| Strahan Tasmania |
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A view of Strahan taken from a boat in Macquarie Harbour |
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Strahan
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| Population: | 637[1] | ||||||
| Postcode: | 7468 | ||||||
| Elevation: | 20 m (66 ft) [2] | ||||||
| Location: |
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| LGA: | West Coast Council | ||||||
| State District: | Braddon | ||||||
| Federal Division: | Braddon | ||||||
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Strahan (pronounced "straw-n"), is a small town and former port on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is now a significant locality for tourism in the region. Strahan Harbour and Risby Cove form part of the north-east end of Long Bay on the northern end of Macquarie Harbour. At the 2006 census, Strahan had a population of 637.[1]
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Originally developed as a port of access for the mining settlements in the area, Strahan was a vital location for the timber industry that existed around Macquarie Harbour. For a substantial part of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century it also was port for regular shipping of passengers and cargo. The Strahan Marine Board was an important authority dealing with the issues of the port and Macquarie Harbour up until the end of the twentieth century when it was absorbed into the Hobart Marine Board.
Historically Strahan has been a port to a small fishing fleet that braves the west coast conditions and Hell's Gates. It is the nearest inhabited locality to Cape Sorell and is literally the 'gateway' to the south-west wilderness - as boats, planes and helicopters utilise Strahan as their base when travelling into the region.
The Huon Pine industry that utilised stands around the harbour and up the tributary rivers - including King River, the Franklin River and the Gordon River.
The northern shore of Macquarie Harbour is across the bay from Regatta Point, the terminus of the recently-reconstructed West Coast Wilderness Railway.
Strahan is the location of the only all weather commercial airport in Westen Tasmania, Strahan Airport. Also located at the airport is the Automatic Weather Station, an important western Tasmania weather observation point.
Strahan is the base for boat trips to Sarah Island, the notorious penal settlement that garnered the reputation as the harshest penal settlement in the Australian colonies, and the lower Gordon River.
It is the home of the Round Earth Theatre Company, which conducts explanatory tours of Sarah Island and also has produced a daily enactment/play about Sarah Island, The Ship That Never Was, which has exceeded 5000 performances and is Australia's longest running play.
An extinct species of Banksia, fossils of which were found in sediment at nearby Regatta Point, was named Banksia strahanensis after the town.
Strahan has a mild oceanic climate with mild summers and cool winters with uniform rainfall spread throughout the year. However, its wet-winter and drier summer pattern shows some characteristics of a Mediterranean climate. The highest recorded temperature in Strahan was 37.2°C on 14 February 1982, with the lowest being -3°C on 30 June 1983.
| Climate data for Strahan Aerodrome | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 20.7 (69.3) |
21.1 (70.0) |
19.4 (66.9) |
16.5 (61.7) |
14.3 (57.7) |
12.5 (54.5) |
12.2 (54.0) |
13.1 (55.6) |
14.3 (57.7) |
16.0 (60.8) |
17.6 (63.7) |
19.8 (67.6) |
16.5 (61.7) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 10.7 (51.3) |
10.8 (51.4) |
9.6 (49.3) |
8.3 (46.9) |
7.4 (45.3) |
5.2 (41.4) |
5.1 (41.2) |
5.8 (42.4) |
6.1 (43.0) |
7.3 (45.1) |
8.1 (46.6) |
9.6 (49.3) |
7.8 (46.0) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 89.5 (3.524) |
64.9 (2.555) |
101.0 (3.976) |
111.9 (4.406) |
136.5 (5.374) |
163.1 (6.421) |
168.4 (6.63) |
170.4 (6.709) |
152.5 (6.004) |
128.5 (5.059) |
91.0 (3.583) |
92.3 (3.634) |
1,457.4 (57.378) |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology[3] | |||||||||||||