Hobart's proposed Mac Point Stadium faces precarious future following heritage listing of goods shed

Hobart's Macquarie Point Stadium proposal faces an uncertain future, following the Tasmanian Heritage Council's decision to permanently include the Hobart Railway Goods Shed, situated at the stadium's intended location, on the state heritage register.

The Goods Shed, constructed in 1915 to store items for transportation via the state's former railway network, was deemed by the heritage council to be "rare." The shed, located on Evans Street, served the railway system until the 1970s, after which it was transformed into a transit warehouse for road transport. In recent years, the structure has been used to accommodate temporary entertainment and cultural events.

The Tasmanian Heritage Council determined on 17 April to permanently include the structure on the state heritage register, therefore ensuring its protection from demolition.

In its report, the council highlighted that the Goods Shed satisfied two heritage criteria: firstly, the site is important to the course or pattern of Tasmania's history, and secondly, the site possesses uncommon or rare aspects of Tasmania's history.

"As a building associated with the state's former rail transport network, the Hobart Railway Goods Shed is rare in the Tasmanian context. Within its class of place it is an unusually extensive building," the report states.

"The Goods Shed illustrates a historical function which is no longer practised. It is one of very few comparable places across Tasmania that still demonstrates evidence of the operations of the Tasmanian Government Railways during the 20th century," the council adds. "The … shed is a notable example of the development of rail transport, and of the development of Sullivans Cove and Hobart as a centre for trade, including the export of fruit, from World War I onwards."

The single-storey shed is timber-framed and rectangular in shape, with majority of its facade covered in painted corrugated steel sheeting. It measures at approximately 115 metres in length and 24 metres in width.

The shed roof, a pair of side-by-side gabled volumes; interior timber framing and trusses; original openings formerly occupied by timber sliding goods doors, and narrow, textured glass panels within white-painted timber frames were all considered of high heritage significance.

A draft precinct plan for the redevelopment of Macquarie Point, including the introduction of a multi-purpose stadium was released by the Tasmanian government in October 2023. The plans, produced by the Macquarie Point Development Corporation with Cox Architecture, now seemingly hang in the balance.

The shed is currently owned by the Macquarie Point Development Corporation.