New Norfolk’s Antique District
New Norfolk is located in the Derwent Valley and is known as ‘The Antiques Capital of Tasmania’ and as such, many people visit New Norfolk purely for its antiques and since the town is quite small, it is easy to make your way around most of the shops by foot in a day, though you may want to allow a bit more time
New Norfolk is located in the Derwent Valley and is known as ‘The Antiques Capital of Tasmania’. Many people visit New Norfolk purely for its antiques. This small town is a modern Australian regional center that retains evidence of its pioneer heritage, such as Tasmania’s oldest Anglican church built in 1823 and and one of Australia‘s oldest hotels, The Bush Inn, trading continuously in the same building since 1825. These historical monuments create the perfect backdrop for so many quality antique stores.
For such a small town, New Norfolk has really crammed in so many wonderful antique and vintage stores, making it a haven for collectors and antiquing enthusiasts. All of the stores are easily within walking distance of each other, with some on the same street! Drill Hall Emporium is the first that is worthy of note; step within and you can feel the passion and love for antiques that the mother and daughters team, share. This store also has an amazing website that lists all the treasures they have in stock at any given time, and they tend to specialize in silver, glassware, and oak and pine furniture. Just around the corner is 20th Century Artifacts, which is a real-life Alladin’s Cave of the last 150 years.
Not too much further down the road in New Norfolk is Willow Court Antiques Center. This awesome building is utilized to the full to display the fantastic items available here, with both the indoor space and the surrounding grounds turned into exhibitions! You will definitely want to set aside plenty of time to fully explore this store – it is more like a museum than an antique shop as such. Ring Road Antiques Center lies on the outskirts of the town and though the building does not look like much, it would be a shame to miss this store. There is a great selection of antiques within at very reasonable prices, with particular attention paid to pottery, kitchenware, glassware, crystal, and jewelry.
New Norfolk is a real gem for antique lovers and collectors. Anyone making the trip to Australia should schedule a hop over to Tasmania for the chance to shop in the awesome stores.
