sealers and whalers actually predated the first official settlement of Van Diemen's Land. They lived a primitive and dangerous life and were known to be particularly cruel to the local Aborigines who they enslaved and prostituted.

The use of Bicheno as a coal port was short-lived. The discovery of gold in Victoria saw most of the town's residents depart in 1855 and for nearly a century Bicheno became a sleepy little fishing village.

Fishing has continued to be the lifeblood of the town and although, in recent times, it has become a popular tourist destination, there are still many fishing vessels moored in the town's harbour. The local fishing industry's catch includes substantial quantities of abalone, crayfish, scallops and trevally. Tourists are also able to observe Penguins late in the evening along the beach in Bicheno.