Tucked between buildings in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) precinct is the Hobart Bond Store, one of the earliest surviving colonial-era warehouses in Tasmania.

The adjacent Commissariat Store was built in 1810, when Hobart was still in its early days, but by 1824 more storage space was needed, so the Bond Store was constructed.

The Bond Store originally comprised four storeys. Dry goods were stored on the top three levels, while bonded goods like tobacco and spirits were kept on the ground floor, which is now the basement.

Because Tasmania was a British colony at the time, the Bond Store legally fell under the authority of the British government. After Tasmania was granted self-government in 1856, control of the Bond Store was transferred to the local authorities. The building was subsequently used for government- and customs-related purposes.

Between 1899 and 1903, a new customs house attached to the waterfront side of the Bond Store was built. A water-powered hydraulic service lift was added to the courtyard side of the Bond Store around the same time.

In 1977, the state government incorporated the Bond and Commissariat Stores into TMAG. Decades later, between 2021 and 2023, conservation work was carried out on the Bond Store. The slate roof was replaced, the lime render was re-applied, and steel supports were installed to stabilise the walls.

Today, the Bond Store is home to a few of TMAG’s permanent exhibitions.

References & Bibliography

Tas That Was is a column that includes:

  • anecdotes of life in Tasmania in the past;
  • historical photographs of locations in Tasmania; and/or
  • documentaries about locations in Tasmania.

If you have an anecdote or photograph you’d like to share with us, please send it to [email protected].

Callum J. Jones is passionate about telling stories. He studied English, History, and Journalism at the University of Tasmania and lived in Western Sydney from 2022 to 2024 while working as a journalist for Professional Planner, a leading online publication for financial planners. Callum has written for Tasmanian Times since 2018 and has also been published in a range of other outlets, including Quadrant and the BAD Western Sydney anthologies.

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