Launceston, Tasmania

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Launceston Tasmania
Launceston City
Population:	103,200 (2006) (18th)
Established:	1805
Time zone:  • Summer (DST)	AEST (UTC+10) AEDT (UTC+11)
Location:	198 km from Hobart 98 km from Devonport 63 km from Scottsdale

Launceston is a small city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia, population approximately 103,000, located at the juncture of the North Esk, South Esk, and Tamar rivers. It is the second largest city in Tasmania after the state capital Hobart and the eighteenth largest in Australia. Like many Australian towns, it was named after a town in the United Kingdom—in this case, Launceston, Cornwall. (Note, however, that while the Cornish Launceston is pronounced /ˈlɔːns(t)ən/ or /ˈlɑːns(t)ən/, the Australian one is pronounced /ˈlɒnsəstən/.)

Contents 1 History 2 Government 3 Geography and landmarks 4 Transport 5 Culture, sport, notable achievements 5.1 Launceston Firsts 5.2 Inveresk Precinct 5.3 Sport 6 Industry 7 Notable People from Launceston 8 Sister cities 9 External links

[edit] History

Europeans originally settled at the mouth of the Tamar River at George Town in 1804 but moved to the present site of Launceston in 1805. As such, it is Australia's third oldest city (after Sydney and Hobart) and has many historical buildings and sights. Between 1803 until the proclamation of Van Diemen's Land in 1823, Launceston was the administrative capital of one the dependencies of New South Wales on the island.

Launceston was once the home of John Batman (see History of Melbourne). From Launceston, Batman planned and designed the city of Melbourne, and in 1834 he sailed with John Pascoe Fawkner across Bass Strait to settle at Port Phillip, Victoria. (Note: The spelling of John Batman's surname is Bateman in some literature.)

For some years after 1848, Launceston was the place of exile of the Irish nationalist leader Terence MacManus where his cottage still stands.

[edit] Government

Almost the entire city is part of the City of Launceston Local Government Area. Some outer suburbs are part of adjacent council districts; Riverside and Legana are part of the West Tamar Council; Prospect and Blackstone Heights are part of the Meander Valley Council.

[edit] Geography and landmarks

Launceston serves as the commercial hub for the north of the state and, like many parts of Tasmania, is a major tourist centre. Some points of attraction are:

• The Cataract Gorge, a natural wonder of Tasmania and only five minutes walk from the city
• The City Park, which includes an enclosure for Japanese Macaque monkeys, a gift from the sister-city of Ikeda, Japan
• The Tamar River and tributaries
• The Tamar Valley, which is home to some of Australia's best vineyards
• The Boags Brewery, which produces one of Australia's premium beers.
• Aurora Stadium - the venue of the siren debacle, see below for link.

The city is home to a large collection of magnificently preserved Victorian architecture.

The Launceston General Hospital is one of 3 major public hospitals in the state. The Launceston Remand Centre serves as the area's detention facility.

Launceston is the hub for the state's medical retrieval service. The Royal Flying Doctor Service is serviced by the state's ambulance service, and doctors from the Launceston General Hospital.

The University of Tasmania has a large campus close to the city, at Newnham. The Australian Maritime College is located on the grounds.

[edit] Transport

Launceston has a public bus service operated by the Tasmanian government owned company Metro Tasmania. Buses operate on regular time tables and take commuters between city suburbs. Services run from most stops per half hour, Monday to Friday and with fewer services on weekends.

Launceston is the hub of five of the state's major highways:

• The Midlands Highway, the primary route to Hobart
• The Bass Highway, the primary route to Devonport and Burnie
• The Tasman Highway, the alternate scenic route to Hobart via Scottsdale and the east coast.
• The West Tamar Highway and East Tamar Highway, on either side of the Tamar River.

The city is served by Launceston Airport (IATA code LST), just south-east of the city. There are direct flights to and from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

The Tamar river is used for tourist cruises.

Although there is no passenger rail system in Tasmania, the main freight rail route links Launceston with Hobart.

Like many of the larger cities in Australia, Launceston operated a tramway system between 1911 and 1952, which consisted of 29 trams and was first planned in 1909 after observations of efficiently working systems in Melbourne and Adelaide. It was ripped up to make way for cars and buses and a single tramway museum is all that remains.

[edit] Culture, sport, notable achievements

[edit] Launceston Firsts

Launceston was the home of several firsts:

• first use of anaesthetic in Southern Hemisphere
• first Australian city to have underground sewers
• first Australian city to be lit by hydro-electricity (see Duck Reach Power Station)
• longest single span chairlift in the world at the Cataract Gorge
• first telephone call in Australia
• first laminated tennis racket
• first use of two way radios in taxis
• first shopping mall in Australia
• first breeding of seahorses in captivity, in the world
• first First-class cricket game played in Australia (at the NTCA Ground between Tasmania and Victoria)
• youngest female elected mayor in Australia

Launceston was recently the home of the Gone South music festival.

[edit] Inveresk Precinct

This precinct, near Royal Park, hosts the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (the largest museum and art gallery in Australia located outside a capital city), Chinese Temple, Railway Workshops and a Planetarium. The latest edition to the precinct is the new Launceston Tramway Museum. Included in the museum is the fully restored No 29 tram, the fully restored 'Mary St' shelter shed and a host of memorabilia. The restoration has taken place over a number of years by volunteers and the museum is entirely run by volunteers.

[edit] Sport

Launceston is the home of Aurora Stadium (a.k.a. York Park), which is the state's only first-class sports ground equipped with lights for evening games. It hosts several first class Australian rules events, including the Northern Tasmanian Football League and Victorian Football League team, the Tasmanian Devils Football Club. The Melbourne team Hawthorn (and previously St Kilda) have played a small number of AFL (Australian football) games there each year.

There is heated (but friendly) rivalry between residents of Launceston and the southern capital Hobart. The AFL games mentioned above are an example — Hobart residents are disappointed about missing out — while Hobart hosts all international cricket games played in the state at the Bellerive Oval.

Launceston is also the city where the controversial finish to the St Kilda v Fremantle game occured, on April 30, 2006.

[edit] Industry

Launceston is a major service centre for the north of the island of Tasmania, powering a small finance, education and entertainment industries.

The city is also has a large minerals and manufacturing base. Air quality is a concern in the city, which has the highest levels of atmospheric pollution in the state [1].

It is also a hub for the major agricultural region.

Tourism is also an industry in the city.

[edit] Notable People from Launceston

• David Boon (cricket player)
• Ricky Ponting (cricket player)
• Peter Sculthorpe (composer)
• Marcos Ambrose (racing car driver)
• Allan Stone (tennis player)

[edit] Sister cities

• Ikeda, Japan (1965)
• Seremban, Malaysia (1976)
• Napa, United States of America (1988)
• Taiyuan, Peoples Republic of China (1995)

[edit] External links

Coordinates: -41.442° 147.145°

• Maps and aerial photos
  • Street map from Street Directory, MSN Maps and Multimap.
  • Satellite image from Google Maps, WikiMapia and Terraserver.

Localities of Launceston, Tasmania
City of Launceston:	Alanvale - East Launceston - Glen Dhu - Invermay - Inveresk - Kings Meadows - Launceston - Mayfield - Mowbray - Newnham - Newstead - Norwood - Punchbowl - Ravenswood - Rocherlea - Sandhill - South Launceston - St Leonards - Summerhill - Trevallyn - Waverley - West Launceston - Youngtown
Municipality of Meander Valley:	Blackstone Heights | Prospect