Swansea, Tasmania

History

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.

Swansea was not settled until 1821 when more British settlers, George Meredith, his family and workers, arrived from Pembrokeshire, Wales. 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. 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 combined museum, tavern and bakery. Schouten House is a fine early Victorian colonial house built in 1844 and is now a hotel.

Waterloo Point Post Office opened on 6 September 1832 and was renamed Swansea around 1863.

Notable residents

• William Lyne, Premier of New South Wales from 1899 to 1901, and later federal cabinet minister under Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin
• Violet Mace, potter known for the "proclamation cup", based on Governor Davey's Proclamation

Wildlife

Swansea is home to colonies of short-tailed shearwaters (muttonbirds) and little penguins. The nearby Freycinet National Park has quolls, wallabies, native microbats, possums and Tasmanian devils. Offshore, there are dolphins, whales and seals.

Climate

Swansea possesses an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb) with tepid summers and cool winters. The town is quite cloudy, experiencing an average of 60.0 clear days and 123.5 cloudy days per annum. Extreme temperatures have ranged from 41.1 C on 30 December 2019 to -5.0 C on 15 July 1979.

|Jan record high C = 40.4 |Feb record high C = 39.2 |Mar record high C = 36.8 |Apr record high C = 30.1 |May record high C = 27.0 |Jun record high C = 21.1 |Jul record high C = 24.0 |Aug record high C = 24.3 |Sep record high C = 29.6 |Oct record high C = 33.9 |Nov record high C = 36.0 |Dec record high C = 38.1 |Jan record low C = 2.7 |Feb record low C = 1.3 |Mar record low C = 0.0 |Apr record low C = -1.3 |May record low C = -3.1 |Jun record low C = -4.0 |Jul record low C = -5.0 |Aug record low C = -4.2 |Sep record low C = -4.0 |Oct record low C = -1.9 |Nov record low C = -1.4 |Dec record low C = 1.0 |Jan dew point C = 11.3 |Feb dew point C = 12.0 |Mar dew point C = 10.9 |Apr dew point C = 9.2 |May dew point C = 7.7 |Jun dew point C = 6.1 |Jul dew point C = 5.3 |Aug dew point C = 5.3 |Sep dew point C = 6.1 |Oct dew point C = 7.2 |Nov dew point C = 9.1 |Dec dew point C = 10.3 |access-date = December 29, 2025}}

Demographics

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.

References

References

1. {{Census 2021 AUS
2. http://www.mariaislandferry.com.au/Maria_Island_Facts_&_History.html {{webarchive. link. (15 September 2009 accessed on 23 February 2009)
3. David Hodgson. "Meredith, George (1777–1856)".
4. Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions.
5. "Climate classification maps: Köppen - all classes".
6. "Swansea (Francis Street) Climate (2011-2025)". [[Australian Community Media]].
7. "Swansea Post Office Climate (1884-2008)". [[Australian Community Media]].