Princes Wharf, Hobart

Traders at the time were not content with the location of the wharf: "It was a bit shallow and was exposed to some of the winds coming up the Derwent".

A little ‘boat harbour’ was formed at the end of the wharf near the landing stage between it and Castray Esplanade known as Princes Steps.

This was a courageous and farsighted decision at the time ‘concrete was not a well understood readily accepted material for wharf construction in Australia.’[2] At a conference in Melbourne in 1928, Professor Chapman discussed the increasing importance of concrete in the building trade.

The strength of the concrete depended not only upon the proportions of the mix of cement, sand, stone and water but also upon the temperature and its age.

[8] In 2007, there was criticism of condition of the building, questioning its continued suitability as the venue for Taste of Tasmania festival.

[9] In late 2009, the State Government committed to a major redevelopment, including the removal of asbestos in the roof, and the installation of insulation and solar panels.

2 was demolished in 2012 and the site redeveloped for the University of Tasmania's Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies.

[14] A new 69,000m² building was completed in 2013, to co-locate IMAS, Australia's Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS), the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC), and the Tasmanian Partnership for Advanced Computing (TPAC) staff and students.