Karkalla Terrace Sandy Bay Hobart

Getting around

By car: Car parking is available along Quayle Street. The spots out the front and across the road of Karkalla are free and unlimited time. To the east some parking spots have a 2-hour limit during the day. Please check signs.

There are many car hire companies located in Hobart or from the Airport.

By public transport: Buses run frequently along the nearby Sandy Bay Road into Hobart, and further afield. The nearest Skybus drop off point is Brooke Street Pier.

We recommend Google Maps for transport planning and live updates.

Scooters for rent (Beam and Nuron) are often found in local streets. Uber and taxis also readily available

Walking: It's a pleasant walk to shops, cafes, historic sites and nature. find out more in 'local adventures'

About the House

The house: Karkalla was built around 1890 in the Federation Architectural style. You'll notice as you walk down the street that it is one of 4 brick terraces, and subsequently a row of timber houses in the same design were added.

The wall: A striking feature of the home is the hand carved sandstone wall that separates the court yard from the native top garden. This wall is a spectacular backdrop for outdoor entertaining however is a marvel to think of the work in carving and positioning the blocks before modern electricity or machinery.

The furnishings

The house has been carefully furnished using only locally, often hand made heritage furniture. Some significant pieces include;

The Celery Pine and Tasmanian oak 4 poster bed in the main room that was hand turned by a local Hobart shipwright in the mid 20th century. It matches well with the celery pine hand crafted bench and fireplace mantles.
The bathroom vanity is made from a large slab of Huon pine, a very slow growing native timber that is likely hundreds of years old.
The 'smoking chair' in the lounge was hand made in Fern Tree some time early 20th Century.
The distinctive blue and white pottery that is displayed through the house and also the 6 seating dinner set was hand made by potters on Prince Edward Island, Canada and bought out to Australia as a wedding gift mid 20th Century
Books, toys and games - the house has a collection of carefully selected books on Tasmania's rich natural and cultural history as well as well known Tasmanian authors of fiction. There are loved vintage toys and board games, and a ukelele try your hand at!

The Garden

The gardens at Karkalla are almost all native Australian and where possible endemic Tasmanian plants. In some cases the plants are 'bush tucker' plants, staples for Aboriginal people who in the region. The house is named after Karkalla, which is the aboriginal word for Carpobrotus glaucescens, or 'pig face', a creeping succulent that has edible and medicinal properties.

Other plants you can find in the garden are button grasses, billy button flowers, gravillias, lamandras and many flowering ground covers.

In the top garden there is a small garden studio used as storage for tools as well as a covered deck with lovely views to the Mountain