155-424: Burnie ( / ˈ b ɜː r n i / BER -nee ; pirinilaplu / palawa kani : pataway ) is a port city located on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia . It is the fourth largest city on the island, located approximately 325 kilometres (202 mi) north-west of the state capital of Hobart , 147 kilometres (91 mi) north-west of Launceston , and 47 kilometres (29 mi) west of Devonport . As of
310-571: A public-listed Australian company that, as of 2018, owns and operates feedlots and farms covering around seven million hectares (17 million acres) of land in Queensland and the Northern Territory , roughly one percent of Australia's land mass. As of July 2008 AACo had a staff of 500 and operated 24 cattle stations and two feedlots, consisting of over 565,000 beef cattle . Since 2022, more than half
465-408: A board to inquire into the conditions at Wybalenna that rejected Robinson's claims regarding improved living conditions and found the settlement to be a failure. The report was never released and the government continued to promote Wybalenna as a success in the treatment of Aboriginal people. In March 1847 six Aboriginal people at Wybalenna presented a petition to Queen Victoria , the first petition to
620-682: A central economic hub. Freight rail is operated by Tasrail , and remains central to Burnie’s industrial and port activities. Now known as the Melba Line , Burnie was previously the terminus of the former Emu Bay Railway company operations. Historically, Burnie had passenger rail services, which were operated by the Tasmanian Government Railways (TGR) until the late 1970s. Known as the Tasman Limited , these services connected Burnie with other towns, primarily along
775-404: A city in 1988. At its peak in the mid 1980s, Burnie had a population exceeding 20,500, thriving as a bustling industrial centre. However, the town's success came with environmental consequences. During the 1970s, the production of titanium dioxide by Tioxide led to heavy pollution, turning the sea rust-red from effluent. Burnie also developed a reputation as one of Tasmania’s most polluted towns,
930-591: A document claiming they were extinct. A dispute exists within the Tasmanian Aboriginal community, however, over what constitutes Aboriginality . The Palawa, mainly descendants of white male sealers and Tasmanian Aboriginal women who settled on the Bass Strait Islands, were given the power to decide who is of Tasmanian Aboriginal descent at the state level (entitlement to government Aboriginal services). Palawa recognise only descendants of
1085-483: A dozen and, by 1869, there was only one, who died in 1876. Commenting in 1899 on Robinson's claims of success, anthropologist Henry Ling Roth wrote: While Robinson and others were doing their best to make them into a civilised people, the poor blacks had given up the struggle, and were solving the difficult problem by dying. The very efforts made for their welfare only served to hasten on their inevitable doom. The white man's civilisation proved scarcely less fatal than
1240-410: A drastic drop in numbers within three decades, so that by 1835 only some 400 full-blooded Tasmanian Aboriginal people survived, most of this remnant being incarcerated in camps where all but 47 died within the following 12 years. No consensus exists as to the cause, over which a major controversy arose. The traditional view, still affirmed, held that this dramatic demographic collapse was the result of
1395-618: A failed attempt to secure a buyer, marked the end of an era for one of the city's most iconic industries. Despite the mill’s closure, forestry remains an important part of Burnie's economy, with woodchip exports continuing through the Burnie Chip Export Terminal, colloquially known as the "Pyramids of Burnie". While heavy manufacturing and forestry continue to be significant, Burnie has sought to diversify its economy in recent years, exploring opportunities in renewable energy, tourism, and education. The Marinus Link project
1550-414: A few months after the establishment of the first British settlements at Risdon Cove and Hobart. The 1804 Risdon Cove massacre resulted in a large number of Aboriginal people being killed after an attack by British soldiers and settlers. A boy whose parents were killed in the massacre was taken and given the name Robert Hobart May . This boy became the first Indigenous Tasmanian to have extended contact with
1705-585: A future leader in Tasmania’s renewable energy sector. By 2024, the city is set to be a key player in the proposed North West Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), a project designed to foster investment in large-scale wind and solar energy developments. The Marinus Link , a high-voltage direct current submarine power cable, is also planned to connect Tasmania’s renewable energy supply to mainland Australia, potentially generating 1,400 local jobs and bringing an estimated $ 3 billion in economic investment. Current proposals for
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#17327729818601860-470: A grant of 500,000 acres (200,000 ha), while Bathurst approved a smaller allotment of 250,000 acres (100,000 ha), the company received a Royal Charter in 1825, giving it broad authority to cultivate land, and build housing and wharves to support colonial development within a 250,000-acre (100,000 ha) area in North-West Tasmania. Oakleigh Park, close to Burnie’s business centre,
2015-566: A median household income of $ 1,148 per week, lower than the national median of $ 1,746. The city's unemployment rate was around 8.1%, higher than the national rate of 5.1%. These figures suggest some economic challenges in the area, although Burnie's role as a regional port and industrial centre still gives it economic significance within Tasmania. Burnie also has a notable Indigenous population, with around 8.5% of residents identifying as First Nations people or Torres Strait Islander , higher than
2170-462: A native woman at Emu Bay by shooting her and cutting her neck with an axe. Goldie then kidnapped the woman's five-year-old daughter and another woman. After an investigation, Goldie resigned from his position. Meanwhile, the VDL Company faced difficulties. By 1833, sheep farming at Surrey Hills had failed due to cold conditions, resulting in the near abandonment of the area. Throughout the 1840s,
2325-463: A non-English language. In terms of religion, 53.4% of Burnie's population reported no religious affiliation, while 38.8% identified with a Christian denomination, including 11.4% as Catholic and 11.2% as Anglican . Other religious groups include Hinduism (0.9%), Buddhism (0.7%), Islam (0.6%), and Sikhism (0.2%). Burnie has a oceanic climate ( Köppen: Cfb), with very mild, relatively dry summers and cool, rainy winters. Seasonal variation
2480-423: A number of distinct ethnic groups . For much of the 20th century, the Tasmanian Aboriginal people were widely, and erroneously, thought of as extinct and intentionally exterminated by white settlers. Contemporary figures (2016) for the number of people of Tasmanian Aboriginal descent vary according to the criteria used to determine this identity, ranging from 6,000 to over 23,000. First arriving in Tasmania (then
2635-561: A peninsula of Australia) around 40,000 years ago, the ancestors of the Aboriginal Tasmanians were cut off from the Australian mainland by rising sea levels c. 6000 BC. They were entirely isolated from the outside world for 8,000 years until European contact. Before British colonisation of Tasmania in 1803, there were an estimated 3,000–15,000 Aboriginal Tasmanians. The Aboriginal Tasmanian population suffered
2790-400: A period of economic uncertainty for the town. Despite these setbacks leading to unstable population and inconsistent investment, Burnie began to reinvent itself in the 1990s. The Lion cheese-making factory remained a major employer, and efforts were made to diversify the city’s economy. By the 2000s, Burnie shifted toward tourism and the arts. It became known for its clean beaches, inclusion on
2945-527: A position whereby they were willing to surrender to Robinson and move to Flinders Island . European and Aboriginal casualties, including the Aboriginal residents who were captured, may be considered as reasonably accurate. The figures for the Aboriginal population shot is likely a substantial undercount. In late 1831, Robinson brought the first 51 Aboriginal people to a settlement on Flinders Island named The Lagoons, which turned out to be inadequate as it
3100-525: A reigning monarch from any Aboriginal group in Australia, requesting that the promises made to them be honoured. In October 1847, the 47 survivors were transferred to their final settlement at Oyster Cove station. Only 44 survived the trip (11 couples, 12 single men and 10 children) and the children were immediately sent to the orphan school in Hobart. Although the housing and food was better than Wybalenna,
3255-404: A representative, James Munro , to appeal to Governor George Arthur and argue for the women's return, on the basis that they wanted to stay with their sealer husbands and children rather than marry Aboriginal men unknown to them. Arthur ordered the return of some of the women. Shortly thereafter, Robinson began to disseminate stories, told to him by James Munro, of atrocities allegedly committed by
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#17327729818603410-505: A self-acting inclined plane railway (two loaded wagons going down hauled another two emptied ones up). They were then pushed by hand, assisted by gravity, along a graded wooden trestle. It crossed a sandy area, now occupied by Hunter Street and the Great Northern Railway, to a loading staith at which small ships could berth while coal was tipped into their holds. The AACo constructed a total of three gravitational railways:
3565-418: A significant debate was generated which split the colonists along class lines. The "higher grade" saw the hanging as a dangerous precedent and argued that Aboriginal people were only defending their land and should not be punished for doing so. The "lower grade" of colonists wanted more Aboriginal people hanged to encourage a "conciliatory line of conduct". Governor Arthur sided with the "lower grade" and 1825 saw
3720-532: A significant industrial milestone for Burnie, positioning it as a key player in Australia’s paper production. The city also became a centre for woodchip exports, with the construction of the woodchip terminal further bolstering its role in the forestry supply chain. However, the decline of the paper industry signaled a major economic shift for Burnie. The closure of the Burnie Paper Mill in 2010, after
3875-561: A situation highlighted by the Australian band Midnight Oil in their song “ Burnie ,” which criticised the town’s environmental issues. The rationalisation of Australian industry during the 1980s and 1990s dealt a severe blow to Burnie. APPM downgraded its operations and eventually closed the pulp mill in 2010, leading to significant job losses. Other closures followed, including the Caterpillar mining machinery factory, triggering
4030-432: A surge in employment and population growth, setting Burnie on the path to becoming an industrial powerhouse. The post-war era saw Burnie become synonymous with industry. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, APPM expanded its workforce to around 3,500 employees, while other secondary industries, including pigment producer Tioxide and North West Acid , were established. This industrial boom led to Burnie’s official recognition as
4185-780: A vital role in the well-being of the wider community. Burnie is also home to key educational institutions, including the Cradle Coast campus of the University of Tasmania , where the Cuthbertson Research Laboratories are part of the Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research . The town also hosts campuses for the Tasmanian Polytechnic and Tasmanian Academy , ensuring a range of learning opportunities for students in
4340-424: Is a key exporter of Tasmanian minerals, including copper , silver , gold , tin , lead , zinc , iron , tungsten , and ultra-high purity silica , alongside forestry products such as logs , pulpwood , and wood chips . The Burnie Chip Export Terminal, often referred to as the "Pyramids of Burnie", surpassed 1,500,000 tonnes (1,500,000 long tons; 1,700,000 short tons) of annual wood chip exports in 2017. During
4495-475: Is also represented in Burnie, with Burnie Bowmen Archery Club . They were founded in 1958 and have influenced the development of archery along the northwest coast of Tasmania. Its first target championship was held in 1959. In 1972 Burnie Bowmen Archery Club was given the honour of holding the first national championships to be held outside of a capital city. In 2017 Burnie Bowmen Archery club hosted Archery for
4650-516: Is expected to further boost Burnie's economy. This $ 3.5b (2021) project will connect Heybridge to Waratah Bay, Victoria via 255 kilometres (158 mi) of high voltage direct current submarine power cable , supplying renewable energy to the Australian mainland . Supporting infrastructure, including the North West Transmission Developments, will reinforce Burnie’s position as a renewable energy hub. The project
4805-826: Is expected to generate 1,400 local jobs and contribute $ 3b in direct economic investment while supplying enough electricity to power 1.5 million homes and significantly reducing carbon emissions. Construction is expected to begin in 2026 and be completed by 2030. Burnie was chosen as the site for Australia’s first commercial-scale e-fuels facility due to Tasmania's 100% renewables grid, its deep water port facilities and its proximity to Forico’s Surrey Hills plantation. This nationally significant, $ 1b facility will produce up to 100,000,000 litres (22,000,000 imp gal; 26,000,000 US gal) of carbon-neutral e-fuels annually, helping to decarbonise industries that still rely on liquid fuels, such as aviation , shipping , and heavy transport. By using renewable energy to power its processes,
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4960-599: Is low due to moderation from the Bass Strait . Average maxima vary from 21.3 °C (70.3 °F) in February to 12.8 °C (55.0 °F) in July while average minima fluctuate between 13.3 °C (55.9 °F) in February and 6.0 °C (42.8 °F) in July. Mean average annual precipitation is moderate, 947.4 mm (37.30 in) spread between 158.0 precipitation days, and is concentrated in winter . The town
5115-401: Is making an effort to reconstruct and reintroduce a Tasmanian language, called palawa kani out of the various records on Tasmanian languages. Other Tasmanian Aboriginal communities use words from traditional Tasmanian languages, according to the language area they were born or live in. Australian Agricultural Company The Australian Agricultural Company ( AACo ; ASX : AAC ) is
5270-508: Is not very sunny, with 141.1 cloudy days and only 51.7 clear days per annum. Extreme temperatures have ranged from −2.0 °C (28.4 °F) on 14 July 1967 to 33.8 °C (92.8 °F) on 31 January 2009. Sunshine data was sourced from Elliott , a rural locality 14.3 kilometres (8.9 mi) west-northwest of Burnie. There are nine councillors that govern the Burnie City Council , each serving four-year terms. Teeny Brumby
5425-784: Is popular in Burnie. The city's team is the Burnie Dockers Football Club in the Tasmanian State League . Their ground is West Park Oval . Rugby union is also played in Burnie. The local club is the Burnie Rugby Union Club . They are the current Tasmanian Rugby Union Statewide Division Two Premiers and were promoted to the Statewide First Division for the 2008 season. Soccer is also represented in Burnie, with Burnie United FC having four teams compete in
5580-511: Is strongly opposed by the Palawa and has drawn an angry reaction from some quarters, as some have claimed " spiritual connection" with Aboriginality distinct from, but not as important as the existence of a genetic link. The Lia Pootah object to the current test used to prove Aboriginality as they believe it favours the Palawa, a DNA test would circumvent barriers to Lia Pootah recognition, or disprove their claims to Aboriginality. In April 2000,
5735-596: Is the birthplace of Burnie and the cradle of the northwest coast. In 1827, chief surveyor of the VDL Company, Henry Hellyer , camped beside Whalebone Creek there. With approval from the Company’s chief agent, Edward Curr, Hellyer selected Emu Bay as the port to service the Company’s inland holdings at Hampshire and Surrey Hills, located around 50 kilometres (31 mi) inland. A year later, government surveyor John Helder Wedge recommended Emu Bay be reserved as an official township due to its strategic value for shipping . Still,
5890-608: The 2021 census , Burnie has a population of 19,918, with a municipality area spanning 600 square kilometres (230 sq mi), administered by the City of Burnie . Founded in 1827 as Emu Bay, the township was renamed in the early 1840s after William Burnie, a director of the Van Diemen's Land Company , and proclaimed a city by Queen Elizabeth II on 26 April 1988. Burnie's economy has historically been driven by heavy manufacturing , mining , forestry , and farming . Situated on
6045-659: The British Museum returning ashes to two descendants in 2007. During the 20th century, the absence of Aboriginal people of solely Aboriginal ancestry, and a general unawareness of the surviving populations, meant many non-Aboriginal people assumed they were extinct , after the death of Truganini in 1876. Since the mid-1970s Tasmanian Aboriginal activists such as Michael Mansell have sought to broaden awareness and identification of Aboriginal descent. After campaigning by Tasmanian Aboriginal people in April 2023 UNESCO removed
6200-518: The Cape Grim massacre in 1828 demonstrates the level of frontier violence towards Aboriginal Tasmanians. The Black War of 1828–1832 and the Black Line of 1830 were turning points in the relationship with European settlers. Even though many of the Aboriginal people managed to avoid capture during these events, they were shaken by the size of the campaigns against them, and this brought them to
6355-616: The Labor and Liberal parties in federal elections. In the Australian Senate , Tasmania is represented by six senators, including Jacquie Lambie , the leader and founder of the Jacqui Lambie Network (JLN). Lambie, a well-known political figure, resides in Burnie, where she maintains significant support. Burnie's economy has long been shaped by its key industries of heavy manufacturing, forestry, and farming, with
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6510-545: The Mara languages seem to be a relic of ancient conquests mirroring the hostilities during colonial times. After the sea rose to create Bass Strait, the Australian mainland and Tasmania became separate land masses, and the Aboriginal people who had migrated from mainland Australia became cut off from their cousins on the mainland. Archeological evidence suggests remnant populations on the King and Furneaux highlands were stranded by
6665-469: The Peel River to the south of present-day Tamworth, New South Wales . The township of West Tamworth adjacent to the present city was the original company-owned business centre for the area. In 1856, Arthur Hodgson was appointed general superintendent of the company. The pioneering settlers of the area were ordered to leave and paid little from the company for their properties. Convicts soon became
6820-517: The coastline of Emu Bay , the city’s fortunes are closely tied to its deep water port . An intermodal freight transport facility, the Port of Burnie handles over 5,000,000 tonnes (4,900,000 long tons; 5,500,000 short tons) of freight annually, including nearly half of Tasmania's containerised freight . As Tasmania's most north-westerly city, it provides the shortest sea lines of communication between mainland Tasmania and mainland Australia . The city
6975-567: The stratigraphy of the coastline. It is speculated that Leichhardt may have established the extent of the coal seams under Mitchell’s property. Mitchell claimed the construction of the tunnels was to allow access to Burwood Beach in order to build a salt works. It is further speculated that Mitchell actually sought to destroy the Australian Agricultural Company’s legal monopoly on coal mining. Prior to these events Mitchell had already approached Governor Gipps seeking: Mitchell
7130-482: The (a community of people descended from European men and Tasmanian Aboriginal women on the Furneaux Islands off Tasmania, which survives to the present) and there are some efforts to reconstruct a language from the available wordlists. Today, some thousands of people living in Tasmania describe themselves as Aboriginal Tasmanians, since a number of Tasmanian Aboriginal women bore children to European men in
7285-452: The 1970s and 80s, Burnie faced pollution challenges linked to titanium dioxide production. From the 1990s, the city experienced significant industrial decline, with the closure of several manufacturing plants and the eventual shutdown of its pulp and paper mill . This downturn led to population decline and high unemployment, presenting economic hardships and uncertainty for the community. In recent years, Burnie has been positioning itself as
7440-488: The 19th century sealer communities of Bass Strait. Between 1803 and 1823, there were two phases of conflict between the Aboriginal people and the British colonists. The first took place between 1803 and 1808 over the need for common food sources such as oysters and kangaroos, and the second between 1808 and 1823, when only a small number of white females lived among the colonists, and farmers, sealers and whalers took part in
7595-414: The 19th century, also point to the significant role of epidemics and infertility without clear attribution of the sources of the diseases as having been introduced through contact with European, and Bonwick notes that Tasmanian Aboriginal women were infected with venereal diseases by Europeans. Introduced venereal disease not only directly caused deaths but, more insidiously, left a significant percentage of
7750-420: The 21st century. While 2023 State Government growth estimates are positive, Burnie is yet to recover to population levels experienced in the mid 1980s. At the 2021 census, Burnie's population is slightly older compared to national averages, with a significant portion (around 19%) aged 65 and over. This reflects a trend of ageing populations common in regional areas. Economically, Burnie is a working-class hub with
7905-573: The AACo owned the land between the Burwood estate and the Port of Newcastle the company refused to allow Mitchell to transport coal by rail across its land. Mitchell successfully lobbied the government again by having New South Wales' first Private Act of Parliament titled, Burwood and Newcastle Tramroad Act 1850 , passed, that specifically allowed Mitchell to carry coal through AACo lands. Also in 1850,
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#17327729818608060-602: The Aboriginal Tasmanians although gifts were left for them in unoccupied shelters found on Bruny Island. The first known British contact with the Aboriginal Tasmanians was on Bruny Island by Captain Cook in 1777. The contact was peaceful. Captain William Bligh also visited Bruny Island in 1788 and made peaceful contact with the Aboriginal Tasmanians. More extensive contact between Aboriginal Tasmanians and Europeans resulted when British and American seal hunters began visiting
8215-441: The Aboriginal Tasmanians was identified by the colonists. Rapid pastoral expansion, a depletion of native game and an increase in the colony's population triggered Aboriginal resistance from 1824 onwards when it has been estimated by Lyndall Ryan that 1000 Aboriginal people remained in the settled districts. Whereas settlers and stock keepers had previously provided rations to the Aboriginal people during their seasonal movements across
8370-564: The Aboriginal Tasmanians. Trading relationships developed between sealers and Tasmanian Aboriginal tribes. Hunting dogs became highly prized by the Aboriginal people, as were other exotic items such as flour, tea and tobacco. The Aboriginal people traded kangaroo skins for such goods. However, a trade in Aboriginal women soon developed. Many Tasmanian Aboriginal women were highly skilled in hunting seals, as well as in obtaining other foods such as seabirds, and some Tasmanian tribes would trade their services and, more rarely, those of Aboriginal men to
8525-470: The Aboriginal Tasmanians. Bonwick also recorded a strong Aboriginal oral tradition of an epidemic even before formal colonisation in 1803. "Mr Robert Clark, in a letter to me, said: 'I have gleaned from some of the Aborigines, now in their graves, that they were more numerous than the white people were aware of, but their numbers were very much thinned by a sudden attack of disease which was general among
8680-564: The Australian Agricultural Company officially opened Australia's first railway, located at the intersection of Brown & Church Streets, Newcastle, New South Wales . Privately owned and operated to service the A Pit coal mine, it was a cast-iron fishbelly rail on an inclined plane as a gravitational railway , described as follows: Once raised up the shaft, the coal was yarded or emptied into wagons; each of 1 t capacity. Loaded wagons were run in pairs down
8835-499: The Australian mainland. As with other ports in Tasmania, it is operated by the government-owned TasPorts . The port currently operates as a container port with a separate terminal for the exportation of woodchips. The port was planned to be expanded in 2013 so that it could accommodate extra freight from the proposed north-west mines in the Tarkine . Burnie's strong regional freight rail connections further solidify Burnie's role as
8990-558: The Bass Strait Island community as Aboriginal and do not consider as Aboriginal the Lia Pootah , who claim descent, based on oral traditions, from Tasmanian mainland Aboriginal communities. The Lia Pootah feel that the Palawa controlled Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre does not represent them politically. Since 2007 there have been initiatives to introduce DNA testing to establish family history in descendant subgroups. This
9145-561: The Ben Lomond language meant "dwellings" but is generally translated as "black man's houses". Robinson befriended Truganini, learned some of the local language and in 1833 managed to persuade the remaining 154 "full-blooded" people to move to the new settlement on Flinders Island, where he promised a modern and comfortable environment, and that they would be returned to their former homes on the Tasmanian mainland as soon as possible. At
9300-574: The British colonial society. By 1816, kidnapping of Aboriginal children for labour had become widespread. In 1814, Governor Thomas Davey issued a proclamation expressing "utter indignation and abhorrence" in regards to the kidnapping of the children and in 1819 Governor William Sorell not only re-issued the proclamation but ordered that those who had been taken without parental consent were to be sent to Hobart and supported at government expense. A number of young Aboriginal children were known to be living with settlers. An Irish sealer named Brien spared
9455-735: The Furneaux Islands and mainland Tasmania. People crossed into Tasmania approximately 40,000 years ago via a land bridge between the island and the rest of mainland Australia, during the Last Glacial Period . Genetic studies show that once the sea level rose to flood the Bassian Plain , the island's population was isolated for approximately 8,000 years, until European exploration in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The discovery of 19,000-year-old deposits at Kutikina (or Fraser) Cave demonstrated occupation of
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#17327729818609610-521: The King highlands (now King Island ). The archeological, geographic and linguistic record suggests successive waves of occupation of Tasmania, and coalescence of three language groups into one broad group. Colonial settlers found two main language and ethnic groups in Tasmania upon their arrival, the western Nara and eastern Mara. The admixture of Nara toponyms (place-names) in the Eastern territory of
9765-671: The NSW Legislative Council created the Coal Inquiry and appointed a select committee to investigate the matter. Both Mitchell and Brown gave evidence; Mitchell in relation to his tunnel and Brown in relation to price cutting. Before the committee could issue any recommendations, the Australian Agricultural Company relinquished its monopoly. Mitchell proceeded to lease out the coal rights on the Burwood estate, with five mines being quickly established by J & A Brown, Donaldson, Alexander Brown, Nott and Morgan. Because
9920-545: The North West Coast, such as Wynyard and Devonport . The rise of road transport and declining demand led to the discontinuation of passenger services. Burnie is connected with Devonport via the four-lane Bass Highway and a rail link used for freight purposes. Burnie is also connected to the west coast of Tasmania by the Murchison Highway . Bus service Metro Tasmania provides transport around
10075-464: The Orphan School in Hobart. Lyndall Ryan reports fifty-eight Aboriginal people, of various ages, living with settlers in Tasmania in the period up to 1835. Some historians argue that European disease did not appear to be a serious factor until after 1829. Other historians including Geoffrey Blainey and Keith Windschuttle , point to introduced disease as the main cause of the destruction of
10230-471: The Port of Burnie playing a central role. Historically, the port became the main hub for exporting minerals from Tasmania's west coast after the Emu Bay Railway opened in 1897, cementing Burnie’s status as an industrial centre. The railway and the port served as the backbone of Burnie's early industry, driving the city’s growth and development. Over time, the agriculture industry, once prominent in
10385-602: The Tasmanian Government Legislative Council Select Committee on Aboriginal Lands discussed the difficulty of determining Aboriginality based on oral traditions. An example given by Prof. Cassandra Pybus was the claim by the Huon and Channel Aboriginal people who had an oral history of descent from two Aboriginal women. Research found that both were non-Aboriginal convict women. The Tasmanian Palawa Aboriginal community
10540-662: The VDL Company began leasing bush blocks to tenant farmers, although Burnie’s growth remained slow. In 1843, the town was surveyed by Nathaniel Kentish and renamed after William Burnie, then serving as on of eighteen directors of the VDL Company. By 1853, Burnie had a population of approximately 200, with basic services such as a doctor and clergyman located in Port Sorell , and a lawyer and banker in Launceston . Transport and communication systems were rudimentary at this time, with no metal roads or established wharves. Nevertheless,
10695-630: The VDL Company was already occupying the area. At that time, the Emu Bay settlement consisted of a store, a small jetty, a sawpit, and a few huts. Hellyer also cut the Old Surrey Road through dense rainforest , establishing the first road on the North West Coast, starting from the South Burnie beach. However, Burnie’s settlement wasn’t peaceful. Between 1828 and 1832, Tarenorerer , a Tommeginne woman who had escaped from sealers , became
10850-495: The Wybalenna Aboriginal Establishment on Flinders Island, described by historian Henry Reynolds as the "best equipped and most lavishly staffed Aboriginal institution in the Australian colonies in the nineteenth century", they were provided with housing, clothing, rations of food, the services of a doctor and educational facilities. Convicts were assigned to build housing and do most of the work at
11005-818: The XVI Australian Masters Games. In 2020 and 2021 they were to host the National Youth Archery Championships and National Archery Championships, but due to COVID-19 these events were cancelled. Presently, Target and Clout shoots are conducted at Parklands High School Oval in Romaine, Burnie. Indoor is conducted at the Upper Burnie Memorial Hall. Field is conducted at the Blythe Scout Camp at Heybridge. The Advocate newspaper
11160-462: The annual cruise ship itinerary, and its growing community of artists and makers. In 2016, Elphinstone Group , previously a designer and manufacturer for Caterpillar equipment in Australia, relaunched its original brand and developed the Haulmax 3900 series off-highway haul truck . The company continues to be a major local employer, with a workforce of 2,500 people. Today, Burnie positions itself as
11315-556: The approximately 200 surviving Aboriginal Tasmanians to surrender themselves with assurances that they would be protected and provided for, and eventually have their lands returned. These assurances were no more than a ruse by Robinson or Lieutenant-Governor Arthur to transport the Tasmanians quietly to a permanent exile in the Furneaux Islands . The survivors were moved to Wybalenna Aboriginal Establishment on Flinders Island , where disease continued to reduce their numbers. In 1847,
11470-486: The capture of those without passes, £5 (equivalent to about £540 or AU$ 1010 in 2023 ) for an adult and £2 for children, a process that often led to organised hunts resulting in deaths. Every dispatch from Governor Arthur to the Secretary of State during this period stressed that in every case where Aboriginal people had been killed it was colonists that initiated hostilities. Though many Aboriginal deaths went unrecorded,
11625-644: The centre of Newcastle. Further, it was feared that the company may have had control of the entire coal supply in the Colony had the Crown Law Officers responsible for the substitution of a grant for the lease not objected and an alternative agreed upon. Between 1835 and 1850, the AACo was involved in significant Australian historical law events relating to monopolistic coal mining and private railway access. In 1835 James Mitchell purchased approximately 360 ha (900 acres) of coastal land extending from
11780-715: The city and its suburbs. Redline coaches used to service the North-West through to Hobart but ceased this service in January 2021. The development of a coastal pathway will connect Burnie and Wynyard to Latrobe as part of a State Government and Local Government Council initiative to upgrade infrastructure on the north-west coast of Tasmania. The city of Burnie consists of a number of small suburbs including Parklands, Park Grove, Shorewell Park, Acton, Montello, Hillcrest, Terrylands, Upper Burnie, Romaine, Havenview, Emu Heights, South Burnie and Wivenhoe. Australian rules football
11935-596: The city-state of Hamburg . It is one of Australia's oldest still-operating companies. Its headquarters are today in Brisbane and it has been listed (or relisted) on the Australian Stock Exchange since 2001. The colonial government was not able to manage coal production efficiently. On 3 May 1833 the company received land grants at Newcastle totaling 777 ha (1,920 acres) plus a 31-year monopoly on that town's coal traffic. The company became
12090-469: The coal mining monopoly ended with the peal of the Metallic Ores Act as promised by Governor Gipps, allowing copper to be brought into NSW duty-free. After the monopoly ended, Mitchell established the copper smelter in 1851 until its closure in 1872. In 1913, salvaged bricks from the site were used to cap some of the old mines. Cattle grazing for the production of beef has long been a focus of
12245-409: The colony was founded is traceable, as far as our proofs allow us to judge, to the prevalence of epidemic disorders. ' " Roth was referring to James Erskine Calder who took up a post as a surveyor in Tasmania in 1829 and who wrote a number of scholarly papers about the Aboriginal people. "According to Calder, a rapid and remarkable declension of the numbers of the Aborigines had been going on long before
12400-410: The companies largest type of employee, although those who had served a sentence, aborigines and indentured servants on seven-year contracts were also employed with the latter making up the bulk of initial employees. The AACo attempted to exploit convict labour to generate a profit. When the supply of convicts was facing potential limits in the mid-1830s, company directors attempted to source convicts from
12555-574: The company ceased its coal-mining activities in the early 1920s, sold their assets therein, and moved on into the cattle industry. The AACo's coat-of-arms are affixed to two stone columns erected in Gordon Avenue, Hamilton (originally known as Pittown, Borehole or Happy Flat) – located on the corners Learmonth Park (Alexander Street and Gordon Avenue, and Jenner Parade and Gordon Avenue) – in an area once known as Newcastle's garden suburb. On 10 December 1831
12710-991: The company to be allowed to select the location of the grant. Among the principal members of this company were the Attorney-General and the Solicitor-General of England, 28 members of Parliament, including Mr. Brougham, and Joseph Hume , the Governor, Deputy Governor and eight of the directors of the Bank of England ; the Chairman and Deputy-Chairman and five directors of the British East India Company , besides many other eminent bankers and merchants of England. There were 41 investors based in New South Wales which included some of
12865-477: The company was to be permitted to select land in the interior of the colony, in lieu of an equivalent area at Port Stephens, but retaining mineral rights to the latter. After an inspection in 1833, the company decided on two new areas. These were the Warrah Estate of 101,010 ha (249,600 acres), west of Murrurundi , and Goonoo Goonoo estate of 126,787 ha (313,298 acres), along with the left bank of
13020-528: The company. The managing director of AACo. from 1974 to 1988 was Trevor Schmidt, whose family also owned Alroy Downs Station in the Northern Territory . In 2012 the company entered an agreement with the Bunuba Cattle Company where AACo would manage the operations and the Bunuba would receive an annual rent and training opportunities and have complete access to their lands. The Bunuba hold
13175-844: The custom of the sealers was to each have "two to five of these native women for their own use and benefit". A shortage of women available "in trade" resulted in abduction becoming common, and in 1830 it was reported that at least fifty Aboriginal women were "kept in slavery" on the Bass Strait islands. Harrington, a sealer, procured ten or fifteen native women, and placed them on different islands in Bass's Straits, where he left them to procure skins; if, however, when he returned, they had not obtained enough, he punished them by tying them up to trees for twenty-four to thirty-six hours together, flogging them at intervals, and he killed them not infrequently if they proved stubborn. There are numerous stories of
13330-438: The district in defiance of the monopoly. A mine near East Maitland operated by Mr James Brown undercut the AACo's price to supply coal to steamships at Morpeth which led to prosecution. The government’s legal advice after this case was that they would have to individually prosecute every illegal mine, which Governor FitzRoy believed the cost of the prosecutions should be paid for by the Australian Agricultural Company. In 1847,
13485-456: The early times of the colony, may be safely added ... Robinson always enumerates the sexes of the individuals he took; ... and as a general thing, found scarcely any children amongst them; ... adultness was found to outweigh infancy everywhere in a remarkable degree ..." Robinson recorded in his journals a number of comments regarding the Aboriginal Tasmanians' susceptibility to diseases, particularly respiratory diseases. In 1832 he revisited
13640-456: The entire population previous to the arrival of the English, entire tribes of natives having been swept off in the course of one or two days' illness. ' " Such an epidemic may be linked to contact with sailors or sealers. Henry Ling Roth, an anthropologist, wrote: "Calder, who has gone more fully into the particulars of their illnesses, writes as follows ...: 'Their rapid declension after
13795-406: The far side of Merewether ridge to Glenrock Lagoon and named the property the Burwood estate, which was later extended to 1,834 acres. Not long after Ludwig Leichhardt’s visit to the Burwood estate in 1842, Mitchell announced the planned commissioning of tramroad tunnels, Australia’s first two railway tunnels, through Burwood ridge (or bluff). While Leichhardt visited the Burwood estate he drew up
13950-540: The first official acceptance that Aboriginal people were at least partly to blame for conflict. In 1826 the Government gazette, which had formerly reported "retaliatory actions" by Aboriginal people, now reported "acts of atrocity" and for the first time used the terminology "Aborigine" instead of "native". A newspaper reported that there were only two solutions to the problem: either they should be "hunted down like wild beasts and destroyed" or they should be removed from
14105-528: The first official birth registrations in Burnie began that year. Burnie’s first school was opened in 1862 by Mrs. Mary Morris in West Burnie, followed by the construction of the first government school on a rocky hill off Wilmot Street. In 1875, the VDL Company established its headquarters in Oakleigh (now Oakleigh Park), which remained in Burnie until the early 1950s. Burnie became the base for developing
14260-522: The focus shifted toward enhancing and consolidating the region’s existing cultural facilities. In addition to these cultural landmarks, Burnie provides essential health services through the North West Regional Hospital , located on Brickport Road. As the third-largest hospital in Tasmania, it offers a range of in-patient and out-patient services, including general medicine, surgery, orthopaedics, psychiatry, and paediatrics, playing
14415-471: The full-blooded Tasmanian Aboriginal population. Keith Windschuttle argues that while smallpox never reached Tasmania, respiratory diseases such as influenza , pneumonia and tuberculosis and the effects of venereal diseases devastated the Tasmanian Aboriginal population whose long isolation from contact with the mainland compromised their resistance to introduced disease. The work of historian James Bonwick and anthropologist H. Ling Roth, both writing in
14570-543: The gateway to Tasmania’s northwest, including the Tarkine forest, and as a hub for new industries and outdoor recreation. Burnie had a population of 19,918 according to the 2021 census , making it one of the key urban centres in North West Tasmania . Historically, Burnie has experienced periods of rapid growth, particularly in the late 19th and mid-20th centuries, followed by fluctuations in more recent decades, with some signs of stabilisation and recovery in
14725-463: The ground, with an opening at the top to let out the smoke, and closed at the ends, with the exception of a doorway. They were twenty feet long by ten feet wide. In each of these from twenty to thirty blacks were lodged ... To savages accustomed to sleep naked in the open air beneath the rudest shelter, the change to close and heated dwellings tended to make them susceptible, as they had never been in their wild state, to chills from atmospheric changes, and
14880-728: The highlands since the Ice Age. In 1990, archaeologists excavated material in the Warreen Cave in the Maxwell River valley of the south-west, proving Aboriginal occupation from as early as 34,000 BP , making Aboriginal Tasmanians the southernmost population in the world during the Pleistocene era. Digs in southwest and central Tasmania turned up abundant finds, affording "the richest archaeological evidence from Pleistocene Greater Australia" from 35,000 to 11,000 BP. Tasmania
15035-604: The idea of creating a land company in Van Diemen's Land, following the model of the Australian Agricultural Company in the Colony of New South Wales . With backing from William Sorell , a former lieutenant governor, and Edward Curr , who had recently returned from the colony, they established the VDL Company, with William Burnie its inaugural Governor of Company. They applied to Lord Bathurst for
15190-592: The impact of introduced diseases, rather than the consequence of policy. Others attributed the depletion to losses in the Black War , and the prostitution of women. Many historians of colonialism and genocide consider that the Tasmanian decimation qualifies as genocide by the definition of Raphael Lemkin adopted in the UN Genocide Convention . By 1833, George Augustus Robinson , sponsored by Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur , had persuaded
15345-442: The islands in Bass Strait as well as the northern and eastern coasts of Tasmania from the late 1790s. Shortly thereafter (by about 1800), sealers were regularly left on uninhabited islands in Bass Strait during the sealing season (November to May). The sealers established semi-permanent camps or settlements on the islands, which were close enough for the sealers to reach the main island of Tasmania in small boats and so make contact with
15500-530: The largest exporter of coal from Newcastle for many decades. They also bought 518 ha (1,280 acres) of freehold and 1,267 ha (3,131 acres) of leasehold land on the South Maitland coalfields at Weston, near Kurri Kurri , where they built the Hebburn Colliery. Because of drought and depression during the 1840s mining created more profit than wool production did. By December 1903
15655-504: The last 47 survivors on Wybalenna were transferred to Oyster Cove , south of Hobart . Two individuals, Truganini (1812–1876) and Fanny Cochrane Smith (1834–1905), are separately considered to have been the last people solely of Tasmanian descent. The complete Aboriginal Tasmanian languages have been lost; research suggests that the languages spoken on the island belonged to several distinct language families . Some original Tasmanian language words remained in use with Palawa people in
15810-675: The leader of the Emu Bay people (Plairhekehillerplue). She led a resistance against settlers during the Black War, attacking VDL Company employees until she was eventually captured. Alexander Goldie, the first superintendent of the Company's land assets around Emu Bay, led armed attacks against the Plairhekehillerplue clan. In 1828, Goldie and his men massacred several people inland from the settlement and in August 1829 they murdered
15965-674: The leases to Leopold Downs and Fairfield Downs stations, located north of Fitzroy Crossing . Together the properties occupy an area of 4,046 square kilometres (1,562 sq mi) and have a maximum carrying capacity of 20,000 head of cattle. AACo. acquired two properties in the Northern Territory, Welltree and La Belle Stations , in 2013 from R. M. Williams Agricultural Holdings. The properties had been bought for A$ 27.1 million after R. M. Williams went into receivership . The company owns Anthony Lagoon , Austral Downs , Brunette Downs , Camfield and Delamere Station in
16120-543: The life of the baby son of a native woman he had abducted, explaining, "as (he) had stolen the dam he would keep the cub". When the child grew up he became an invaluable assistant to Brien but was considered "no good" by his own people as he was brought up to dislike Aboriginal people, whom he considered "dirty lazy brutes". Twenty-six were definitely known (through baptismal records) to have been taken into settlers' homes as infants or very small children, too young to be of service as labourers. Some Aboriginal children were sent to
16275-507: The living conditions had deteriorated to the extent that in October Robinson personally took charge of Wybalenna, organising better food and improving the housing. However, of the 220 who arrived with Robinson, most died in the following 14 years from introduced disease and inadequate shelter. As a result of their loss of freedom, the birth rate was extremely low and few children survived infancy. In 1839, Governor Franklin appointed
16430-541: The murdered. Amalie Dietrich for example became famous for delivering such specimens. Aboriginal people have considered the dispersal of body parts as being disrespectful, as a common aspect within Aboriginal belief systems is that a soul can only be at rest when laid in its homeland. Body parts and ornaments are still being returned from collections today, with the Royal College of Surgeons of England returning samples of Truganini's skin and hair (in 2002), and
16585-510: The national figure of 3.2%. This reflects Tasmania's broader demographics where Indigenous representation is above the national average. The majority of residents (84.4%) were born in Australia, with smaller populations from England (2.4%), New Zealand (0.9%), India (0.8%), Nepal and the Philippines (0.4%), and mainland China (0.3%). English is the dominant language, spoken by 90.2% of residents at home, while 5.9% of households speak
16740-534: The new commander for the station, and moved the Aboriginal people back to The Lagoons. Darling ensured a supply of plentiful food and permitted "hunting excursions". In October 1832, it was decided to build a new camp with better buildings ( wattle and daub ) at a more suitable location, Pea Jacket Point. Pea Jacket Point was renamed Civilisation Point but became more commonly known as the Wybalenna Aboriginal Establishment . Wybalenna in
16895-615: The northern premier league; the women's team, under 18 team, reserve team and division one team. They also have youth sides in the under 14 and under 16 competitions. Their ground is located in Montello, Tasmania . Burnie hosts an ATP Challenger Tour tennis event, the Burnie International , during the week following the Australian Open. Athletics events include the annual Burnie Gift and Burnie Ten . Archery
17050-470: The pit was sending a fully loaded train away each day. By 1912, the output exceeded 2,500 long tons (2,540 t ) per day and a large overseas trade had developed from this mine. In May 1906 the company purchased a half-share in the Aberdare Junction to Cessnock railway for £40,000 which, already owning the other half, placed them in full ownership of the line. With the post-Great War slump,
17205-636: The plant aims to reduce global carbon emissions by approximately 260,000 tonnes (260,000 long tons; 290,000 short tons) per year, equivalent to decarbonising 52,000 cars. Designed by France’s Technip Energies NV , the facility is set to be active by 2028 and create 200 permanent jobs. Several wind farm projects proposed in the surrounding region, notably the Guildford and Hellyer Wind Farms, located south of Burnie, are part of Tasmania's broader push to increase its renewable energy capacity. These wind farms are expected to generate significant power, contributing to
17360-542: The population unable to reproduce. Josephine Flood, archaeologist, wrote: "Venereal disease sterilised and chest complaints – influenza, pneumonia and tuberculosis – killed." Bonwick, who lived in Tasmania, recorded a number of reports of the devastating effect of introduced disease including one report by a Doctor Story, a Quaker , who wrote: "After 1823 the women along with the tribe seemed to have had no children; but why I do not know." Later historians have reported that introduced venereal disease caused infertility amongst
17515-402: The process. By 1810 seal numbers had been greatly reduced by hunting so most seal hunters abandoned the area, however a small number of sealers, approximately fifty mostly "renegade sailors, escaped convicts or ex-convicts", remained as permanent residents of the Bass Strait islands and some established families with Tasmanian Aboriginal women. Some of the women were taken back to the islands by
17670-456: The property with flocks of Merino sheep. The wool produced by the company was to be exported to Great Britain to ensure a cheap reliable supply of British wool which at that time was being outpriced by German imports. However, it soon found that better land was available and, in 1830, a communication from the Secretary of State for the Colonies to Governor Darling notified the latter that
17825-528: The rapid depletion of the numbers of Aboriginal women in the northern areas of Tasmania – "by 1830 only three women survived in northeast Tasmania among 72 men" – and thus contributed in a significant manner to the demise of the full-blooded Aboriginal population of Tasmania. However, a mixed-race community of partial Tasmanian Aboriginal descent formed on the Islands, where it remains to the present, and many modern day Aboriginal Tasmanians trace their descent from
17980-538: The region include the Guildford and Hellyer Wind Farms, as well as Australia’s first synthetic electrofuel facility. Other growing sectors in Burnie include education, healthcare, and logistics, contributing to its economic diversification. Burnie's history is closely tied to the establishment of the Van Diemen's Land Company (VDL Company) in the early 19th century. In 1824, a group of wool merchants, bankers, investors, and woollen mill owners gathered in London to explore
18135-467: The region, shifted focus following the handover of the Surrey Hills and Hampshire Hills lots. This transition marked the rise of the forestry sector, which began to dominate Burnie’s economy in the 20th century. Forestry played a pivotal role in the city’s development, particularly with the establishment of Associated Pulp and Paper Mills (APPM) in 1938. The founding of the pulp and paper mill marked
18290-451: The region. Alongside these, Burnie boasts numerous sporting and social organisations that contribute to the vibrant community life. Burnie Airport is located in the adjacent town of Wynyard , a 20-minute drive from the City of Burnie. Burnie Port is Tasmania's largest general cargo port and was once Australia's fifth-largest container port. It is the nearest Tasmanian port to Melbourne and
18445-487: The region. The centre is also home to one of Australia's largest regional art galleries, which opened in 1978, and the Burnie Regional Museum , designed by architects Leith and Bartlett, which houses the historic Federation Street—the first indoor streetscape of its kind in the country. In 2021, plans for a new $ 18m North West Museum and Art Gallery, designed by Terrior Architects , were abandoned. Instead,
18600-464: The region’s road and rail infrastructure. In the late 1870s, modern communication systems arrived, with the telegraph and telephone reaching Burnie. A horse-drawn tramway on wooden rails was established to connect Burnie to Waratah . The VDL Company later upgraded this tramway to iron and steam, facilitating the transport of tin from the Mount Bischoff mine, which commenced Burnie’s role as
18755-424: The remnants were gathered together on Flinders Island. Whole tribes (some of which Robinson mentions by name as being in existence fifteen or twenty years before he went amongst them, and which probably never had a shot fired at them) had absolutely and entirely vanished. To the causes to which he attributes this strange wasting away ... I think infecundity , produced by the infidelity of the women to their husbands in
18910-427: The rising waters and died out. Abel Jansen Tasman, credited as the first European to discover Tasmania (in 1642) and who named it Van Diemen's Land, did not encounter any of the Aboriginal Tasmanians when he landed. In 1772, a French exploratory expedition under Marion Dufresne visited Tasmania. At first, contact with the Aboriginal people was friendly; however the Aboriginal Tasmanians became alarmed when another boat
19065-469: The sealers against Aboriginal people, and against Aboriginal women in particular. Brian Plomley , who edited Robinson's papers, expressed scepticism about these atrocities and notes that they were not reported to Archdeacon William Broughton 's 1830 committee of inquiry into violence towards Tasmanians. Abduction and ill-treatment of Aboriginal Tasmanians certainly occurred, but the extent is debated. The raids for and trade in Aboriginal women contributed to
19220-533: The sealers being confident that they would return. Bonwick also reports a number of claims of brutality by sealers towards Aboriginal women including some of those made by Robinson. An Aboriginal woman by the name of Bulrer related her experience to Robinson, that sealers had rushed her camp and stolen six women including herself "the white men tie them and then they flog them very much, plenty much blood, plenty cry." Sealing captain James Kelly wrote in 1816 that
19375-414: The sealers for dogs and flour. Walyer was later to gain some notoriety for her attempts to kill the sealers to escape their brutality. Walyer, a Punnilerpanner, joined the Plairhekehillerplue band after eventually escaping and went on to lead attacks on employees of the Van Diemen's Land Company . Walyer's attacks are the first recorded use of muskets by Aboriginal people. Captured, she refused to work and
19530-416: The sealers for the seal-hunting season. Others were sold on a permanent basis. This trade incorporated not only women of the tribe engaged in the trade but also women abducted from other tribes. Some may have been given to incorporate the new arrivals into Aboriginal society through marriage. Sealers engaged in raids along the coasts to abduct Aboriginal women and were reported to have killed Aboriginal men in
19685-473: The sealers involuntarily and some went willingly, as in the case of a woman called Tarenorerer (Eng: Walyer). Differing opinions have been given on Walyer's involvement with the sealers. McFarlane writes that she voluntarily joined the sealers with members of her family, and was responsible for attacking Aboriginal people and white settlers alike. Ryan comes to a different conclusion, that Walyer had been abducted at Port Sorell by Aboriginal people and traded to
19840-497: The sealers' brutality towards the Aboriginal women; with some of these reports originating from Robinson. In 1830, Robinson seized 14 Aboriginal women from the sealers, planning for them to marry Aboriginal men at the Flinders Island settlement. Josephine Flood , an archaeologist specialising in Australian mainland Aboriginal peoples, notes: "he encountered strong resistance from the women as well as sealers". The sealers sent
19995-427: The second was in 1837 to service B Pit and the third was in mid-1842 to service C Pit . The gravitational railway from B Pit connected with the 1831 railway. The gravitational railway from C Pit , which made use of the last of the government’s offer of cheap convict labour , feed onto an extended gravitational railway to reach the port. It is presumed that when the A Pit mine was exhausted in July 1846 its railway
20150-413: The settled districts, and recognised this practice as some form of payment for trespass and loss of traditional hunting grounds, the new settlers and stock keepers were unwilling to maintain these arrangements and the Aboriginal people began to raid settlers' huts for food. The official Government position was that Aboriginal people were blameless for any hostilities, but when Musquito was hanged in 1825,
20305-431: The settled districts. The colonial Government assigned troops to drive them out. A Royal Proclamation in 1828 established military posts on the boundaries and a further proclamation declared martial law against the Aboriginal people. As it was recognised that there were fixed routes for seasonal migration, Aboriginal people were required to have passes if they needed to cross the settled districts with bounties offered for
20460-422: The settlement including the growing of food in the vegetable gardens. After arrival, all Aboriginal children aged between six and 15 years were removed from their families to be brought up by the storekeeper and a lay preacher. The Aboriginal people were free to roam the island and were often absent from the settlement for extended periods on hunting trips as the rations supplied turned out to be inadequate. By 1835
20615-553: The shares of AACo have been owned by the Tavistock Group , the investment vehicle of Joe Lewis . The inquiry into the colony of New South Wales conducted by John Bigge from 1819 to 1823 recommended that large grants of land be given to "men of real capital" who would utilise significant levels of convict labour to maintain these estates. The inquiry was initiated by the Earl of Bathurst and John Macarthur to protect both
20770-605: The state level, Burnie falls within the Tasmanian House of Assembly ’s electoral division of Braddon , a multi-member electorate that includes both Labor and Liberal members. Nationally, Burnie is located in the federal electorate of Braddon , currently represented by Gavin Pearce of the Liberal Party of Australia . Braddon has traditionally been a marginal seat, with representation often alternating between
20925-599: The state's goal of 200% renewable energy by 2040. Burnie has long been a hub for cultural, educational, and health services in the northwest region of Tasmania. At the heart of its cultural precinct is the Burnie Arts and Function Centre , which replaced the old Burnie Theatre in 1965. Originally known as the Civic Centre, this multi-functional venue is an important space for the community, hosting performances, events, and exhibitions that attract visitors from across
21080-406: The station was a former convict station that had been abandoned earlier that year due to health issues as it was located on inadequately drained mudflats . According to the guards, the Aboriginal people developed "too much independence" by trying to continue their culture which they considered "recklessness" and "rank ingratitude". Their numbers continued to diminish, being estimated in 1859 at around
21235-554: The system of land grants to wealthy individuals and also the transportation system of cheap prison labour to the colony. As a result of the Bigge Inquiry, the Australian Agricultural Company (A.A.Co.) was formed by an Act of the British Parliament and incorporated by royal charter on 1 November 1824 for the cultivation and improvement of waste lands in the colony of New South Wales and other purposes, amongst which
21390-422: The trading, and the abduction, of Aboriginal women as sexual partners. These practices also increased conflict over women among Aboriginal tribes. This in turn led to a decline in the Aboriginal population. Historian Lyndall Ryan records 74 Aboriginal people (almost all women) living with sealers on the Bass Strait islands in the period up to 1835. In 1804, the first major massacre of Aboriginal Tasmanians occurred
21545-473: The use of clothes had a most mischievous effect on their health. By January 1832 a further 44 captured Aboriginal residents had arrived and conflicts arose between the tribal groups. To defuse the situation, Sergeant Wight took the Big River group to Green Island , where they were abandoned, and he later decided to move the rest to Green Island as well. Two weeks later Robinson arrived with Lieutenant Darling,
21700-641: The wealthiest colonists such as the Macarthur family and Phillip Parker King . The initial million acres selected under the founding charter extended from Port Stephens , embracing the Karuah River valley, to the Gloucester flats, and included all of the coastal region north to the Manning River . The company commenced its operations in 1826 with its first manager Robert Dawson, who stocked
21855-408: The west coast of Tasmania, far from the settled regions, and wrote: "The numbers of Aborigines along the western coast have been considerably reduced since the time of my last visit [1830]. A mortality has raged amongst them which together with the severity of the season and other causes had rendered the paucity of their number very considerable." Between 1825 and 1831 a pattern of guerilla warfare by
22010-457: The west coast’s export gateway for minerals. By the 1880s, Burnie's fortunes had dramatically improved as west coast mineral deposits were discovered. The Emu Bay Railway Company extended the railway to Zeehan by 1900, propelling the town's population to over 1,500. During this time, Burnie’s business district rapidly grew, thanks to improved port facilities and the expansion of the town's infrastructure. By 1900, T. Wiseman's motor coach service
22165-703: The white man's musket. The Oyster Cove people attracted contemporaneous international scientific interest from the 1860s onwards, with many museums claiming body parts for their collections. Scientists were interested in studying Aboriginal Tasmanians from a physical anthropology perspective, hoping to gain insights into the field of paleoanthropology . For these reasons, they were interested in individual Aboriginal body parts and whole skeletons . Tasmanian Aboriginal skulls were particularly sought internationally for studies into craniofacial anthropometry . Truganini herself entertained fears that her body might be exploited after her death and two years after her death her body
22320-775: Was banished to Penguin Island . Later imprisoned on Swan Island she attempted to organise a rebellion. Although Aboriginal women were by custom forbidden to take part in war, several Aboriginal women who escaped from sealers became leaders or took part in attacks. According to Lyndall Ryan , the women traded to or kidnapped by sealers became "a significant dissident group" against European/white authority. Historian James Bonwick reported Aboriginal women who were clearly captives of sealers but he also reported women living with sealers who "proved faithful and affectionate to their new husbands", women who appeared "content" and others who were allowed to visit their "native tribe", taking gifts, with
22475-507: Was colonised by successive waves of Aboriginal people from southern Australia during glacial maxima , when the sea was at its lowest. The archeological and geographic record suggests a period of drying during the colder glacial period, with a desert extending from southern Australia into the midlands of Tasmania, with intermittent periods of wetter, warmer climate. Migrants from southern Australia into peninsular Tasmania would have crossed stretches of seawater and desert, and finally found oases in
22630-410: Was directly transferred to form the C Pit railway, although no hard evidence can support this thought. On 10 December 2006 a plaque was unveiled on the southern shore of Newcastle Harbour celebrating this event. In 1828, 3 years after commencing their 31-year lease, the AACo was accorded a monopolistic position after the company received a grant of 810 ha (2,000 acres) of coal land in
22785-748: Was dispatched towards the shore. It was reported that spears and stones were thrown and the French responded with musket fire, killing at least one Aboriginal person and wounding several others. Two later French expeditions led by Bruni d'Entrecasteaux in 1792–93 and Nicolas Baudin in 1802 made friendly contact with the Aboriginal Tasmanians; the d'Entrecasteaux expedition doing so over an extended period of time. The Resolution under Captain Tobias Furneaux (part of an expedition led by Captain James Cook ) had visited in 1773 but made no contact with
22940-491: Was elected mayor of the City of Burnie in 2022. The council oversees Burnie's infrastructure, community services, and local regulations. The council also plays a key role in fostering the arts and supporting projects like the Burnie Arts and Function Centre. Burnie’s political landscape is shaped by a mix of conservative and independent influences, reflecting broader trends in Tasmania’s evolving political dynamics. At
23095-580: Was established in 1890 servicing the North West region. The mailroom is located in Burnie whilst the local press operations ceased in mid-2008 and were relocated to Launceston. Aboriginal Tasmanians#North The Aboriginal Tasmanians ( Palawa kani : Palawa or Pakana ) are the Aboriginal people of the Australian island of Tasmania , located south of the mainland. At the time of European contact, Aboriginal Tasmanians were divided into
23250-498: Was exhumed and sent to Melbourne for scientific study. Her skeleton was then put up for public display in the Tasmanian Museum until 1947, and was only laid to rest, by cremation, in 1976. Another case was the removal of the skull and scrotum – for a tobacco pouch – of William Lanne , known as King Billy, on his death in 1869. However, many of these skeletons were obtained from Aboriginal "mummies" from graves or bodies of
23405-567: Was exposed to gales, had little water and no land suitable for cultivation. Supplies to the settlement were inadequate and if sealers had not supplied potatoes, the Aboriginal people would have starved. The Europeans were living on oatmeal and potatoes while the Aboriginal people, who detested oatmeal and refused to eat it, survived on potatoes and rice supplemented by mutton birds they caught. Within months 31 Aboriginal people had died. Roth wrote: They were lodged at night in shelters or "breakwinds." These "breakwinds" were thatched roofs sloping to
23560-434: Was only too well calculated to induce those severe pulmonary diseases which were destined to prove so fatal to them. The same may be said of the use of clothes ... At the settlement they were compelled to wear clothes, which they threw off when heated or when they found them troublesome, and when wetted by rain allowed them to dry on their bodies. In the case of Tasmanians, as with other wild tribes accustomed to go naked,
23715-513: Was operating between Burnie and Stanley, reflecting Burnie's growing importance as a regional transport hub. A major turning point occurred in 1936 with the construction of the Associated Pulp and Paper Mill (APPM) in South Burnie. By 1939, the mill produced 15,000 tonnes (15,000 long tons; 17,000 short tons) of fine paper annually, the first time in the world that paper was made entirely from eucalypt pulp. This industrial expansion caused
23870-399: Was the production of fine merino wool for export to Great Britain. A group of about 400 well-connected British investors funded the company with a combined capital of one million pounds (made up of ten thousand shares of £100 each). A grant of one million acres (about 405,000 hectares) was obtained in the colony for agricultural development, subject to the performance of certain conditions, with
24025-423: Was unsuccessful with only his request to use coal as fuel in a copper smelter. Although Mitchell had no legal use of coal, the commissioned tunnel project commenced in 1846 with the cutting line being directly into a coal seam . Between 2 and 3 thousand tonnes of coal were extracted but unusable owing to the AACo's monopoly. While Mitchell’s operations were going on, a number of small illegal mines operated in
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