Burnie, Tasmania, Australia

View of Burnie, Tasmania, from above, with Table Cape in the background
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Burnie-parklands-20120203-004.jpg
Author: Ghouston


Burnie is a town on the northwestern coast of Tasmania, Australia. It has a population of 21,000 people (2012 estimate).

Burnie was founded in 1827 and was originally called Emu Bay. A few years earlier, a group of London businessmen got together and established the Van Diemen's Land Company. The company was granted a Royal Charter in 1825, allowing it to develop a 250,000-acre land in northwest Tasmania, including the site where Emu Bay is located.

The Van Diemen's Land Company established a township of its own at Emu Bay some time in the 1840s. The township was named after a director of the company, one William Burnie. In the course of establishing and developing the land, the Van Diemen's Land Company caused much destruction to the local wildlife and has been blamed for the extinction of the Tasmanian tiger.

Burnie Port developed into the main port for Tasmania and the fifth largest container port in Australia. Much of its cargo heads for mainland Australia particularly Melbourne.

West Beach in Burnie
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beach-Burnie-20120808-005.jpg
Author: Gary Houston

Visiting Burnie

There are regular flights from Melbourne to Burnie Airport on Regional Express.

Places of Interest in Burnie

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