Rosebery, Tasmania

Municipality of West Coast Local Government Areas of Tasmania
Queenstown Rosebery Strahan Zeehan

Rosebery ( 41°46′S, 145°32′E) is a town on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is situated at the northern end of the West Coast Range, in the shadow of Mount Black and adjacent to the Pieman River now Lake Pieman.

It lies on the Murchison Highway, 25 kilometres north east of Zeehan. It has a population of 1,115 (2001 census) and is part of the Municipality of West Coast Council.

The population of Rosebery declined by 22% in the years between 1996-2001. [1]

Its newer western area on the shore of Lake Pieman is known as Primrose.

Its postcode is 7470.

[edit] Mining and railways

Above-ground workings at the Rosebery mine

Like most of the west coast, Rosebery is a mining town. In the 1890s, gold, lead, zinc and copper were all discovered in the area. This lasted until the mine's closure in 1913. In 1927 the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company revived the mines, and today the mines are still running (owned and operated by Zinifex Limited).

Prior to the construction of the Murchison Highway in the 1960s, the town connected with Burnie and North West Tasmania via the Emu Bay Railway.

Blainey, Geoffrey (2000). The Peaks of Lyell, 6th ed., Hobart: St. David's Park Publishing. ISBN 0-7246-2265-9.
Rae, Lou (2001). The Abt Railway and Railways of the Lyell region. Sandy Bay: Lou Rae. ISBN 0-9592098-7-5.
Whitham, Charles. Western Tasmania - A land of riches and beauty, Reprint 2003, Queenstown: Municipality of Queenstown.