Hinsby Beach is a beach along the
River Derwent in the
Hobart suburb of
Taroona
Taroona is a major residential suburb approximately 15 minutes drive from the centre of Hobart, Tasmania on the scenic route between Hobart and Kingston. Although on the edges of the City of Hobart, Taroona is actually part of the municipality ...
,
Australia. The south facing beach looks directly out to
Storm Bay and the
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea ( Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer ...
, with views of the Derwent estuary, the
Alum Cliffs,
Taroona Shot Tower
The Shot Tower at Taroona is a heritage listed historic building between Hobart and Kingston, Tasmania. It was the tallest building in Australia for four years (1870-1875), and the tallest structure in Tasmania until it was superseded by the Mo ...
, the
City of Clarence
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 ...
on the eastern shore and
Opossum Bay,
South Arm. Hinsby Beach is situated between the Alum Cliffs and
Taroona Beach. A naturally secluded section of the beach, beyond the rocky south-western outcrop is a zoned naturist beach.
History
Hinsby 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. ...
, kayaking, sailing, snorkelling, bodyboarding and swimming. 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 ...
, 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 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 ecofac ...
can be found scattered all along Taroona's foreshores.
Extreme weather hit the beach in 2018, causing rough seas to wash salmon farming equipment ashore and the escape of 120,000
atlantic salmon.
In 2021, Hinsby Beach was utilised for
MONA FOMA celebrations with an installation called ''Hobart Digs'', in which
south sea pearls encased in handcrafted boxes by German artist Michael Sailstorfer were buried in the sand and discovered by participants.
Environment
The steep and narrow beach has waves averaging swells and is bookended by a collection of boulder rocks at Taroona Beach and the Alum Cliffs, which emerge from sea level to heights between to create a dramatic coastline, stretching for to Tyndall Beach,
Kingston Beach
Kingston Beach is a residential locality in the local government area (LGA) of Kingborough in the Hobart LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about south-east of the town of Kingston. The 2016 census recorded a population of 1990 for the ...
.
[
The beach can be viewed from beachside homes along Hinsby Road. Hinsby Beach performs well for water quality within the Derwent estuary for swimming.]
Access
Hinsby Beach is accessible from the Hobart City Centre via the Channel Highway. It is a two hour walk from the CBD, or a 30 minute metro bus ride. There is parking at nearby Jenkins Street, Hinsby Road, Niree Parade and at Taroona Park. The beach can be accessed on foot via the Taroona Foreshore Track.
See also
* List of social nudity places in Oceania
This is a list of social nudity places in Oceania for recreation. It includes free beaches (or clothing-optional beaches or nude beaches), swimming holes and lakes and some naturist resorts. It does not include resorts that allow women to sunbathe ...
References
{{Hobart landmarks
Beaches of Tasmania