Hamilton

There’s a museum quality to the main street of Hamilton, a small rural town lined with historic stone buildings.

Located beside the River Clyde, this quiet town was once a bustling frontier settlement with several working breweries, a string of hotels and a roaring illegal liquor trade. The Hamilton Inn, built in 1826 by a pardoned convict, lives on, though things are now far more civilised.

Hamilton is filled with historic stories in stone. Look for the bell atop the two-storey, sandstone Old Schoolhouse, which used to call children to school, while St Peter's Church, completed in 1837, has only one door, a design feature intended to prevent convicts in the congregation from attempting to escape. 

Where

Hamilton is a 1hr drive (74km) north-west of Hobart.

Insider tip

• Look for the large hillside sign and figure of a sheep pieced together in rocks, announcing the date of the Hamilton Agricultural Show, held each March.