Bellerive Beach is a popular beach destination along the River Derwent in Bellerive,

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. The south facing beach neighbours the historic Kangaroo Battery coastal defences and has views of the Derwent estuary,

Howrah Howrah (, , alternatively spelled as Haora) is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal. Howrah is located on the western bank of the Hooghly River opposite its twin city of Kolkata. Administratively it lies within Howrah district, and is th ...

, Tranmere and Sandy Bay on the western shore. Bellerive Beach has an adjoining parkland with play equipment, barbecues and bathroom facilities and is backed by the

Bellerive Oval Bellerive Oval, known commercially as Blundstone Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a cricket and Australian rules football ground located in Bellerive, a suburb on the eastern shore of Hobart, Australia, holding 20,000 people it is the large ...

, a narrow tree-lined reserve and private properties.

History

Prior to the

British colonisation of Tasmania The British colonisation of Tasmania took place between 1803 and 1830. Tasmania was a British colony from 1856 until 1901, at which time it joined five other colonies to form the Commonwealth of Australia. By the end of the colonisation in 1 ...

, the land had been occupied for possibly as long as 35,000 years by the semi-nomadic Mouheneener people, a sub-group of the Nuennone, or "South-East tribe". Mouheneener abolone shell

middens A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofact ...

were discovered on the beach in 1980. Originally called Kangaroo Point, the suburb of Bellerive was settled in the 1820s. The name was changed to Bellerive, meaning "beautiful shore" in French, in the 1830s. Bellerive Beach has historically been a popular staple of local activity, used for exercise,

beach combing Beachcombing is an activity that consists of an individual "combing" (or searching) the beach and the intertidal zone, looking for things of value, interest or utility. A beachcomber is a person who participates in the activity of beachcombing. ...

, horse races, regattas, sailing races and swimming. In 2015, the

Clarence City Council Clarence City Council (or City of Clarence) is a Local government in Australia, local government body in Tasmania, and one of the five municipalities that constitutes the Hobart, Greater Hobart Area. The Clarence local government area has a po ...

put forward their Bellerive Beach "master plan" to include a cafe and restaurant, bathers’ pavilion and other amenities. Almost 650 Clarence residents signed a petition asking the Clarence City Council not to move the 56 space carpark at Bellerive Oval. In 2020, residents complained that work on the project was too slow and not in line with the original 2015 vision.

Clarence Foreshore Trail

A $600,000 shared cycle pathway connecting the Clarence Foreshore Trail from Bellerive Beach to the Derwent River ferry service at Bellerive was opened in 2021.

Marine life

Caused by microscopic plankton, a

bioluminescence Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by living organisms. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some b ...

phenomenon intermittently occurs in the beach's waters in the evening. A colony of

little penguins The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name . The Australian lit ...

(''Eudyptula minor'') nest behind the dunes at Bellerive Beach, and can be viewed coming ashore after dark. Dog restrictions are monitored and enforced by the Clarence City Council as a means to protect the penguins. Although uncommon, there were sightings of the deadly

southern blue-ringed octopus The southern blue-ringed octopus (''Hapalochlaena maculosa'') is one of three (or perhaps four) highly venomous species of blue-ringed octopuses. It is most commonly found in tidal rock pools along the south coast of Australia. As an adult, it can ...

(''Hapalochlaena maculosa'') at Kangaroo Bluff in 2019. The

Australian swellshark The Australian swellshark (''Cephaloscyllium laticeps'') or draughtboard shark, is a species of catshark, and part of the family Scyliorhinidae, endemic to southern Australia. This bottom-dwelling species can be found on the continental she ...

(''Cephaloscyllium laticeps'')

bottlenose dolphins Bottlenose dolphins are aquatic mammals in the genus ''Tursiops.'' They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus definitively contains two species: the common ...

(''Tursiops aduncus'') and Burrunan dolphins (''Tursiops aduncus australis'') frequent the Derwent estuary, and have been be spotted from the beach.

Environment

Local residents have reported seeing southern brown bandicoots (''Isoodon obesulus''), water rats (''Hydromys chrysogaster'') and bats, as well as a variety of birdlife, including the little penguin and hollow-nesting bird species such as the

musk lorikeet The musk lorikeet (''Glossopsitta concinna'') is a lorikeet, now the only species in the genus ''Glossopsitta''. It inhabits south-central/eastern Australia. The little lorikeet and the purple-crowned lorikeet were previously included in the ge ...

(''Glossopsitta concinna''). Frogs are known to inhabit wetter areas behind the dunes. The neighbouring reserve contains suitable habitat for the endangered

swift parrot The swift parrot (''Lathamus discolor'') is a species of broad-tailed parrot, found only in southeastern Australia. The species breeds in Tasmania during the summer and migrates north to south eastern mainland Australia from Griffith-Warialda ...

(''Lathamus discolor''),

Tasmanian masked owl The Tasmanian masked owl (''Tyto novaehollandiae castanops'') is a bird in the barn owl family Tytonidae that is endemic to the island state of Tasmania, Australia. It is the largest subspecies of the Australian masked owl, the largest ''Tyto'' ...

(''Tyto novaehollandiae castanops'') and the vulnerable

eastern barred bandicoot The eastern barred bandicoot (''Perameles gunnii'') is a nocturnal, rabbit-sized marsupial endemic to southeastern Australia, being native to the island of Tasmania and mainland Victoria. It is one of three surviving bandicoot species in the ge ...

(''Perameles gunnii''). Bellerive Beach is subject to physiological changes due to weather.

Access

Bellerive Beach is accessible from the Hobart City Centre via the

Tasman Bridge The Tasman Bridge is a bridge that carries the Tasman Highway over the Derwent River in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Including approaches, the bridge has a total length of and it provides the main traffic route from the Hobart city centre ( ...

. It is a one and a half hour walk from the CBD, or a short metro bus ride. There is dedicated parking at the beach directly off Victoria Esplanade, Alexandra Esplanade and Luttrell Avenue.

References

{{Hobart landmarks Beaches of Tasmania