Set beneath Mount Wellington, whose summit is at 1270 metres above sea level, Fern Tree is 9 km by road from Hobart's central business district.

[2] It was originally a postal station on the road to the Huon Valley, and later the site through which Hobart's water supply passed.

Settled from the mid 19th century, Fern Tree and its environs have always been a major recreational area for Hobart residents.

[3] It was soon replaced by the Fern Tree Hotel, which was established by Alfred Totenhöfer, a Collinsvale farmer of East Prussian descent.

[4] Totenhöfer's hotel burnt down in the 1967 bushfires but was subsequently rebuilt as the modern Fern Tree Tavern.