Our two Off-Season Offers are : "Pirate Station at the Museum and Fishy Fridays at the Low Head Lighthouse (click the links for more information.)

Welcome to the Low Head Pilot Station

Low Head Pilot Station, situated at the mouth of the Tamar River in northern Tasmania, is the oldest group of pilot buildings in Australia. While it was the first station to operate it is the third oldest pilot service after the private operations of Sydney and Hobart. The pilot service dates from 1805, with the appointment of William House as Harbour Master at Port Dalrymple, and the first building on the site was probably in 1806. The pilot service still operates from this site today. The first European settlers to arrive in the Tamar Valley came with Lieutenant Colonel William Paterson in November 1804. They landed and set up camp at Outer Cove (now George Town), established their settlement at York Town on the West Tamar, and in 1806 started moving to Launceston. The Tamar River is a dangerous estuary with a complicated navigation channel which has always required the help of pilots.

Maritime History Collection

Pilots' Row

The main collection is housed in Pilots' Row, the original convict-built building has had doorways opened between them to allow thirteen rooms of grand nautical artifacts,  see more...

Ponrabbel Steam Dredge

The port steam engine from the Ponrabbel steam dredge is housed in a small building opposite the main entrance,  read more about the Ponrabbel...

Redpa yacht

The historic yacht Redpa, built in 1908, is in the grounds of the Museum,  click for more about the Redpa...

Foghorn

The Low Head Foghorn is part of the Lighthouse complex. The "Roar of a thousand elephants" may be heard most Sundays at noon,  find out more about the Foghorn...

About Pilot Station Support Group

The Low Head Pilot Station Support Group Inc. is a volunteer group with a keen interest in preserving the maritime history of the area. The main activity of the Support Group is the management of the Maritime Museum. The Museum encompasses Pilots' Row and Artifacts situated in the surrounding grounds, Storage Sheds, Boat Shed, Foghorn and the Marine Education Centremore about the support group...

Research

The Museum Research facility houses a collection of old Launceston Marine Board and Port of Launceston Authority records. The facility also has a substantial photograph collection most of which have been digitized. The substantial book collection is also of great value to those researching maritime and general history, more about Research material collection...

Marine Education Centre

The Marine Education Centre gives people of all ages the opportunity to learn about, discover and care for the marine environment, , click here to read more .

Find Us We are situated at the head of the Tamar River in Northern Tasmania. The address is 411 Low Head Road, Low Head, Tasmania, 7253, Australia. The Pilot station is located on the eastern side of the river on a low peninsula and adjacent to Pilots Bay. Travel along the East Tamar Highway towards George Town, go straight ahead at the Bell Bay round-about and again straight ahead at the round-about in George Town. Follow the road for 5 kms to Low Head. Be aware of the speed limits. Interesting things to see along the way...
Admission Fee

Adults: $5.00
Concession: $4.00
Children: $3.00
Family: $15.00
Tour Buses: $3.00 per person
School Tours: $1.00 per person

Opening Hours:

10am to 4pm daily
Closed Xmas Day

Contact Us

Phone: 03 6382 1143
E-mail: museum@lowhead.com
Facebook: Facebook