More about Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
One of the cool things about Launceston is that it's relatively safe to wander around the streets without fear of having your shoes removed from your still-twitching carcass. Bad guys don't stalk around waiting for helpless people to bash in and rob, even at night.
Speaking of the night... it's not all that bad if you are 18 years of age or more. There are a fair few night clubs to crawl amongst. The music played is always up to date and trendy, and the people you meet are quite friendly. There are a few decent liquor shops with okay prices. $11.50 for a 750 mL bottle of Kilkenny Cream isn't too bad. Sure, it's only a third the price of Bailey's, but it's the same stuff and only one half of a percent lower in alcohol content by volume. :-)
The Saloon: By day, it upholds the facade of a peaceful and generally normal restaurant; when the sun goes away, however, it fills to the brim with young adults and great quantities of loud music. Despite its smallish size, some 'large-ish' bands tend to show up there from time to time. Grinspoon was there just recently. The regular band attendance seems to be weirdoes that cover Blondie, Tina Turner, and The Time Warp (from the ever-famous Rocky Horror Picture Show), while dressing to fit the part of the respective original musicians.
The Village Cinema is, surprisingly, the only movie theatre in Launceston. There used to be a lot more, but some sort of economic "theatre depression" caused the shut-down of all but one. The Village recently had a new cinema added on. It has a bigger screen and more seats than the other three. Wowsers.
The city is simply brimming with all sorts of take away shops. From these small establishments, one can buy all the Aussie essentials: chips, meat pies, pasties, and whatever drink you need.
A brand-spanking-new shopping center has been constructed in Mowbray. All your shopping needs are provided here. The ever-present megacorporation-owned Roelf Vos is the main attraction here, but there are also two competing bakeries and Burtie the Bargain Butcher, which futilely competes with the butcher in the supermarket.
CUNNINGHAM'S! The greatest used goods shop in Australia! More than 9500 used CDs are at your fingertips for only ten Aussie dollars each. Two dollars is deducted for each additional CD you purchase. You can find ANYTHING here! Lots of good vinyl records as well. You can get guitars, washing machines, Playstation games, forks, books, stereo gear, vacuum cleaners, aprons, etc... just about any legal item in circulation.
Launceston is also home to the largest college in Australia: Launceston College, of course. This wonderful school supplies nearly two-thousand 11th, 12th and 13th graders with individually tailored educations. The 13th grade consists mainly of people returning to school for any number of reasons. Great school, LC is. It has a wonderful campus with extensive facilities, which include a swimming pool, basketball court, indoor climbing wall, squash court, several networked computer labs, a respectable and well stocked library, and lots of other cool bonus facilities.
If you are looking for a place to REALLY wind down, you are not in the wrong town. The Roman Baths is the luxury center of Tasmania. Get a variety of massages, spend all day in one of the spas or saunas, or sunbath. Basically, the entire building is designed to be comfortable.
Other attractions that Launie can boast are the Silverdome: concert hall/sporting arena; The Mowbray Race Course: galloping and pacing horse races; The Casino: go there to lose money; The Brand New Footy Ground: well, that's not the offical title, but that's what it is. Anyway, you get to see Australian Rules Football there, which is truly a fantastic thing to witness.
Launceston is far from the perfect place, though. Being situated in a valley and having an awful lot of wood fire heated homes, there is an amazing volume and density of smoke lingering in the air all throughout the winter. It isn't like Los Angeles or Ciudad de Mexico in that the automobile emissions are not the problem. It's just plain old wood smoke. When it's foggy and smokey at the same time... that is when visibility becomes a serious issue if you or anyone close to you is operating a motor vehicle.
Also, marijuana is both easy to acquire and surprisingly inexpensive in this region. Whether it is hydroponically grown or gardened in a secluded area, the quality of the drug seems to be undeniably high in and around Launceston. Oddly enough, however, there isn't as much of a drug problem in Launie as one might expect. It seems that the ample availability tends to cut down on that drive for rebellion which all teenagers have. Other harder drugs are almost non-existent in the city.
Several branches of Rotary International exist in Launceston, so if you are a visiting Rotarian, you've got plenty of places to turn to.
On the whole, though, Launceston, Tasmania is a fairly "normal" place.
Speaking of the night... it's not all that bad if you are 18 years of age or more. There are a fair few night clubs to crawl amongst. The music played is always up to date and trendy, and the people you meet are quite friendly. There are a few decent liquor shops with okay prices. $11.50 for a 750 mL bottle of Kilkenny Cream isn't too bad. Sure, it's only a third the price of Bailey's, but it's the same stuff and only one half of a percent lower in alcohol content by volume. :-)
The Saloon: By day, it upholds the facade of a peaceful and generally normal restaurant; when the sun goes away, however, it fills to the brim with young adults and great quantities of loud music. Despite its smallish size, some 'large-ish' bands tend to show up there from time to time. Grinspoon was there just recently. The regular band attendance seems to be weirdoes that cover Blondie, Tina Turner, and The Time Warp (from the ever-famous Rocky Horror Picture Show), while dressing to fit the part of the respective original musicians.
The Village Cinema is, surprisingly, the only movie theatre in Launceston. There used to be a lot more, but some sort of economic "theatre depression" caused the shut-down of all but one. The Village recently had a new cinema added on. It has a bigger screen and more seats than the other three. Wowsers.
The city is simply brimming with all sorts of take away shops. From these small establishments, one can buy all the Aussie essentials: chips, meat pies, pasties, and whatever drink you need.
A brand-spanking-new shopping center has been constructed in Mowbray. All your shopping needs are provided here. The ever-present megacorporation-owned Roelf Vos is the main attraction here, but there are also two competing bakeries and Burtie the Bargain Butcher, which futilely competes with the butcher in the supermarket.
CUNNINGHAM'S! The greatest used goods shop in Australia! More than 9500 used CDs are at your fingertips for only ten Aussie dollars each. Two dollars is deducted for each additional CD you purchase. You can find ANYTHING here! Lots of good vinyl records as well. You can get guitars, washing machines, Playstation games, forks, books, stereo gear, vacuum cleaners, aprons, etc... just about any legal item in circulation.
Launceston is also home to the largest college in Australia: Launceston College, of course. This wonderful school supplies nearly two-thousand 11th, 12th and 13th graders with individually tailored educations. The 13th grade consists mainly of people returning to school for any number of reasons. Great school, LC is. It has a wonderful campus with extensive facilities, which include a swimming pool, basketball court, indoor climbing wall, squash court, several networked computer labs, a respectable and well stocked library, and lots of other cool bonus facilities.
If you are looking for a place to REALLY wind down, you are not in the wrong town. The Roman Baths is the luxury center of Tasmania. Get a variety of massages, spend all day in one of the spas or saunas, or sunbath. Basically, the entire building is designed to be comfortable.
Other attractions that Launie can boast are the Silverdome: concert hall/sporting arena; The Mowbray Race Course: galloping and pacing horse races; The Casino: go there to lose money; The Brand New Footy Ground: well, that's not the offical title, but that's what it is. Anyway, you get to see Australian Rules Football there, which is truly a fantastic thing to witness.
Launceston is far from the perfect place, though. Being situated in a valley and having an awful lot of wood fire heated homes, there is an amazing volume and density of smoke lingering in the air all throughout the winter. It isn't like Los Angeles or Ciudad de Mexico in that the automobile emissions are not the problem. It's just plain old wood smoke. When it's foggy and smokey at the same time... that is when visibility becomes a serious issue if you or anyone close to you is operating a motor vehicle.
Also, marijuana is both easy to acquire and surprisingly inexpensive in this region. Whether it is hydroponically grown or gardened in a secluded area, the quality of the drug seems to be undeniably high in and around Launceston. Oddly enough, however, there isn't as much of a drug problem in Launie as one might expect. It seems that the ample availability tends to cut down on that drive for rebellion which all teenagers have. Other harder drugs are almost non-existent in the city.
Several branches of Rotary International exist in Launceston, so if you are a visiting Rotarian, you've got plenty of places to turn to.
On the whole, though, Launceston, Tasmania is a fairly "normal" place.
