Lock in a piece of Tasmanian history

A piece of Tasmanian history is on the market more than 145 years after it was built.

And No.4 Short St, Fingal is not your ordinary historic house.

It is a home with a music hall and a jail under the main floor – there is so much to explore.

Harcourts St Helens director Heidi Howe said the 1880s-built landmark property blends Victorian grandeur with 1930s Art Deco influences.

It is on the Tasmanian Heritage Register, she said.

“The accommodation has been the first thing that catches people’s eye,” Mrs Howe said.

“The beautifully restored apartments are grand — high ceilings, timber floors, and the warmth of a wood fire.”

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Downstairs, hand-picked sandstone walls twist and turn to reveal historic spaces that speak to the property’s many uses over the years. There is a library, supper room, a chapel and the jail.

“These spaces are wonderful additions to the heritage apartments, something that speaks to people with an entrepreneurial spirit,” Mrs Howe said.

“It is exciting to think about what someone might do with it when writing the property’s next chapter.

“There are a lot of gigs held in the music hall. I’d imagine a drama school, workshops, a market — there is so much space. A speak-easy bar is my go-to idea.

“The property is zoned Village, which allows for a lot of different uses and broad flexibility, subject to council approval.”

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The property’s grand dance hall and stage pulse with life.

Under the banner Tyger Arts, the hall regularly comes alive with music, poetry, art and laughter, continuing the building’s tradition as a place where the community gathers.

“One can only imagine the decades of dances, live bands, country jigs and celebrations that have unfolded beneath these soaring ceilings,” Mrs Howe said.

When the property launched onto the market, Mrs Howe was inundated with inquiries with common themes ranging from what was possible given the heritage nature of the property to ‘is that a real jail’?

“It is not a jail today, but it was at one time,” she said.

“No.4 has been a courthouse, council chambers, it was the local jail, it was a doctor’s surgery, town hall, and parts were used as a library — its rich history is woven into the town.”

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Mrs Howe said Fingal, about 75 minutes’ drive from Launceston, is emerging as a destination for a certain type of buyer.

More and more often, she sees people escaping from their busy city or corporate lives to revel in a peaceful lifestyle that this town offers.

To bump into a former astronaut or a high-flyer from the business world can be expected in Fingal, she said.

“These types of buyers, artistic and creative, highly educated — people that you might see on Grand Designs — are who I think could be the buyer of No.4,” she said.

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“Fingal attracts an educated and eclectic group of buyers these days.

“They have finished corporate life, now they are living their dream.”

No.4 Short St, Fingal is priced at $529,000.