Geeveston, Tasmania

Geeveston is the administrative centre for the timber industries and apple growers of south eastern Tasmania. It is 62 kilometres (39 miles) south west of Hobart on Highway A6, and is the gateway to the Arve River forests and Hartz Mountains National Park.

In the town centre you will find the Geeveston Forest and Heritage Centre, which tells the story of the area and the surrounding forests. Further west along Arve Road Forest Drive (Highway C631) is the Tahune Forest Reserve and the Tahune Airwalk. The area’s rivers are home to brown trout and you can visit the Geeveston Highlands Salmon and Trout Fishery to learn the skill of flyfishing.

In the lush green valleys nearby, apple orchards pattern the hillsides and during the soft autumn days you can buy buckets of Pink Lady, Crofton, Red Delicious, Granny Smith and Fuji apples from roadside stalls. Geeveston has bed and breakfast, lodge and backpacker accommodation and is a good base to stay while exploring the forests, national park and Picton and Huon rivers.

The area was explored during the first days of the colony but not settled until the mid 1800s. Even before the English settled Tasmania, the French explorer Admiral Bruny D’Entrecasteaux (1792) marvelled at the height and girth of the trees covering the landscape. One of the first families to settle the area was the Geeves, who moved to Lightwood Bottom in 1850. The town’s name was changed to Geeves Town in 1861, and eventually became Geeveston.

To reach Geeveston from Hobart, take the Highway A6 to Huonville and continue through Franklin, home of the Wooden Boat School, to Geeveston.

Geeveston’s location in the southern forests dictate its weather pattern. It may be slightly cooler at any time of the year, so always make sure you have a warm jacket and wet weather gear, particularly if you plan to explore the wonderful mountains of the Hartz Mountains National Park.