Place Type
Population - Town
Location
137.62kms NorthEast of Hobart
533.91kms SouthEast of Melbourne
Address & Contact
55 Burgess St
Bicheno TAS 7215
Phone: +613 6375 1500
Email: Emails can be sent from the web site
Web: https://tasmania.com/points-of-interest/bicheno
Information
Bicheno is a coastal town on Tasmania's east coast, located just north of Coles Bay and the Freycinet National Park. The section of the coast on which the town stands is noted for its granite outcrops. The small fishing harbour, known as the Gulch, is formed by an inshore granite island providing shelter and the granite rocks of the coast that underpin the wharf. Bicheno is also known as a lobster (crayfish) port and has an ocean side restaurant dedicated to this delicacy.
It is only a 2.5 hour drive from Hobart so is a popular holiday destination for the Capital's residents who come to enjoy the beaches, sea food, scenery, fishing and the warmer climate. It is about 2 hours from Launceston.
Bicheno, initially Waub's Harbour, was named for in honour of James Ebenezer Bicheno, the British Colonial Secretary for Van Diemen's Land from 1843 to 1851. The name has been in use since 1851 with the township declared in 1866. The early town was the location for a number of on shore whaling stations in the late 1840s and early 1850s, no doubt attracted by the unique sheltered natural harbour and probably the source of building ruins by the ocean.