Dodges Ferry is a small township on the eastern side of the entrance to Pittwater in south eastern Tasmania. Dodges Ferry was named after Ralph Dodge (1791-1871) who operated a ferry service across Pittwater from the 1820s. It is now a popular tourist locale.

Where Is it?

Dodges Ferry is 40 km east of Hobart, 13 km south of Sorell.

Like many of the settlements on Frederick Henry Bay, Dodges Ferry has long been a popular holiday resort for Tasmanians, especially for families. With sandy beaches and rocky headlands close at hand, it lies at the entrance to the Pittwater estuary and has a reputation for safe swimming, fishing and boating. Until the 1960s, Dodges Ferry comprised mainly of beach shacks, but an influx of Hobart commuters has seen a change to more modern, larger homes and facilities.

Tiger Head Beach is the main beach at Dodges Ferry. The beach is low and narrow, usually calm, and backed by numerous boat sheds, together with a boat ramp, two jetties and several boats usually moored off the beach.
Red Ochre Beach is a protected west-facing beach located on the north side of Spectacle Head and is divided into two sections by a 50 m long central outcrop of low rocks and boulders. The northern half consists of a wider sandy high tide beach and low hummocky foredune, with a narrow shallow bar and the Blue Lagoon Reserve backing the southern end.

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Carlton Beach

Carlton Beach is a popular summer surfing beach located 40 km east of Hobart to the east of Dodges Ferry. The Carlton Beach Road runs off the Carlton Road and provides good access to the beach. The beach is 2.7 km long and faces south-southwest towards the entrance to Frederick Henry Bay 15 km to the south. The Carlton River mouth, its deep inlet and neighbouring Carlton Bluff form the eastern boundary with 20 m high Spectacle Head to the west. While the beach is set deep within Frederick Henry Bay, owing to its southerly orientation it receives most southerly swell entering the bay, with waves averaging about 1 m and occasionally higher.

Okines Beach is located immediately north of Dodges Ferry and runs north for 1 km forming the eastern shore of the inner entrance to Pittwater. The beach is sheltered by the entrance tidal shoals and its estuarine location with usually calm conditions at the shore.