Welcome to Hanlon Guest House
Guest Services
Reception – This property is ‘unattended’ however we are contactable by phone on 0477 779 319. If we don’t answer, please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as we are able.
Guest Lounge – Located on the right just as you come in the front door. Please be mindful of other guests -sound does carry down the hall. It has a ‘honesty bar’ with a range of drinks and snacks for your convenience. Feel free to enjoy in the lounge, or back in your own room.
Wi-Fi – Please see the card on the table in your room for wi-fi access instructions. This is a free service unlimited service.
Breakfast– Stanley has a selection of a range of great places for breaky just a short walk away in the historic main street.
Check out – Please vacate your room by 10.00 am. If you had not have already pre-paid your room, we will have charged the credit card you provided on the day of your arrival. Please leave the keys on the table in your room and lock the door on your way out, please also ensure the front door is locked.
Suggested Itineraries
Arrive in the afternoon and leave the next day :
Head north and follow the scenic drive around the “Green Hills” to Highfield Historic Site. Spend up to 1 hour there then keep following the road into Stanley. Walk up the famous Stanley Nut (the chairlift is closed over winter, but it only takes 10 minutes to climb) and stroll around the walking track on the top to admire the panoramic views. You may like to have afternoon tea at the The Brown Dog Cafe or take a picnic snack with you.
Drive down to the main street and take in the charm of the historic village. Grab an ‘Under the Nut Stanley Heritage Walk’ card from our reception to help guide you around the beautiful village.
Just after dark – walk left out of Hanlon Guest House and then left again at the historic cemetery, down to Godfrey’s Beach to find the penguin viewing platform to see these facinating little creatures return to land after the full day our at sea. Keep an eye out on your way back as they sometimes come all the way up to our property for a visit. Please never shine a torch (including that on your phone) on the penguins as it damages their eyes.
Next morning – drive along the water front to the wharf area to see our iconic fishing docks; you may be lucky enough to see lobster or scallops being unloaded from the boats. Enjoy a tasty morning tea or lunch and browse through the gift shops before you leave Stanley.
En-route to your next destination you could visit the spectacular cascading Dip Falls and Blue Hills Honey Experience where you can taste a range of world class honey’s, learn how it is produced and enjoy something nice to eat and drink in The Colony Cafe. Or visit Rocky Cape National Park.
Arrive, stay 2 or more nights and leave the next day :
For your first and last days in Stanley – follow suggested itinerary above. For the full days you have in between, choose from the following rewarding day long plans:
- Explore the northern reaches of the fabled Tarkine wilderness. Pack a picnic (there are no shops) and drive 1 hour west to Arthur River. After a short walk to ‘The Edge Of The World’, keep driving South, to follow ‘The Tarkine Drive’. Ask us for a more detailed itinerary, but this drive takes 5 to 7 hours and takes in several coastal and rainforest walks, before returning back to Stanley via Edith Creek.
- Take a full day guided tour of Woolnorth & the Wind Farm, or just take the morning tour and continue south for a nice drive to Marrawah. Lunch at the local country pub then visit the famous surf at Greens Beach. Continue onto Arthur River and take a short walk at “the edge of the world” look out.
- Drive to the rugged West coast and take in the view from “the edge of the world” lookout (next land across the Great Southern Ocean is South America) and have luch at the famous Marrawah Tavern before returning to Stanley.
- Relax, enjoy a peaceful day in historic Stanley without spending all day in the car driving. Walk around and admire one of Australia’s best preserved pre 1850’s
There are lot’s more places to visit and things to do like fishing, swimming, golfing, bird watching … CLICK HERE for more information.
A Brief History …
Circular Head (the name of this municipality) is a region of lush pastures, rolling green hills, dense temperate rain forests, fern glens, breath taking coastal scenery, and flowing rivers.
It was in this region that George Bass & Matthew Flinders sailed through what they proved to be a “strait” of water in 1798. They named the water you see from this property “Bass Strait” and the dominant land mark we now call “The Nut”, they named “Circular Head”. The English adventurers continued on to circumnavigate “Van Dieman’s Land” proving it to be an island.
The first white settlement of western “Van Dieman’s Land” was here in Stanley in 1826. It was the base for “The Van Dieman Land Company”, an English pastoral enterprise which received a massive grant of land courtesy of Governor Arthur. The original grant extended from as far east as where Burnie is today. It was understood that the Governor granted the remote land as far away from Hobart Town and Launceston as possible, to distance himself from the powerful royal chartered company known as the VDL Co.
The area is rich is ancient Aboriginal sites and art works, however most are closely guarded secrets. To learn more – you will need to engage the services of one of the areas expert tour guides.
Our unique geography & geology
How the Stanley Peninsula was formed:
Around 10 million years ago the area that is now the Stanley Peninsula was at the bottom of a shallow sea floor near the coast of Tasmania. At that time volcanoes were erupting south of present-day Stanley (perhaps in the Forest area). Ash and pumice from the explosions at the volcanoes were deposited on the seafloor. The ash and pumice would eventually become the rocks that can be seen on Godfreys Beach.
Soon after these eruptions, a volcanic vent formed beneath what would become “The Nut”. Lava erupted up through the vent and built a large volcanic ash cone. The ash was produced when the hot lava came into contact with the sea water and exploded.
As the eruption began to wane the lava pooled in the crater of the cone forming a large lava pond or lake. Overtime the lava pond cooled and became solid rock.
The volcanic cone was eventually eroded away leaving the solid lava pond behind which is the landscape feature we call The Nut.
At about the same time as the volcano that formed The Nut was erupting another a large lava flow came from a volcano in the Forest area and flowed northwards under the sea, forming what would become Green Hills, Highfield Point and North Point.
The National Significance of Stanley Peninsula
From a geological and geomorphological perspective, the Stanley Peninsula is a world-class example of exceptionally well-preserved submarine volcanoes and lava. Geologists have travelled from around the world to observe the geological features. They have been the subject of several publications in international volcanological journals.
The most important features are:
• The Nut is the only example of a fully exposed lava pond that is completely exposed on all sides at sea level in Australia.
• The cliffs of Highfield Point have the only documented example in the world that shows how thick lava flows and a special kind of submarine lava known as pillow lavas move across the seafloor together. This has been invaluable to the international scientific community who study volcanism on the seafloor.
• West Beach, Highfield Point and North Point have world class examples of the special kind of submarine lavas and lava lobes.
• Plum Pudding Rock at Half Moon Bay is the only documented example of a 3-dimensional exposure of a special submarine lava known as a mega pillow in Australia.
In addition to the national and international geological significance and uniqueness of these features, together they produce a dramatic and extraordinary landscape. The fact they occur close together in the unique setting of a tombolo (sandy isthmus) means that they form a stunningly beautiful landscape that occurs no where else in Australia.
(Dr Jodi Fox 31 October 2021, Physical Volcanologist)