Swansea is a town in the heart of Tasmania's east coast, on the north-west shore of Great Oyster Bay and overlooking Freycinet National Park. It was the first municipality in Australia to be established after Hobart and Sydney. At the 2021 census, Swansea had a population of 997.
| Swansea Tasmania | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Morris' General Store in the main street of Swansea | |||||||||
  Swansea | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 42°08′S 148°05′E / 42.133°S 148.083°E | ||||||||
| Population | 997 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 7190 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 11 m (36 ft)[2] | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
| LGA(s) | Glamorgan Spring Bay Council | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Lyons | ||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Lyons | ||||||||
| |||||||||
The town was formed in 1821 and celebrated its 200th birthday in 2021.
History
editThe first European to explore the Swansea area was Captain John Henry Cox sailing from England to Sydney. He took his ship, the Mercury, up the eastern coast of Tasmania. On 3 July 1789, having heard of vast colonies of seals in the area, he sailed along the western shore of Maria Island and into a stretch of water he named Oyster Bay.[3]
Swansea was not settled until 1821 when more British settlers, George Meredith, his family and workers, arrived from Pembrokeshire, Wales. Meredith obtained a grant from Lieutenant Governor William Sorell to farm in the area around Oyster Bay. The land was developed and made suitable for seasonal crops and grazing stock and a tannery and flour mill were established by the Meredith River. Whaling stations were also set up on nearby islands to enable the export of whale oil.[4] Swansea was originally called Great Swanport and Meredith built the family home, Cambria, which is now in private hands. There are other important buildings in the town including Morris’ General Store which has been owned and run by the Morris family for over 100 years. The Swansea Bark Mill which processed black wattle bark was used in colonial times in the tanning industry and is now a combined museum, tavern and bakery. Schouten House is a fine early Victorian colonial house built in 1844 and is now a hotel.
Waterloo Point Post Office opened on 6 September 1832 and was renamed Swansea around 1863.[5]
Notable residents
edit- William Lyne, politician who served as Premier of New South Wales from 1899 to 1901, and later as a federal cabinet minister under Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin.
- Violet Mace, potter known for the 'proclamation cup', based on Governor Davey's Proclamation.
Wildlife
editSwansea is home to colonies of short-tailed shearwaters (muttonbirds) and little penguins. The nearby Freycinet National Park has quolls, wallabies, native microbats, possums and Tasmanian devils. Offshore, there are dolphins, whales and seals.
Climate
edit| Climate data for Swansea | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 40.4 (104.7) |
39.2 (102.6) |
36.8 (98.2) |
30.1 (86.2) |
27.0 (80.6) |
21.1 (70.0) |
24.0 (75.2) |
24.3 (75.7) |
29.6 (85.3) |
33.9 (93.0) |
36.0 (96.8) |
41.1 (106.0) |
41.1 (106.0) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22.2 (72.0) |
22.1 (71.8) |
20.9 (69.6) |
18.6 (65.5) |
15.9 (60.6) |
13.8 (56.8) |
13.3 (55.9) |
14.2 (57.6) |
16.0 (60.8) |
17.7 (63.9) |
19.1 (66.4) |
20.6 (69.1) |
17.9 (64.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 11.7 (53.1) |
11.8 (53.2) |
10.3 (50.5) |
8.2 (46.8) |
6.2 (43.2) |
4.4 (39.9) |
3.6 (38.5) |
4.4 (39.9) |
5.8 (42.4) |
7.2 (45.0) |
9.0 (48.2) |
10.5 (50.9) |
7.8 (46.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 2.4 (36.3) |
1.3 (34.3) |
0.0 (32.0) |
−1.3 (29.7) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
−5.0 (23.0) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
−4.0 (24.8) |
−1.9 (28.6) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
1.0 (33.8) |
−5.0 (23.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 49.4 (1.94) |
42.7 (1.68) |
50.4 (1.98) |
51.1 (2.01) |
46.1 (1.81) |
57.5 (2.26) |
47.8 (1.88) |
44.0 (1.73) |
41.1 (1.62) |
53.2 (2.09) |
51.6 (2.03) |
59.9 (2.36) |
594.8 (23.42) |
| Average rainy days | 8.4 | 7.3 | 9.0 | 9.5 | 9.6 | 10.6 | 10.9 | 10.8 | 11.0 | 11.6 | 10.3 | 10.0 | 119.0 |
| Source: [6][7] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
editAccording to the 1996 census, the town's population was 495. Of the population, 25.1% were above the age of 65 – making it the Tasmanian town with the largest percentage of over-65-year-olds.
References
edit- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Swanseas (Tas.)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
- ^ Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved on 14 November 2007
- ^ http://www.mariaislandferry.com.au/Maria_Island_Facts_&_History.html Archived 15 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine accessed on 23 February 2009
- ^ David Hodgson. "Meredith, George (1777–1856)". www.adb.online.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
- ^ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ "Climate statistics for Swansea". Bureau of Meteorology.
- ^ "Highest daily maximum temperatures for Tasmania – 30 December 2019". www.bom.gov.au. Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 3 January 2020.