Here’s everything you need to know about the Welcome Function for MP26, including transfer information, how to play the Pin Culture Game, and how to enter to win a getaway on Tasmania’s east coast.
Welcome Function – Mona
6:00pm to 9:00pm, Monday 26 October 2026
Transfers
To the function – Your Welcome Function transfers begin from Brooke Street Pier with ferries and coaches transferring all guests to Mona for a very Tasmanian evening of entertainment, food and beverages, and a few surprises along the way.
To make sure you are on time for your scheduled departure, please be at Brooke Street Pier no later than 5:15pm.
Many hotels are within walking distance to the pier, however coach pick-ups from buyer hotels will also be operating, starting from 4:45pm.
| Coach 1 departures | Coach 2 departures | Coach 3 departures |
|---|---|---|
| 4:45pm – Wrest Point | 4:50pm – MACq01 Hotel | 4:55pm – Wrest Point |
| 5:00pm – 60 Harrington Street (DoubleTree and Ibis Styles) |
5:00pm – Hotel Grand Chancellor | 5:15pm – Crowne Plaza Hobart |
| 5:10pm – Hadley’s Orient Hotel | 5:10pm – The Old Woolstore | 5:20pm – Arrive Brooke Street Pier |
| 5:15pm – 105 Macquarie Street (Movenpick Hobart) |
5:20pm – Arrive Brooke Street Pier | |
| 5:20pm – Arrive Brooke Street Pier |
From the function – Transfers from Mona will be by ferry and coach, with first departures scheduled for 8:45pm and last departure at 9:15pm.
Ferries will drop off at Brooke Street Pier where you can make your own way back to your accommodation or kick on in one of Hobart’s many bars and hotels. Coaches will drop off at buyer hotels.
The Whaler
Feel like a nightcap? The Whaler Hotel is one of Hobart’s institutions. Right on Salamanca Place, moments from Brooke Street Pier, it’s our recommendation for a snifter of something local after the Welcome Function. Check out the location on the map below or visit The Whaler.
Pin, Meet, Swap, Pin, Repeat
During the Welcome Function transfers to Mona, you will receive four identical pins featuring the same Tassie animal, but there are three others to collect during MP26 – each a different species.
Your fellow MP26 delegates all have different animal pins to yours, and if you collect one of each of the four animals, you could win a great Tasmanian prize.
So how do you collect the full set? That’s the fun bit…
- Clip all four pins to your lanyard
- Strike up conversations with other delegates at MP26
- See if you both have pins you need to grow your collection
- Make the deal and swap pins
- Repeat
When you get the full set of four different animals, enter the draw to win a great Tassie prize. The winner will be drawn at random at the MP26 Gala Dinner. The person drawn must be present at the dinner and produce the correct set of four pins to claim the prize.
Thank you to everyone who entered. The draw is now closed.
Pins designed in Tasmania by Jennifer Cossins, Red Parka.
Support for Our Tasmanian Pin Animals
Swapping pins and making connections is a great way to make your MP26 experience last beyond the event. If you’d like to make an even greater impact, we encourage you to support the following fundraising efforts to help protect these native species…
Tasmanian devil / Sarcophilus harrisii
The world's largest surviving carnivorous marsupial, known for its toothy gape and rowdy communal feeds, it faces the ongoing threat of Devil Facial Tumour Disease.
Donate to the Tasmanian Devil Appeal (UTAS)
Spotted handfish / Brachionichthys hirsutus
Small enough to sit in your palm, it "walks" the sea floor on hand-like fins. Critically endangered and found almost nowhere but Hobart’s Derwent Estuary.
Support spotted handfish conservation
Orange-bellied parrot / Neophema chrysogaster
With fewer than 70 remaining in the wild, this colourful bird’s last known breeding site is in Tasmania’s Wilderness World Heritage Area.
Support Friends of the Orange-bellied Parrot (Wildcare)
Eastern quoll / Dasyurus viverrinus
Ginger-brown or black, with white spots on the body, quolls disappeared from the mainland 60 years ago, and their numbers in Tasmania are dwindling.
Adopt an eastern quoll (WWF-Australia)
Tasmania House by Hobart Airport
Join us throughout MP26 for a taste of Tassie at Tasmania House by Hobart Airport.
This dedicated networking area at Princes Wharf 1 (PW1), proudly supported by Hobart Airport, is a place to unwind and connect between meetings. Located at the entry to PW1 and the B2B sessions, here you’ll find complimentary coffee and tea, as well as a range of Tasmanian producers sharing their food, drink, goods and stories.
There will be tastings and samples, and you’ll also be able to purchase goods from our producers, letting you take a piece of our island home back to yours. We can safely store any purchases you make for collection at the end of the day or following day.
A word from Norris Carter, Chief Executive Officer, Hobart Airport
It’s a pleasure to welcome you to Tasmania for ATEC Meeting Place 2026.
Hobart Airport is the gateway to Tasmania for two thirds of people travelling to and from our island. Our team is focused on making sure we have the airline connectivity and capacity we need to grow our international visitor economy.
We have good connections to international markets around the world through the key Australian hubs in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. We also have a growing direct connection to Auckland in New Zealand, not only serving the NZ market but also North America and the Pacific.
While travellers can already connect seamlessly through these hubs, we’re working towards connecting Hobart with non-stop flights to the Asian hubs of Hong Kong and Singapore, to make it even faster and easier to get here.
We’re most of the way through an investment of around $500 million in our airport to cater for growth and provide a fitting first and last impression of Tasmania for our international visitors.
I hope you enjoy your time here, make the most of the connections Meeting Place provides, and experience a little of what makes Tasmania such a special place to visit.
See you in Hobart.
Norris