George Town, Tasmania

George Town Tasmania
The Watch House
George Town
Coordinates	41°06′S 146°49′E / 41.100°S 146.817°E / -41.100; 146.817Coordinates: 41°06′S 146°49′E / 41.100°S 146.817°E / -41.100; 146.817
Population	6,906 (2011 census)[1]
Established	1804
Postcode(s)	7253
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10)
• Summer (DST)	AEDT (UTC+11)
Location	6 km (4 mi) from Low Head 6 km (4 mi) from Bell Bay 23 km (14 mi) from Hillwood 50 km (31 mi) from Launceston
LGA(s)	George Town Council
State electorate(s)	Bass
Federal Division(s)	Bass

George Town is a large town in north-east Tasmania, on the eastern bank of the mouth of the Tamar River. The Australian Bureau of Statistics records the George Town Municipal Area had a population of 6,906 as at the 30 June 2011.

It is the regional centre of the George Town Council local government area and is well served with a Regional Hospital, supermarkets, and infrastructure.

History

The Pier Hotel

York Cove

George Town, named for King George III is one of the older European settlements in Australia, first settled in 1804 by Colonel William Paterson^[2] two years before the nearby city of Launceston 50 kilometres to the South.

George Town Post Office opened on 11 December 1822.^[3]

Geography and landmarks

• Mount George
• Tamar Valley Semaphore ^[4]
• Low Head and Low Head Lighthouse
• Batman Bridge - Joining the George Town Municipality to the West Tamar
• Tamar River

Infrastructure

The Basslink 400 Kilovolt high-voltage direct current submarine cable connecting Tasmania to the National Electricity Market, terminates in George Town.

In 2007 Alinta built the Tamar Valley Power Station a 200 MW gas-fired power station in the vicinity of George Town creating 200 direct and 100 indirect jobs during construction, and generating electricity from 2009.^[5]

Nearby Bell Bay has an aluminium and manganese smelter, as well as the port.

George Town has a K-10 school, Star of the Sea College

Proposed developments

Bell Bay pulp mill

Gunns Limited had proposed a very large pulp mill to be built in the area in 2006, but the Tasmanian people were, and still are, divided on its merits due to environmental concerns.

Gunns Ltd entered receivership in 2013, with huge debts and the mill is considered unlikely to ever proceed, with the receivers selling the company assets.

Tourism

"The Grove" Georgian home built in 1829 attracts many visitors, as does the 1805 convict built pilot station at Low Head.

George Town is also a popular seaside destination for swimming, surfing, and fishing and boating enthusiasts.

George Town is home to a Little Penguin colony at the nearby beach at Low Head.

The George Town Football Club, George Town Bowls Club and the George Town Cricket Club are notable among its clubs and associations.

The Bass and Flinders Centre ^[6] has a collection of historical boats including a replica of the 1798 sloop Norfolk.

The Watch House ^[7] in Macquarie St. built in 1843 was the town gaol (jail). The building was refurbished and reopened in 2004 as a gallery and local history museum. It features a scale model of the town as it was in the early nineteenth century.

Media

George Town has two of its own radio stations – Tamar FM 95.3 which is a community radio station generally playing music and advertising local businesses, and River FM George Town which is a youth community/narrowcast radio station playing the best music from the 80's to now. River FM is run by the JNET Radio Network.

Events

Some main events that happen annually in George Town include:

• The Tamar Valley Folk Festival, which takes place on the third full weekend in January (one week after the Cygnet Folk Festival) and features performances from local, interstate and sometimes even international musicians, as well as workshops, sessions and other festive events.^[8]
• George Town on Show
• Targa Tasmania Prologue

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to George Town, Tasmania.

External links

• George Town Council