---
title: The Watch House
date: 2021-05-20T16:43:00+10:00
author: Bass and Flinders Maritime Museum
canonical_url: "https://bassandflindersmuseum.com.au/the-watch-house"
section: Site Content
---
# The Watch House

Located at 84-86 Macquarie Street, the Watch House is open between 10am to 3pm Monday to Wednesday, 11am to 3pm Thursday and Friday, 11am to 1pm Saturday and Sunday . FREE Entry

 

 

 

 

  The Watch House at George Town in Northern Tasmania is the historic old Gaol site

Featuring a range of displays conveying the region's rich history, the present building was built in 1843 and was reopened in 2004 as part of George Town's Bicentenary of European settlement.

 

 

 

 

 

 It features a wonderful model village that allows visitors to imagine what early nineteenth-century life was like in George Town, and an acclaimed ‘Departures & Arrivals’ display describes the Female Factories and links to the convict experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   ![The Watch House drawing](https://bassandflindersmuseum.com.au/volumes/images/_2000xAUTO_crop_center-center_60_none/PWD266-1-1285.jpg) 

 

 

  Visitors can enter a primitive cell to get an idea of the tough life of prisoners awaiting trial or view the changing displays featuring the best in Tasmanian arts and crafts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   ![The Watch House](https://bassandflindersmuseum.com.au/volumes/images/_1000xAUTO_crop_center-center_60_none/unnamed-1.jpg) 

 ![The Watch House display](https://bassandflindersmuseum.com.au/volumes/images/_1000xAUTO_crop_center-center_60_none/11530/DSC06269.jpg) 

 

 

  The Watch House contains a wealth of local information for historians and those researching their ancestry.