When the Gaiety opened in February 1898, a troupe of 60 performers was brought to town from Melbourne and played to 1000 spectators every night for a week. Soon, this grand theatre building was hosting films, plays, vaudeville reviews and concerts. Now restored to its former glory, it screens two hour-long silent-film sessions per day, one of which features parts of the world's first feature film, The Story of the Kelly Gang (first shown here in May 1907).
Gaiety Theatre
Cradle Country & The West
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park
28.92 MILES
Part of the World Heritage–listed Tasmanian Wilderness, this 1614-sq-km national park incorporates the state's most famous mountain (the eponymous Cradle…
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18.52 MILES
Head 6km west of Strahan's town centre to find Ocean Beach, Tasmania's longest beach (40km), which is fiercely pounded by surf. It runs uninterrupted from…
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0.01 MILES
Housed in the 1894 School of Mines & Metallurgy, this museum is the pride of the local community and the town's major tourism drawcard. There's plenty to…
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18.35 MILES
On top of Gormanston Hill on the Lyell Hwy, just before the final descent along hairpin bends west into Queenstown, is a sealed side road leading 900m to…
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18.78 MILES
You hear a lot about Huon pine in Strahan…now see it, smell it and touch it at this working waterfront sawmill. Milling demonstrations take place daily at…
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18.76 MILES
The West Coast Visitor Information Centre is home to this creative and thought-provoking display on the history of Tasmania's west coast. It includes a…
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17.78 MILES
Run by a group of friends who fell in love with the town and its handsome but faded bank building, this gallery is home to the Queenstown Artists in…
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1.29 MILES
This 100m-long glowworm-filled railway tunnel was constructed as part of silver-mining operations in 1904. You can now take a short walk through it along…
Nearby Cradle Country & The West attractions
0.01 MILES
Housed in the 1894 School of Mines & Metallurgy, this museum is the pride of the local community and the town's major tourism drawcard. There's plenty to…
1.29 MILES
This 100m-long glowworm-filled railway tunnel was constructed as part of silver-mining operations in 1904. You can now take a short walk through it along…
17.66 MILES
This museum started life as the Imperial Hotel in 1897 and now houses an extensive and idiosyncratically captioned photographic collection documenting the…
17.69 MILES
This 1930s behemoth is the town's major landmark and in its heyday it was the epicentre of a thriving social scene. Lovingly restored to a semblance of…
17.73 MILES
Well-known printmaker and painter Raymond Arnold and his artist partner Helena Demczuk are two of a small community of visual artists living and working…
17.73 MILES
The panoramic views of town from this lookout, which was named by soldiers after a battle in the Boer War, are excellent. Try to arrive at sunset, when…
17.78 MILES
Run by a group of friends who fell in love with the town and its handsome but faded bank building, this gallery is home to the Queenstown Artists in…
17.8 MILES
Queenstown's story is told in this intriguing cemetery with more than 500 graves and some fascinating inscriptions on the crumbling headstones.