Bass and Flinders Maritime Museum

The Bass and Flinders Maritime Museum is a specialist maritime museum located on the waterfront at George Town in northern Tasmania. It commemorates the 1798-1799 circumnavigation of Tasmania by explorers George Bass and Matthew Flinders. The museum is notable for its full-scale replica of the sloop Norfolk, along with the Tom Thumb and other historic vessels, plus extensive displays of maritime artefacts, models, maps and interpretive exhibits documenting early European exploration of Bass Strait and Tasmania.

Visitors can expect a waterfront museum complex with indoor exhibition halls and outdoor vessel displays. The centrepiece is the full-scale replica of the sloop Norfolk, alongside replicas of Tom Thumb and other small boats used by Bass and Flinders. Inside are maritime artefacts, ship models, navigational instruments, maps, photographs and interpretive panels explaining the 1798-1799 voyage. Guided tours are available and visitors can explore the vessels and displays at close range in a compact, sheltered setting near York Cove.