Burnie is a port city on the north-west coast of
TasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is located south of the eastern side of the continent, from which it is separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania – the 26th largest island in the world – and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 500,000 ,...
, originally settled in 1827 as Emu Bay. The town was renamed for William Burnie - a director of the
Van Diemen's LandVan Diemen's Land was the original name used by Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to explore Tasmania...
Company - in the early 1840s. The city boundary usually includes the outer town of
SomersetSomerset is a small township to the west of Burnie, Tasmania, Australia. Today the city of Burnie encompasses the entire Burnie-Somerset urban area; however, the town is part of the Waratah/Wynyard municipal area.-Geography:...
. Burnie is governed by the
City of BurnieThe City of Burnie is a Local Government Area of Tasmania. It covers the city of Burnie and surrounding areas, although it does not include the town of Somerset - usually classed as part of the Burnie metropolitan area....
Local Government Area.
Key Industries: Papermaking; cheesemaking; Burnie port is the fifth largest container port in Australia; heavy machinery manufacturing; forestry; farming.
A wide range of shops and services.
Burnie is a port city on the north-west coast of
TasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is located south of the eastern side of the continent, from which it is separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania – the 26th largest island in the world – and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 500,000 ,...
, originally settled in 1827 as Emu Bay. The town was renamed for William Burnie - a director of the
Van Diemen's LandVan Diemen's Land was the original name used by Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to explore Tasmania...
Company - in the early 1840s. The city boundary usually includes the outer town of
SomersetSomerset is a small township to the west of Burnie, Tasmania, Australia. Today the city of Burnie encompasses the entire Burnie-Somerset urban area; however, the town is part of the Waratah/Wynyard municipal area.-Geography:...
. Burnie is governed by the
City of BurnieThe City of Burnie is a Local Government Area of Tasmania. It covers the city of Burnie and surrounding areas, although it does not include the town of Somerset - usually classed as part of the Burnie metropolitan area....
Local Government Area.
Economy
Key Industries: Papermaking; cheesemaking; Burnie port is the fifth largest container port in Australia; heavy machinery manufacturing; forestry; farming.
Facilities and Education
A wide range of shops and services. Burnie has a well developed Central Bursiness District with virtually all the well known retail chains available. These include; K-Mart, Coles, Woolworths, & Target. These together with hundreds of secondary specialty retailers make it possible to buy almost anything in Burnie. There are then the "fast food" and takeaway (take-out) restaurants including the multinationals such as; KFC, McDonalds, Subway, Dominos. Coffee and cake (and more) can be had at around 30 or more establishments throughout the CBD.
Just outside the CBD there are other major retailers such as; Harvey Norman Superstore, Spotlight, Godfreys. It has been rumoured for a number of years that the other well known establishments such as Hungry Jacks and Bunnings are going create a outlets here.
Other amenities include multi-function "Burnie Arts and Function Centre" (formerly known as the Civic Centre), post office, police station, supreme court, public and private hospital, as well as numerous sporting and social organisations.
Burnie is also home to the Cradle Coast campus of the
University of TasmaniaThe University of Tasmania is a public Australian university based in Tasmania, Australia. Officially founded on 1 January 1890, it was the fourth university to be established in nineteenth-century Australia...
, and, starting in February '09, a Tasmanian Polytechnic campus and Tasmanian Academy.
Transport
Burnie AirportBurnie Airport , also called Wynyard Airport, is a small regional airport located in Wynyard near the town of Burnie, Tasmania, Australia....
is located in the adjacent town of Wynyard, a 20 minute drive from the City of Burnie.
Burnie Port is Tasmania's largest general cargo port and Australia's fifth largest container port. It is the nearest Tasmanian port to Melbourne.
Burnie is connected with
DevonportDevonport is a city in the north-west of Tasmania, Australia, at the mouth of the Mersey River. It, along with the slightly smaller city of Burnie, is the major regional centres of the north-west of the state...
via the four-lane Bass Highway and a rail link which is used for freight purposes. Burnie is also connected to the
West Coast, TasmaniaThe West Coast of Tasmania is the part of the state that is strongly associated with wilderness, mining, rough country and isolation. As well as that, it was an early convict settlement location in the early stages of Van Diemen's Land....
by the
Murchison HighwayThe Murchison Highway runs from the West Coast of Tasmania to Burnie, and was opened in 1964. The part of the Highway from Waratah to Burnie was known as the Waratah Highway until 1973 at the latest....
.
Bus service
Metro TasmaniaMetro Tasmania is the primary provider of public transport in the Australian state of Tasmania. For bus timetable and route information see the...
provides transport around the city and its suburbs.
Climate
The average temperature in summer ranges from 12.5 to 21 °C with drier days as warm as 30 °C, with around 16 hours of sunlight per day. In winter, temperature ranges from 6 to 13 °C, and only 8 hours of sunlight. Relative humidity averages over 60% for the year in the afternoon.
Burnie averages 994 mm of rainfall per year. Most of the rain is during the cooler months.
Sport
Australian Rules FootballAustralian football, also commonly referred to as Australian rules football, football, or Aussie rules, colloquially as footy, and historically as Australasian football or Victorian football, is a variant of football played between two teams of 18 players, plus four interchange players, outdoors on...
is popular in Burnie, the city's team is the
Burnie Dockers Football ClubBurnie Football Club is an Australian rules football club located in Burnie, Tasmania. Australia.-Club History:The Burnie Dockers were formed as a result of a merger between former TFL Statewide League club Burnie Hawks and NTFL club the Burnie Tigers.
After several years of bitter hatred in...
in the Tasmanian State League.
Rugby UnionRugby union is a full contact team sport, a form of football which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. It is played with an oval-shaped ball, outdoors on a level field, usually with a grass surface, 100 m...
is also played in Burnie. The local club is the
Burnie Rugby Union ClubBurnie Rugby Union Club is a Rugby Union club in Tasmania. Established in 1961, Ribernated in the late 1980's and Reformed in 1997, the club is a member of the Tasmanian Rugby Union, affliated with the Australian Rugby Union and plays in the Tasmanian Statewide League men's First Division.The...
. They are the current
Tasmanian Rugby UnionThe Tasmanian Rugby Union Est. 1933 is responsible for rugby union in the Australian state of Tasmania, and is part of the Australian Rugby Union....
Statewide Division Two Premiers and were promoted to the Statewide First Division for the 2009 season. Their nickname is "The Mighty Emus". The club has been in existence since 1953 but at the end of the 1980s, were forced into a temporary absence from all competitions and relinquishing their place in the Statewide First Division.http://burnie.rugbynet.com.au/ Their home ground is McKenna Park Sporting Complex located on 3 Mile Line.
Media
The AdvocateThe Advocate is a local newspaper of Burnie, Tasmania, Australia. Its readership includes other North West Tasmanian towns, such as Ulverstone, Devonport, Penguin, etc.Published by the Harris Group, The Advocate is read by 91% of Burnie residents...
is the region's newspaper, its mailroom is located in Burnie while press operations were ceased in mid-2008 and relocated to Launceston.
Burnie has access to the
ABCThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC", is Australia's national public broadcaster. With a total budget of AUD$1.13 Billion annually, the corporation provides television, radio, online and mobile services throughout metropolitan and regional Australia, as well as...
,
SBSThe Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
,
WINWIN Television is an Australian television network owned by the WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single Wollongong-only station, and has since expanded to 24 owned-and-operated stations with transmissions...
and Southern Cross television stations. The fifth channel,
Tasmanian Digital TelevisionTasmanian Digital Television is a digital television station in Tasmania, Australia. It is jointly owned by the WIN Corporation and Macquarie Media Group, and largely managed by WIN Television.-Introduction:...
, has recently started transmitting from the tower at Round Hill, East of the suburb of South Burnie.
There is one commercial radio station, 7BU at 558 kHz on the mediumwave band. Many
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital city and most populous city of the State of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne city centre is the anchor of the larger geographical area and statistical division known as the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area – of which Melbourne is...
radio stations can be received in Burnie.
A Newspaper also runs from its head quarters located in the city.
The AdvocateThe Advocate is a local newspaper of Burnie, Tasmania, Australia. Its readership includes other North West Tasmanian towns, such as Ulverstone, Devonport, Penguin, etc.Published by the Harris Group, The Advocate is read by 91% of Burnie residents...
has operated in the city since 1890 and covers the west and north-west of
TasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is located south of the eastern side of the continent, from which it is separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania – the 26th largest island in the world – and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 500,000 ,...
Burnie Burns of the Machinima company Roosterteeth, creator of the famed series Red vs Blue had an exchange with the local politicians of Burnie after they tried to acquire a domain name he had under "Burnie.com". In trying to buy the domain from Burns, Burns requested that they build a statue of him and have a parade in his honour.
Notable people from Burnie
- The Bedroom Philosopher
The Bedroom Philosopher is the performance persona of Australian comedian, author, actor and songwriter Justin Heazlewood.-2002-2005 Living On The Edge Of My Bed:The Bedroom Philosopher began in 2002, when he regularly appeared on Triple J's The Morning Show...
, musician and comedian
- Alastair Lynch
Alastair Graeme Lynch is an Australian Football League full forward from Burnie, Tasmania who had a highly-successful career, despite chronic illness and injury.-Fitzroy Football Club:...
, Australian rules footballer
- Eddie Jones, rugby union footballer and coach
- The Hom, University student well known for losing and breaking things
External links