| Swansea Tasmania |
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Morris General Store in the main street of Swansea |
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Swansea
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| Population: | 557 (2006 Census)[1] | ||||||
| Postcode: | 7190 | ||||||
| Elevation: | 11 m (36 ft) [2] | ||||||
| Location: | |||||||
| LGA: | Glamorgan Spring Bay Council | ||||||
| State District: | Lyons | ||||||
| Federal Division: | Lyons | ||||||
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Swansea, Tasmania, Australia is a town located in the centre of Tasmania's east coast, on the northwest 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 2006 census, Swansea had a population of 557.[1]
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The 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 George Meredith, his family and workers arrived from Pembrokeshire, Wales in 1821. 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 museum. Schouten House is a fine early Victorian colonial house built in 1844 and is now a hotel.
Swansea is home to colonies of short tailed shearwaters (muttonbirds) and fairy penguins. The nearby Freycinet National Park has quolls, wallabies, possums and Tasmanian Devils. Offshore, there are dolphins, whales and seals.
| 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) |
38.1 (100.6) |
40.4 (104.7) |
| Average high °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) |
| Average low °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 (24.8) |
−5 (23.0) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
−4 (24.8) |
−1.9 (28.6) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
1.0 (33.8) |
−5 (23.0) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 49.4 (1.945) |
42.7 (1.681) |
50.4 (1.984) |
51.1 (2.012) |
46.1 (1.815) |
57.5 (2.264) |
47.8 (1.882) |
44.0 (1.732) |
41.1 (1.618) |
53.2 (2.094) |
51.6 (2.031) |
59.9 (2.358) |
594.8 (23.417) |
| Avg. 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: [5] | |||||||||||||
According 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.