The Gardens and plants of historic Battery Point
An exhibition of botanical paintings and drawings by Botaniko.
Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4pm.
An exhibition of botanical paintings and drawings by Botaniko.
Open Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 4pm.
Narryna’s Christmas Spirit Market is back for another year! This year we are so lucky to be joined by 17 amazing local distillers. There will be plenty of food, drinks and Christmas gifts to purchase, so come along for a wonderful afternoon full of Christmas cheer in the Narryna garden. Vendors this year include:
Metcalf Distilleries
Drifters End Distilling Company
Hunnington Distillery
Rotary Whisky
Summerleas Distillery
Knocklofty
Mountain River Distillery
Osare
Taylor & Smith
Just B Distillery
Spirit of the Coal Valley
Derwent Distillery
Callington Mill Distillery
Killara Distillery
Charles Reuben Estate
Hunter Island Whisky
New Norfolk Distillery
A last-minute addition to our guest list for Saturday:
nipaluna nursery is a community-based not-for-profit organisation. We grow thousands of Indigenous plants, from trees to understorey species, with a focus on revegetating and restoring Tasmanian landscapes. Currently this focus includes the Midlands Biodiversity hot spot. At the Narryna Garden Fair, we will be selling a range of eucalypts, acacias, allocasuarinas and melaleucas; and dodonaea viscosa, hakea microcarpa, leptospermum scoparium, bursaria, olearia viscosa, pomaderris apetala and themeda.
For more information, check out: www.nipalunanursery.org.au
Join us for an informative talk on all thing's tomatoes at our upcoming Tea and Tomatoes event. A presentation and practical demonstration will be led by guest speaker, Paulette Whittney, of Provenance Growers. This will be followed by a delicious morning tea in the Narryna kitchen garden.
When: Wednesday 23rd of October from 11am
Where: Narryna Pavillion and Garden
103 Hampden rd.
Battery Point, 7004.
Tickets: $20 per person. Morning tea included.
Book via website: www.narryna.com.au/products
Email: narryna@tmag.tas.gov.au
Phone: 6234 2791
Join us at Narryna for Seniors Week 2024! We will have a range of additional activities on throughout the week, including a special convict women tour and an illustrated talk.
Tour - Rebellious, Resourceful and Resilient! Narryna’s Convict Women
Visiting Narryna today it is easy to imagine the comfortable and privileged lifestyle enjoyed by its early colonists. By contrast, the convict servants, who were often unsuited to meet the requirements of domestic service, struggled with laborious tasks, including cooking, cleaning and caring for the children. Under the instruction of the ‘house mistress’, including Elizabeth Haig and Sarah Walker, this tour explores the challenges associated with managing the household - especially those assigned to the Haig family. These women were no shrinking violets - they were rebellious, resourceful and resilient!
Wednesday 16th October 10.30am - 12.00pm
Saturday 19th October 2.00pm-3.30pm
$10 per person.
Illustrated Talk - Elizabeth Haig: Mistress of Narryna
Join us for a captivating, illustrated talk that follows the life of the house’ first mistress, Elizabeth Haig. This talk will explore the many challenges she faced, including establishing a new life for her family, supporting her husband through financial difficulties, and managing a household of seven children and numerous convict servants. These challenges were intensified by wider economic and social issues in Van Diemen’s Land in the late 1830’s and early 1840’s. Join us to hear about one woman’s determination and ability to ensure the survival of her family.
Wednesday 16th October 4.30pm - 6.30pm
$15 per person. Includes 1 drink per person and nibbles. Additional available for purchase.
Book via website: www.narryna.com.au/products
Email: narryna@tmag.tas.gov.au
Phone: 6234 2791
In conjunction with the opening of our upcoming exhibition, The Gardens and Plants of Historic Battery Point, please join us for an exclusive two-day art workshop, led by the botanical artist and tutor Jean Henley.
WHEN: Saturday 12th and Saturday 19th October 2024
WHERE: The Pavilion, Narryna
103 Hampden Road, Battery Point
COST: $190 per person (includes paints, paper, morning tea — BYO lunch)
WORKSHOP CONTENT
Day 1: Saturday 12 October - 9.30am – 3.30pm
Botanical drawing and understanding watercolour
Day 2: Saturday 19 October - 9.30am – 3.30 pm
Watercolour application
The one-week break will allow participants time to practice drawing skills in preparation for Day 2.
Over the two days participants will learn:
• The techniques of sketching an object proportionately to create a 3-D botanical study;
• To understand colour mixing using a minimal palette;
• How to apply watercolour giving light and tone to a painting.
By the end of the workshop participants will have the confidence to continue applying the principles of botanic art to future projects.
A materials list will be forwarded upon registration.
Don’t miss the opportunity to take part in this special workshop.
Funds raised from this workshop will support Narryna’s garden.
Please book at https://www.narryna.com.au/narryna-shop as places are limited.
Join us at Narryna for Seniors Week 2024! We will have a range of additional activities on throughout the week, including a special convict women tour and an illustrated talk.
Tour - Rebellious, Resourceful and Resilient! Narryna’s Convict Women
Visiting Narryna today it is easy to imagine the comfortable and privileged lifestyle enjoyed by its early colonists. By contrast, the convict servants, who were often unsuited to meet the requirements of domestic service, struggled with laborious tasks, including cooking, cleaning and caring for the children. Under the instruction of the ‘house mistress’, including Elizabeth Haig and Sarah Walker, this tour explores the challenges associated with managing the household - especially those assigned to the Haig family. These women were no shrinking violets - they were rebellious, resourceful and resilient!
Wednesday 16th October 10.30am - 12.00pm
Saturday 19th October 2.00pm-3.30pm
$10 per person.
Illustrated Talk - Elizabeth Haig: Mistress of Narryna
Join us for a captivating, illustrated talk that follows the life of the house’ first mistress, Elizabeth Haig. This talk will explore the many challenges she faced, including establishing a new life for her family, supporting her husband through financial difficulties, and managing a household of seven children and numerous convict servants. These challenges were intensified by wider economic and social issues in Van Diemen’s Land in the late 1830’s and early 1840’s. Join us to hear about one woman’s determination and ability to ensure the survival of her family.
Wednesday 16th October 4.30pm - 6.30pm
$15 per person. Includes 1 drink per person and nibbles. Additional available for purchase.
Book via website: www.narryna.com.au/products
Email: narryna@tmag.tas.gov.au
Phone: 6234 2791
Join us at Narryna for Seniors Week 2024! We will have a range of additional activities on throughout the week, including a special convict women tour and an illustrated talk.
Tour - Rebellious, Resourceful and Resilient! Narryna’s Convict Women
Visiting Narryna today it is easy to imagine the comfortable and privileged lifestyle enjoyed by its early colonists. By contrast, the convict servants, who were often unsuited to meet the requirements of domestic service, struggled with laborious tasks, including cooking, cleaning and caring for the children. Under the instruction of the ‘house mistress’, including Elizabeth Haig and Sarah Walker, this tour explores the challenges associated with managing the household - especially those assigned to the Haig family. These women were no shrinking violets - they were rebellious, resourceful and resilient!
Wednesday 16th October 10.30am - 12.00pm
Saturday 19th October 2.00pm-3.30pm
$10 per person.
Illustrated Talk - Elizabeth Haig: Mistress of Narryna
Join us for a captivating, illustrated talk that follows the life of the house’ first mistress, Elizabeth Haig. This talk will explore the many challenges she faced, including establishing a new life for her family, supporting her husband through financial difficulties, and managing a household of seven children and numerous convict servants. These challenges were intensified by wider economic and social issues in Van Diemen’s Land in the late 1830’s and early 1840’s. Join us to hear about one woman’s determination and ability to ensure the survival of her family.
Wednesday 16th October 4.30pm - 6.30pm
$15 per person. Includes 1 drink per person and nibbles. Additional available for purchase.
Book via website: www.narryna.com.au/products
Email: narryna@tmag.tas.gov.au
Phone: 6234 2791
In conjunction with the opening of our upcoming exhibition, The Gardens and Plants of Historic Battery Point, please join us for an exclusive two-day art workshop, led by the botanical artist and tutor Jean Henley.
WHEN: Saturday 12th and Saturday 19th October 2024
WHERE: The Pavilion, Narryna
103 Hampden Road, Battery Point
COST: $190 per person (includes paints, paper, morning tea — BYO lunch)
WORKSHOP CONTENT
Day 1: Saturday 12 October - 9.30am – 3.30pm
Botanical drawing and understanding watercolour
Day 2: Saturday 19 October - 9.30am – 3.30 pm
Watercolour application
The one-week break will allow participants time to practice drawing skills in preparation for Day 2.
Over the two days participants will learn:
• The techniques of sketching an object proportionately to create a 3-D botanical study;
• To understand colour mixing using a minimal palette;
• How to apply watercolour giving light and tone to a painting.
By the end of the workshop participants will have the confidence to continue applying the principles of botanic art to future projects.
A materials list will be forwarded upon registration.
Don’t miss the opportunity to take part in this special workshop.
Funds raised from this workshop will support Narryna’s garden.
Please book at https://www.narryna.com.au/narryna-shop as places are limited.
Join us as we delve into the Narryna collection to bring you untold stories of some of our more unusual collection items. Not only will you get to see objects not usually on display, but you will also learn their stories.
Renowned luthier and TSO musician, Douglas Coghill will share his knowledge and expertise in the craft of violin making. Douglas will then join former QVMAG director Chris Tassell and historian Dr Elisabeth Wilson to conduct a Q&A session about the twists and issues of provenance research in museum collections. The story of the Narryna violin, c.1840, which has a strong association with many families from the Sorell and Dunalley districts, will be discussed to highlight its fascinating history and the importance and complexities of its provenance.
Enjoy a complimentary glass of wine on arrival, generously sponsored by Bangor Winery. Additional beverages and food with be available to purchase.
Talk will begin at 6pm in the pavilion.
Tickets available here: https://www.narryna.com.au/narryna-shop
Narryna will be hosting the Festival of Voices again in 2024. Join us in celebrating some wonderful local and interstate pop-up choirs over two weekends.
When: Saturday 29th June and Saturday 6th July
Time: 2pm - 4pm
Where: Narryna - 103 Hampden rd. Battery Point
We are also excited to announce that for the festival this year we will be holding a pop-up exhibition that showcases some musical instruments from our collection (Included in house entry price).
Afternoon tea and refreshments will be available to purchase at our bar. Full line up can be found at:
https://festivalofvoices.com/pop-up-program-2024/
Look forward to seeing you all there!
A SCRUMPTIOUS FOOD NIGHT AT NARRYNA
PLEASE JOIN US FOR A SPECIAL NIGHT IN THE NARRYNA PAVILION
FOOD …. SUMPTUOUS AND SPECIALLY MADE SAUSAGES COOKED TO PERFECTION BY Mark on Macquarie Butchers.
HEAR …. · AN INFORMATIVE AND ENTERTAINING TALK GIVEN BY STEPHEN LUNN a multi award winning Chef of 37 Years.
Over the past 3 years Stephen has been involved with the Australian National Culinary Team being Vice Captain of the Senior Team. Recently Stephen has returned from Stuttgart in Germany where the Team won Silver and Bronze Medals at the Culinary Olympics.
Stephen has competed in the Culinary World Cup in Luxemburg 2022 – bronze medal and Chinese invitational Culinary Cup in Shanghai 2023 – silver medal. Stephen is also the Director of the Australian Culinary Federation (ACF), Tasmanian Chapter. Chair of the Education Committee for the ACF.
MEET …. OTHER NARRYNA FOOD BUFFS IN A GREAT SETTING
Homecoming is a mixed-media installation which contemplates the sentimental landscape aesthetics of English 'homeliness' and the Australian 'otherness'. The title 'Homecoming' questions what it is that crafts a sense of home, a sense of return in a place that is otherwise unfamiliar, and considers how the action of coming home, or homemaking, manifests.
The artwork draws on the concept of 'Acclimatisation Societies; community groups of European colonists developing from the 1860's, which aimed to introduce non-native species (both animals and plants) to (what they perceived as) unfamiliar environments, with the aim of transforming it into (what they perceived as) a more homely and hospitable place. The dining table, a ritualistic and central site in the home, is the setting for this installation, amplified further by the adaption of a colonial home built in the same time period that acclimatisation societies were at their zenith. In collaboration with Samantha Dennis a jewellery and object-based artist working in lutruwita (Tasmania). Fascinated by the ways society has sought to explain and order the phenomena of life, her work navigates themes from science and natural history.
Homecoming by tech/art collective Soma Lumia.
A collaboration with Samantha Dennis.
Meet the distillers from 18 Tasmanian distilleries, sample their products.
Do your Christmas shopping.
Stock up the bar.
Eat drink and be merry in our beautiful gardens.
$5.00 entry
Narryna’s annual Christmas Spirit Market.
The 2nd of December.
2pm to 7pm.
Do not miss our annual Plant and Garden Fair!
Plants for sale are propagated by Narryna’s Gardners from our historic grounds.
The Camillia Society will have a garden stall.
Delicious refreshments and much much more available. 🌺
Camellias and Cake - Narryna Members Admission
Camellias and Cake at Narryna - General Admission.
Highlighting Charles Dickens pieces from the Narryna collection including Charles Dickens Magic Slides and Lanterns, Costumes of the era, The Works of Charles Dickens House Hold Edition and much more.
An exhibition not to be missed that will delight audiences of all ages.
House entry $10 adults, $8 concession, $5 children.
Open 10am to 4pm Tuesday to Saturday.
Narryna presents Secrets from the Collection
Our next ‘secret’ item that will be presented as part of our Secrets from the Collection series is the magnificent Beetle-Wing Dress.
Dating back to the late 1800s, this wonderful piece from our costume collection is a marvel to behold. With hundreds of delicate Beetle Wings stitched into the fabric of the dress it is one of our more unusual items here at Narryna.
Please join us at Narryna on the evening of the 20th of April from 6pm for an informative talk, presented by Freya Harrington, to find out the story behind the Beetle-Wing dress and to view this elaborate piece.
Refreshments will be available.
Entry is $10 per person
To celebrate International Women’s Day Narryna will be holding a presentation re-telling the story of sisters Amy, Milli and Fearn Rowntree, long - term Battery Point residents, who helped to save Narryna and establish the, then, Van Diemen's Land Folk Museum.
Those attending the talk will be offered a complimentary entry to the house, including the Women and Whaling exhibition
Morning tea refreshments will be available to purchase.
RSVPs by the 7th March will be appreciated.
Please email narryna@tmag.tas.gov.au or by phone 62342791
Come along to the 8th annual Christmas Spirit Market at Narryna.
With our beautiful 1830s Georgian house as the backdrop, our annual Narryna Christmas Spirit Market provides the perfect opportunity for locals and visitors to purchase their favourite Christmas spirit and meet Tasmania’s finest distillers all in one special location.
If you don’t already know, Narryna is an 1830s merchant’s house located in the heart of Battery Point which has been a museum for 65 years. Our house, garden and collection represent Tasmania’s social, domestic, and maritime history and tells the story of early colonial life in Hobart. We would love you to join us at this special location for our 8th Christmas Spirit Market
This is a fantastic opportunity to sample and purchase top quality spirits from some fantastic Tasmanian distilleries for the festive season, all here in one place.
Entry fee is $5
NARRYNA SPRING PLANT SALE
Narryna, the beautiful historic garden in Battery Point, opens its gates on Saturday the 5th of November 2022 for a special Spring plant sale. Many of the plants are propagated from Narryna’s ornamental and kitchen gardens. Proceeds from the sale will be ploughed back into Narryna’s restoration.
This will be a special opportunity to admire the work of Narryna’s garden volunteers who tend the recreated kitchen garden and front garden mixed borders and who have planted the beds surrounding the fountain as a 19th century parterre.
Bring your friends and enjoy refreshments (tea, coffee, scones, cakes and savouries) in the shed overlooking the stableyard.
Narryna Spring Plant Sale
Saturday 5th November 2022, 10.00am – 4pm
The passionate private life of George Meredith “King of Oyster Bay” is the back story to a new exhibition at Narryna, Battery Point.
The exhibition features the recently donated large four poster bed that belonged to George Meredith and featured so prominently in his very private and personal letters to his wife Mary. The bed made in the 1830’s by leading colonial Tasmanian cabinet maker William Hamilton is a stunning example of early colonial furniture.
The Meredith family played a prominent role on Tasmania’s east coast and the exhibition also includes previously unseen watercolours by Louisa Anne Meredith, niece and daughter-in-law of George Meredith. As well, the Thomas Bock portraits of George and Mary Meredith from the collection of the East Coast Heritage Museum, Swansea will be displayed.
The exhibition provides an unusually personal insight into the private lives of a Tasmanian colonial family through their own family treasures.
We’ve waited all year and now it’s back!
The Narryna Christmas Spirit Market returns on Saturday 4 December. Join us from 2pm to 7pm in the gorgeous gardens of Narryna, the Merchant’s House, where you can purchase your favourite Christmas spirit from our fantastic line-up of stallholders.
Join us at Narryna for a Pint of History from 6pm on 7 October and enjoy some spirited conversations about the role of alcohol in medicines.
In 1840s London and Hobart, the water supply was polluted with dead dogs and urban and industrial waste which created foul miasmas that threatened the health and wellbeing of the local citizenry. Join us for Monster Soup Kitchen to celebrate the quality of our modern water supply with an array of delicious soups (with a vegan option) and breads and hot beverages including tea, coffee and chocolate. This will be followed by special blue gloves tours with guided commentary and the opportunity to handle artefacts.
General admission $35
COMA, Narryna Friends, Friends of TMAG $25
Children and students $10
To book visit the Narryna shop - narryna.com.au/shop
Narryna’s Winter 2021 program, Pills, Potions and Pandemics, explores Tasmania’s social history through the ‘kill or cure’ experience of pre-modern healthcare.
Narryna’s 19th century residents – Captain Haig, Elizabeth Haig, their children and convict servants – were subjected to a range of treatments including bloodletting and emetics to 'even out' the balance of the four humours or liquids that were believed to regulate the body and emotions. The humours were blood, yellow bile, phlegm and black bile. They corresponded with four basic personality types: sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic and melancholic. This understanding of the body reflected few advances in medical science since the Greek philosophers of the 4th century BCE.
They were furthermore administered harmful substances such as opiates and mercury. To receive no attention from the surgeon or apothecary was generally more beneficial.
Plagues and pandemics have been with us since ancient times. The word, quarantine, comes from 40 days’ isolation if arriving in Venice on an infected ship. Before the recognition of bacterial infection in the 1870s (and viruses in the 1890s), it was believed that diseases such as typhoid were transmitted by foul smells (miasmas).
Houses such as Narryna, in elevated positions and open to sea breezes, were regarded as healthy. Hence George Washington Walker’s decision to move his family to Narryna in the early 1850s, away from the low-lying areas of central Hobart around the polluted Hobart Town Rivulet.
Join us for this special exhibition with special ‘white gloves’ / blue gloves tours examining rich collections of artefacts from the collections of Narryna and COMA (Collection of Medical Artefacts) Tasmania.
16 – 22 June, Pills, Potions and Pandemics open extended hours (seven days per week 10am – 6pm, open Fridays and Saturdays 10am – 8pm) with festival bar. Check this website regularly for additional tours: https://www.narryna.com.au/exhibitions-and-events/2021/5/29/pills-potions-pandemics
Don your fur coats and Winter finery and join us for cocktails and canapés to launch Narryna’s winter exhibition and tour program, Pills, Potions and Pandemics.
Our latest exhibition, A Social Occasion highlights fashion items from the Narryna collection worn for social events including weddings and garden parties.