The claim
A Georgian tavern on Macquarie Street that stakes the boldest claim in Australian drinking history: a public house on the Hobart Rivulet since 1807. Its dark rooms are crammed with antiques and maritime relics, and seafood and burgers come out of the kitchen. A local brewery took over the lease in 2025, but guest taps and Guinness still pour.
What the records show
Robert Knopwood's diary for 25 July 1807 records Hopkins opening a public house at the Sign of the Whale Fishery, and the ABC has reported doubt about whether that house stood on this site. The premises went on the Tasmanian Heritage Register in 1998, on the strength of their archaeological importance. The trade has not been unbroken: the pub was closed to the public from 2008 to 2014, and earlier in the 1980s, with the licence kept alive, so continuously licensed is not the same claim as continuously trading. The house itself claims to be the oldest pub in Australia and says it has served food and drink since 1807; New Norfolk's Bush Inn makes the rival claim. Hobart Brewing Co has held the lease since 2025 and the doors are open seven days from noon.
| Year | What | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1807 | Claimed founding | The pub |
| c.1820 | Present building | Building fabric |
| 1807 | First record of a drinking house here | Wikipedia |
What to look for inside
- Knopwood diary entry of 25 July 1807 cited as founding evidence
- Long-running 'oldest pub' rivalry with the Bush Inn, New Norfolk
- Closed 2008-2014 with licence retained
- Taken over by Hobart Brewing Co in 2025
Visiting
Hope and Anchor Tavern is in Hobart, Australia, at 65 Macquarie Street at Market Place, Hobart TAS 7000. We do not list opening times, because they change; the pub’s own site is the place to check before you set out.
Sources
- www.hopeandanchor.au/history
- www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-29/history-of-australias-oldest-pub-hope-and-anchor/12496094
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hope_and_Anchor_Tavern
- craftypint.com/news/3858/history-ahoy-hobart-brewing-co-take-over-the-hope-and-anchor
- pubtic.com.au/oldest-rivalry-keeps-brewing/
- www.hopeandanchor.au/
Know something we don’t?Suggest a correctionLast checked Sept 2026
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