Tony Hadley, the former lead singer of Spandau Ballet, is set to perform at the Odeon Theatre in Hobart on Thursday, 30 January 2025.

The concert will feature classic hits like “True,” “Gold,” “Only When You Leave,” and “Round & Round,” as well as selections from his solo career, accompanied by The Fabulous TH Band. Doors open at 6:30 PM. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.

60 years on, the Porsche 911 continues to be one of the best sports cars on the market. Porsche is keeping the 60th-anniversary celebration rolling with the 911 S/T, a stripped-down 911 aimed squarely at the purist 911 fan. The naturally-aspirated 4.0-liter, 517-horsepower flat-six is mated to a six-speed manual transmission with a lightweight flywheel and clutch. The purist camp will enjoy a total of 70 pounds less weight than the manual 911 GT3 Touring, making it the lightest 911 you can buy new. 0-60 comes in 3.5 seconds with a terminal velocity of 186 MPH. A revised aero package is optimized for a sleek look and the road, with a Gurney flap on the retractable rear spoiler.

The interior is trimmed in Classic Cognac cloth seat centers and black pinstriping, and two-tone semi-aniline leather trim in black and Classic Cognac. 1,963 911 S/Ts will be made, with deliveries beginning in Spring 2024.

The exclusive Heritage Design Package adds Shoreblue Metallic paint and Cermica wheels, with the original Porsche crest from the first 911 throughout the exterior and cabin.

Buy from Porsche.

(Images provided – Porsche)

Photo: Off the Table

Award winning mushrooms grown in 1891 Railway Tunnel in Tasmania Grown in a 1891 Railway Tunnel in Tasmania.

Tunnel Hill Mushrooms Hidden under the surface at Mt Rumney on Hobart’s Eastern Shore in Tasmania is an old 1891 railway tunnel. It was opened in 1892, and closed in 1926. Since the closure of the railway in 1926 the tunnel has be used by the Defence Department during WWII to store records from Anglesea Barracks, as well as the University of Tasmania to house recording devices for cosmic ray testing, In the late seventies a Hungarian gentleman by the name of Pasztor purchased the southern end of the tunnel with the desire to run a restaurant there, yet it never reached fruition.

Photo: abc.net.au

Repurposed in 2000, the railway tunnel is now a unique growing operation .“Tunnel Hill Mushrooms” produces premium food, as Producers Dean and Anita Smith cultivate three types of oyster mushrooms, grey, white and tan oyster mushrooms picked fresh to order. The railway tunnel has optimal growing conditions for cold loving winter strains of oyster mushrooms.

Owner Dean Smith

Visit the unique Tunnel tours to learn how oyster mushrooms are grown and stored as you walk through the mysterious re-purposed train tunnel on a railway line that ran from Bellerive to Sorell between 1892-1926. The tunnel is the perfect environment because of its stable year-round temperature and low light. Tunnel Hill Mushrooms supplies to some of Hobart’s top restaurants, including The Glasshouse and Franklin.

Tunnel Hill Mushrooms

Why not go on a Tasmanian gourmet cheese crawl ?

There’s an immense number of cheese producers in Tasmania, and the fabulous news is that a number of them are open to visitors for tastings, meaning you can base your entire holiday around a spectacular gourmet cheese crawl. With so many small scale producers making artisan cheese with particular attention paid to the tradition of the cheesemaker’s art, this potential unctuous cheese odessy is a must to for foodies, and would be a journey to remember.

The elements of pure air, the cleanest water on Earth, mild temperatures, high rainfall and verdant pastures create an ideal setting for a world-class cheese industry in Tasmania that a foodie’s dream come true. It is no surprise that in 2013 Lonely Planet named Hobart in their list of top 10 foodie cities in the world. Dedicated cheesemakers are present all over the island and continue to thrive and innovate with a variety of cheeses and styles that take this industry to another realm. Looking for some unique flavors such as Wild Wasabi, Lavender, or Bush Pepper? Look to the northern region of Tasmania. Some of the best cheddar in all of Australia can be found in Tasmania. In other areas can be found triple creme Brie, buttery goat cheese, grass-fed cow milk cheese, organic sheep milk cheese….the list goes on and on. If you are really adventurous, try tracking down the whisky cheddar…

We have selected our top three picks to get you started:

BRUNY ISLAND CHEESE COMPANY
One of the most famous artisan cheese-makers on the Apple Isle, the Bruny Island Cheese Company matures its cheese meticulously in a small Island dairy. The company is run by Nick Haddow, who spent 10 years working with specialist cheese makers in many different countries around the world, with this said, the variety of cheeses produced have a distinctly Tasmanian character. a wide range of cow’s milk cheeses on offer, like their mature French-style 1792 (named after the year the French first arrived in Tasmania)Having trouble choosing your cheese?, then order a full cheese platter and have a picnic under the Eucalyptus trees, alternatively they offer quick tastings. They also make their own beers, which they will happily pair with cheese for you advocates for sustainable, ethical dairy farming, which is a big tick, in our eyes.

Bruny Island Cheese Company

Address: 1807 Bruny Island Main Road, Great Bay, TAS

THE WICKED CHEESE COMPANY
Renowned for its soft white cheeses, the Wicked Cheese Company uses of only the purest hormone-free and chemical-free milk from grass-fed cows. The company has many awards under its belt, including the Supreme Cheese Champion Trophy from the 2008 Royal Melbourne Show for its Triple Cream Brie.

Take a trip to the factory in Richmond to see how the cheese is made, partake in a tasting, and indulge in the product ranges at wholesale prices.

Wicked Cheese Company

Address: 1238 Richmond Road, Richmond

BAY OF FIRES CHEESE
Perfected over centuries, the Bay of Fires Cheese maestro is a thirteenth-generation cheese-maker, originally from England, where his family still make fromage today, who has made his home in Tasmania. For cheddar advotees Bay of Fires is the cheese monger for you. Their traditional cloth bound cheddar won or placed in the Best Cheddar Cheese category at the Australian Grand Dairy Competition for three years running. The cheese is aged for at minimum, a year on a pine board during which time it is given a massage by hand every three weeks. Understandably an award winner.

Bay of Fires Cheese

Address: 25824 Tasman Hwy, St Helens TAS 7216

Now we all know how cold it can be down  in Tassie, so when you’re next down in the Apple Isle why not treat yourself to some luxury and stay in one of these beautiful pavilions at Freycinet.  The Freycinet Lodge’s Coastal Pavilion is nestled among the bushland on the shores of Great Oyster Bay Tasmania.

You’ll be able to check out the amazing wilderness that Tassie has to offer with your own private deck while relaxing in an outdoor tub. Or lay inside a solid oak lined king bed and view through incredible curved glazing so as to not lose sight of the beautiful cascading mountains and bay.

Photos: Dianna Snape.

The PORCINI LAMPS collection is a collaboration between two Adelaide interior designers Jacquie Hagan and Madeleine Potter, called memaké.

“The Porcini range grew from a subtle exploration into the elegantly simple form of the mushroom. A series of organic shapes and forms were reinterpreted to form these beautifully crafted and sustainable pieces. Bringing the role of artisan back into design, the Porcini design represents a spirit of craft and the handmade.

The range consists of two designs, the Porcini Stem, comprised of a standard lamp and table lamp, and the Porcini Canopy, comprised of various sized pendant lamps. The lamp shades across the entire Porcini range are interchangeable, to achieve multiple size combinations. Using naturally sustainable materials; Tasmanian Oak, a non-endangered timber species sourced from Australian sustainable forests finished with natural Australian beeswax, and 100% pure new wool upholstery, which is both biodegradable and renewable.”

Photo: Joel Johnston

What is Tasmanian? Tasmanian.com.au is a new initiative by Brand Tasmania to help build and promote your Tasmanian story.

“It isn’t easy here. It never has been. People said it was impossible, and for too long we believed it. This is why, for Tasmanians, good enough is never good enough. We work harder, we follow our obsessions, we support one another, and we protect what makes this place different.

Being Tasmanian is the quiet pursuit of the extraordinary.”

By registering for free to become a Tasmanian partner you’ll have access to their brand book and evolving toolkit which has a Tasmanian image library, workshops, networking events, case studies and more.

Photo: Tasmanian.com.au

Bay of Fires, Tasmania

Here at TheNews.com.au we take pleasure in promoting Australian artistic talent, and Tasmanian Photographer Joshua Vince fits the bill with his stunning photography. Joshua has released a Calender showcasing his work for 2020 called MMXX. Featuring evocative landscape images of the wilderness, his body of work captures the many moods of unique Tasmanian landscapes. Upon viewing Joshua’s work an instant immersion into the scenery takes place, followed by awe.

Some of his photos see us immersed in mysterious passages of water flowing around massive numinous grey immovable stone landmarks. Stark contrasts of black and white through to delicate ephemeral shades of grey create a mystery of otherness – a beauty in starkness. They evoke feelings of something yet to reach, but not forgotten.

Caves on the Tasman Peninsula

Other photos are taken from a ground perspective, with majestic lichen rich boulders rising as megalithic giants. Foregrounds of burnt umber and raw sienna on a background of shifting grey enhance the depth of the images as majestically mysterious monuments, leading our eyes to exquisitely warm distant backgrounds of sinking sunsets and a distant sunrise that recreate an almost forgotten wonder – a true connection to nature, a oneness almost tantalisingly out of reach.  Beyond the monumental landmarks Josh creates an ephemeral and hauntingly beautiful daydream that calls to us.  Fresh and visionary, Joshua Vince sculpts with the camera in his unique showcase of the Tasmanian wilderness.

Eddystone Point Lighthouse, Tasmania

Joshua’s Calender is available for purchase for $35 (+$9 P&H) that’s if there’s any left. They can be purchased from his Facebook page. Also check him out on Instagram. *Update – Calendars have sold out!

All images copyright © Joshua Vince Photography

Melissa Lockley, Arts Correspondant TheNews.com.au

melissa.lockley@thenews.com.au

Ever wanted to know what was on planet Earth before us?, well author and artist Rachel Sussman has compiled an incredible book The Oldest Living Things in the World (Hardcover) delving into just that. For over 10 years she has documented this subject in writing, and in conjunction with her beautiful photography she’s captured and documented such things as a 43,600-year-old self-propagating Tasmanian shrub that’s the last individual of its kind, the “Australian Stromatolite”, along with 5,500-year-old moss in Antarctica, along with many more specimens Sussman ranges the entire globe. Going back to ‘Year Zero’ this is sure to be a great addition to your coffee table book collection.

“…These ancient survivors have weathered millennia in some of the world’s most extreme environments, yet climate change and human encroachment have put many of them in danger. Two of her subjects have already met with untimely deaths by human hands.”