The least known of Tasmania’s World Heritage–listed convict sites provides a wonderfully low-key experience. The state's first operational mine, it began excavation in 1833 and was worked by convicts in abominable conditions before closing in 1848 on 'moral and financial grounds'. Walking tracks loop through the ruins of the site. The crumbled sandstone barracks, overlooking the water, are particularly evocative, and the solitary confinement cells are tortuously small and dark.
At Premaydena, take the signposted turn-off (the C341) 13km northwest to Saltwater River and the historic site. There’s a popular, basic and beautiful camp site 4km past the Coal Mines at Lime Bay State Reserve.
