Bicheno, Tasmania
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Bicheno is a town on the east coast of Tasmania, Australia. It lies 185 km north-east of Hobart on the Tasman Highway, and has a population of 771 (2001 census [1]). It is part of the Municipality of Glamorgan/Spring Bay. The town is primarily a fishing port and a beach resort.
The town was named after James Ebenezer Bicheno who was the British Colonial Secretary for Van Diemen's Land from 1843-1851.
From 1803 Bicheno was used as a whaling port. Waubs Boat Harbour (Bicheno's previous name) was used as a base for the sealers and whalers.
The first historical reference to the place that was to become Bicheno, was made by James Kelly during his circumnavigation of Van Dieman's Land. He landed at a place to be called later Waubs' Harbour, and still later Bicheno, to dry his provisions. Bicheno was not proclaimeda township until 1866.
Near the tennis courts is the grave of Waubedebar (after whom Waub's Harbour was named), an aboriginal stolen as a teenager from her tribe by sealers became a "sealers woman." One day when Waubedebar was out fishing with her husband and another sealer, a storm arose and smashed their boat. Her husband was injured. Although the accident occurred about 1 kilometre from the shore, Waubedebar helped him to safety. She then plunged back into the heavy seas to rescue the second man.
The respect in which she was held by the settlers, was signified by the head stone they erected in her honour when she died. The fenced grave is there still. The headstone reads “Here lies - Waubedebar a female aborigine of Van Diemen’s land, died June 1832, aged 40 years.”
The hinterland was established for farming in the mid 1840's and continues in this industry today.
Coal was discovered in 1848. In 1854 the harbour was expanded to provide port facilities for the coal mines at Denison River. The coal was transported to the port via a 5km horse-drawn tramway from the mines. The Gulch, located between Gulch Road and Governors Island, still has metal rings in the rocks where the coal ships would moor while the coal was being loaded.
The use of Bicheno as a coal port was short-lived. The discovery of gold in Victoria saw most of the town's residents depart in 1855 and for nearly a century Bicheno became a sleepy little fishing village.
Fishing has continued to be the lifeblood of the town and although, in recent times, it has become a popular tourist destination, along with many other towns in the area, due to the warmer weather on the east coast of the state.
The local fishing industry's catch includes substantial quantities of crayfish, abalone, scallops and trevally.
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