From the 1820s to the 1840s, the buildings that now house the Salamanca Arts Centre were erected as warehouses during the development of Hobart’s waterfront.

Whaling in the Derwent River was prevalent at the time, so whale oil was among the goods stored in the warehouses. When whaling declined in the late nineteenth century, the warehouses shifted to fruit processing and canning, essentially becoming factories.

By the 1960s, demand for fruit exports had slumped, so factory operations at Salamanca ceased, and the sandstone buildings became derelict or underused.

In 1974, one of the warehouses – the ‘Peacock Factory’ – was offered for sale. A group of locals that included arts advocate Claudio Alcorso formed the Community and Art Centre Foundation (CACF) with the aim of putting the Peacock Factory to good cultural use.

The state government soon purchased the Peacock Factory and a few of the other old warehouses in Salamanca – as well as a cottage in nearby Kelly Street – and leased them to the CACF at a peppercorn rent. This marked the formal founding of the Salamanca Arts Centre.

Over the next few years, the buildings and the adjacent courtyard were cleared out and turned into studios, galleries and arts venues. Between 2019 and 2020, the courtyard area received a $200,000 upgrade due to increased demand for the space.

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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