Sculpture by Numbers

Battery Point is a blunt promontory that shelters Hobart's port to the north and looks south towards Storm Bay, so it has intimate links to the harbour and shorelines of the River Derwent. No part of Hobart has more significant cultural heritage than the Battery Point precinct. It is the location of some of the city's oldest surviving residences, the site of Hobart's largest suite of historic buildings and the place where many of Tasmania's first industries and commercial enterprises were established. The Battery Point Sculpture Trail celebrates this heritage and reinforces the link to the shoreline through installations of public artwork. The project's concept "sculpture by numbers" evolved from the multitude of stories about Battery Point that are articulated by measures of time, date, weight and amount. While numbers, in themselves do not tell stories, they provide gateways or windows through which aspects of Battery Point can be understood.
The sculpture trail takes about an hour to walk in one direction. If you start at the 1833 sculpture at the southern end of Salamanca Place, you'll reach the end at the 1909 sculpture on Marieville Esplanade. On the return walk, detour through the Battery Point village precinct and return to Salamanca Place via Arthur Circus, passing some of the city's oldest houses. You'll find directions along the way.
A map is available to give additional information both on the sculpture trail and the Battery Point precinct. Get one by calling in personally to the Council Centre or the Hobart Travel Centre, download a copy of the Battery Point Sculpture Trail brochure, or call (03) 6238 2100 to arrange a copy to be posted.