Vineyard welcomes unique rabbits
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter is one of the world's most loved pieces of children's literature. The adventures of the mischievous young rabbit have always captivated Riversdale Estate's Wendy Roberts. As an impressionable schoolgirl, she marvelled at the artistic talent and Victorian sensibilities of the book's renowned creator.
As an adult member of the UK-based Beatrix Potter Society, she secretly harboured plans of one day establishing a Peter Rabbit garden of her own to enjoy with family and friends. Last month, those plans finally came to fruition.
More than two years in the making, Riversdale Estate's Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit Garden and Birthday Centre opened its doors to the book's adoring fans on 30 April.
Roberts and her husband Ian believe the centre is unique in Australia.
It's one of only three tourist attractions worldwide to have been granted exclusive use of the deceased author's intellectual property by UK publishers Frederick Warne & Co Ltd. The two other attractions are located in England.
Beatrix Potter's tale of Peter Rabbit comes to life at Riversdale and gradually unfolds as visitors move around its small enclosed garden. Several dozen book character figurines – some of them animated – feature along the way, hidden among many of the same plant species that appear in the 1901 publication.
Numerous storyboards are strategically placed along the garden's perimeter picket fence and contain text from individual pages of the book. Each is mounted to a paling at head height that's appropriate for a pre-schooler of average build, the owners say.
On completing a leisurely stroll through the Peter Rabbit Garden, visitors are welcomed into the property's adjacent Gift Emporium, where they can browse and purchase from an extensive range of Beatrix Potter paraphernalia.
Potter was remarkably shrewd herself when it came to marketing and merchandising her talents.
On hearing The Tale of Peter Rabbit was about to appear in print commercially in 1902, one of the author's first responses was to plan the construction of a Peter Rabbit doll. She even wrote to her publisher Norman Warne, suggesting themed wallpaper, board games, painting books, and china tea sets featuring her work could also become commercial realities.
Peter Rabbit High Teas – prepared from carefully devised adult and child menus – are possible on the Riversdale site, as well as Peter Rabbit-themed birthday parties.
Bookings are essential. Phone 03 6248 5555.
School groups are especially welcome at the Peter Rabbit Garden. The facility is able to offer supervising staff members appropriate advice and site-specific learning materials, free of charge. They've been created by a qualified classroom teacher.
Bringing to life the book's 115-year old characters and story settings looked easier on paper than it did in reality, Wendy Roberts explains.
"Every single detail in this garden – right down to the actual garden design and its plantings – had to be approved by the UK copyright holders. That included the particular shades of colour used for each and every character depicted. We even had to provide details of the types of plants and vegetables in the garden."
As it turned out, slight adaptations needed to be made to suit the Tasmanian climate and the garden's growing conditions. Weather data stretching back over a century reveal average annual rainfall in this part of the Coal River Valley is less than 500mm. And decreasing.
"Peter Rabbit actually lived in a forest underneath a big fir tree, so we've made a few changes there, too, but generally we have many of the cottage garden plants that you would expect to find in an English garden," Roberts adds.
"A lot of the planting has only been done in the past four months. We've included around 4,000 spring bulbs, so the garden is going to look spectacular in a few months' time."
Riversdale Estate is located at Cambridge – near Hobart Airport – some 20km outside Hobart. It overlooks the internationally significant RAMSAR (UNESCO) wetland of Pitt Water and Orielton Lagoon.
The Robertses' 38ha vineyard was established in 1991 and has since become the Coal River Valley's largest family-owned vineyard.
Its first Chardonnay and Pinot Noir crops were sold to some of Australia's biggest and best known wine companies.
Later additions of Pinot Gris, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah brought further industry interest. In 2008, Riversdale Estate finally released the first of its wines under its own labels, with sales and distribution managed nationally by mainland company, Cellarmasters.
Successive vintages of Chardonnay have won 10 trophies and 30 gold medals in national and international wine competitions. The label is among Australia's most awarded Chardonnay wines.
The Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit Garden and Birthday Centre are both located barely metres away from the vineyard and the estate's impressive new Cellar Door, French Bistro and Orangery. The three developments were only officially opened on 12 January this year.
The businesses operate seven day a week. Hours of operation for each are provided on the Riversdale Estate website.
Ian Roberts notes the current Peter Rabbit initiatives are the latest steps in a 35-year journey of farming and land use diversification that began when he first purchased Riversdale in 1980. He went on to establish one of Tasmania's first Angora goat studs and set a world record price for one of its animals.
"The low margin agricultural activities of dry land farming and livestock grazing that once defined land use in the Coal River Valley are no longer competitive or sustainable in the 21st century," he says.
Fictional rabbits excepted.
Last page update: 12 January 2026