Visiting Tasmania stories

Tasmania’s summer of tennis just got hotter, with news that one of the sport’s rising stars is heading south. World number 31, Australian Alex de Minaur, will visit Hobart later this month for the inaugural Tasmanian Festival of Tennis. The new event launches a big summer of tennis, including the Hobart International (January 5-12) the Burnie International (January 21-27) and the Launceston International (January 28 – February 3). De Minaur will meet fans at Hobart’s Domain Tennis Centre, on Sunday December 16. The 19-year-old had a breakthrough 2018 season reaching two ATP finals and making the third round at Wimbledon and the US Open. De Minaur told The Advocate: “I competed in the Launceston International in 2017, but this will be my first visit to Hobart, so I’m looking forward to being part of the Tasmanian Festival of Tennis.”

7 December 2018, Edition 201

The fleet in this year’s 74th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race has been labelled as one of the strongest line-ups ever. It will be a tight tussle between record-holder Comanche, which took line honours last year, and Wild Oats XI which was stripped of a win after being handed a time penalty. Black Jack, InfoTrack and Scallywag are also contenders to win the race. A total of 91 yachts will head south on Boxing Day, including entrants from China, France, Germany, Hungary, Hong Kong, Poland, Russia, the UK and US. Round the world sailor, Stacey Jackson, will skipper a professional all-women’s crew. It is also the 20th anniversary of the deadly 1998 race, which claimed the lives of six men. The solemn event will be marked with a minute’s silence the second day at sea. The same words spoken at a dockside memorial service in 1998 will be read over the radio to sailors competing in this year’s blue water classic.

7 December 2018, Edition 201

History has been created. The Brand Tasmania Bill was passed with strong tri-partisan support, so, Brand Tasmania is now a Statutory Authority. This is an Australian first, and the start of an exciting era, with Premier Will Hodgman saying: “The passage of the Brand Tasmania Bill 2018 through Parliament marks a major point for one of our most important and valuable assets, our brand. The Bill establishes the new statutory authority, Brand Tasmania, which, with more resources and capacity, will have a stronger ability to promote and protect our brand, and ensure Tasmania continues to stand out from the pack.” The Premier added that his Government is committed to expanding international markets to assist local businesses in exporting their world-class goods and services globally: “This is an exciting time for our State, and the Government is committed to promoting Tasmania to the world, to open up new markets, support local business, and create even more local jobs.” Brand Tasmania Executive Director, Robert Heazlewood, is thrilled that all three Tasmanian political parties enthusiastically supported the new statutory authority. He said across-the-board agreement shows that this is the right move to take Tasmania’s precious brand into the future: "It builds on the work of a small team who did an amazing job with limited resources, and the plan is to move forward developing new partnerships while strengthening existing relationships." It is also history in the making. Tasmania is the first Australian state or territory to have a statutory authority devoted to its brand, and only the second in the world.

7 December 2018, Edition 201

As the weather heats up, Tasmania’s beautiful East Coast is the place to be, and for lovers of gourmet delights, next weekend is the time to visit. The Bicheno Food and Wine Festival is the region’s biggest event and is now in its 12th year. The festival is again expected to draw bumper crowds seeking out the finest local food, wine, and beer, with highlights including cooking classes run by top chefs, and wine appreciation lessons. All the wonderful local fare aside, the scenery alone would be enough of a drawcard, with the three-day celebration overlooking beautiful Waubs Bay. And as befits the location, this year’s festival will also feature a display of classic surfboards. The Bicheno Food and Wine Festival runs from November 16 – 18.

9 November 2018, Edition 200

Launceston airport has recorded its strongest first quarter growth to date, by welcoming more than 300,000 travellers between July and September. That represents a five per cent growth on the same period last year. The Sydney-Launceston route proved the most popular. Launceston Airport General Manager, Paul Hogan, said: “Our buoyant first quarter figures are pleasing, particularly against a background of continued constrained domestic aircraft capacity. In Launceston, we continue to experience strong demand across all of our routes, and with the competitive commercial arrangements in place with our airlines, we are confident that more aircraft will be deployed to Launceston, the tourism gateway to Tasmania.” Last month, the airport was also named as a finalist in the 2018 Tasmanian Tourism Awards for the fourth time. Launceston airport facilitates travel for almost 1.4 million people every year.

9 November 2018, Edition 200

Some of the world’s best polo players will descend on Tasmania in January for one of Australia’s premier events - The 2019 Barnbougle Polo Tournament. The high-level action will see Australian and international polo players face-off on the world-class links in the state’s North East. This year will also mark a historic return for Tasmanian bred ponies, with Wickford Polo Ponies, based in the Northern Midlands, providing 25 horses for the tournament. Wickford’s has been breeding polo ponies for more than 25 years with many competing internationally in the UK, Argentina, Dubai and the USA.  Last year’s Barnbougle Polo Tournament attracted crowds of more than 3,500 people, and event organiser Penny Sattler, said: “This event is quite unique for Tasmania. I think it is just a great day out to have with the family, in a beautiful part of the state, at a great time of year.”

9 November 2018, Edition 200

The striking similarities between the geology of Tasmania, and the USA’s Grand Canyon, has led scientists to challenge theories about how Tasmania was formed. After five years of research, Dr Jack Mulder – a University of Tasmania graduate and now researcher at Monash University – believes Tasmania may have been connected to the west coast of America hundreds of millions of years ago, when the two landmasses were joined as part of the super-continent, Rodinia. After years of examining the rocks around Tasmania’s north west, Dr Mulder found them to be very different to those of a similar age on the mainland. An international search eventually led the research team to the Grand Canyon, where they discovered a perfect geological match. Dr Mulder theorises that when Rodinia started to break up around 700 million years ago, Tasmania travelled from the US to Australia. He told The Advocate: “We think that probably happened when the Pacific Ocean began to open, and Tasmania got plucked off the US.”

9 November 2018, Edition 200

The Taste of Tasmania is gearing up to celebrate a milestone birthday with cake – lots of it! The iconic Hobart festival turns thirty this year and is celebrating with a special bake-off. The Great Tasmanian Cake Off will attract the best bakers in the state all vying for the honour of producing the ultimate cake. Along with a stunning array of Victoria Sponges presented to the judges, the waterside event will also present a cross-section of other food and beverages from the island state. This festive season well-known chef, Luke Burgess, will be serving up an array of dishes. He will be joined by Templo’s Matt Breen, who is slated to present a masterclass in Italian peasant food. The Taste of Tasmania runs from December 28 to January 3 at Hobart’s Princes Wharf, and a full festival program will be released later this month.

9 November 2018, Edition 200