Whitemark

Buildings

Whitemark has a local pub, called the Flinders Island Interstate Hotel. It also has a post office, a supermarket, a bakery, a petrol station, a mechanic, an Anglican church and a library as well as small local produce businesses.

History

Whitemark was gazetted as a locality in 1970. The name may be derived from a conspicuous white mark placed by an early surveyor. Whitemark Post Office opened around 1902.

The Hydro Tasmania developed power supply for the settlement in the 1980s.

The local newspaper was the Island News from 1954 to 2004.

Geography

The waters of Bass Strait form the western and south-western boundaries.

Climate

Whitemark has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb), with tepid, somewhat dry summers and cool, wetter winters. Average maxima vary from 22.7 C in February to 13.4 C in July while average minima fluctuate between 13.8 C in February and 6.4 C in July.{{cite web Mean average annual rainfall is moderate, 730.3 mm spread over 158.8 days, and concentrated in winter. The town is not very sunny, with 108.6 cloudy days and only 47.6 clear days per annum. Extreme temperatures have ranged from 41.5 C on 29 January 2009 to -3.5 C on 28 July 1976. Climate data was sourced from Flinders Island Airport, 3.7 km northwest of Whitemark.

|Jan record high C = 41.5 |Feb record high C = 39.4 |Mar record high C = 35.6 |Apr record high C = 31.7 |May record high C = 27.4 |Jun record high C = 20.3 |Jul record high C = 21.4 |Aug record high C = 22.7 |Sep record high C = 29.5 |Oct record high C = 32.7 |Nov record high C = 35.9 |Dec record high C = 40.5 |Jan record low C = 2.6 |Feb record low C = 4.0 |Mar record low C = 1.6 |Apr record low C = -0.4 |May record low C = -1.7 |Jun record low C = -2.5 |Jul record low C = -3.5 |Aug record low C = -3.0 |Sep record low C = -2.5 |Oct record low C = -1.4 |Nov record low C = 0.5 |Dec record low C = 2.5 |Jan dew point C = 12.3 |Feb dew point C = 13.1 |Mar dew point C = 12.1 |Apr dew point C = 10.6 |May dew point C = 9.8 |Jun dew point C = 8.2 |Jul dew point C = 7.4 |Aug dew point C = 7.1 |Sep dew point C = 7.8 |Oct dew point C = 8.7 |Nov dew point C = 10.0 |Dec dew point C = 11.2

Road infrastructure

Route B85 (Palana Road / Lady Barron Road) passes through from north-west to south.

References

References

1. "2021 Whitemark, Census All persons QuickStats". [[Australian Bureau of Statistics]].
2. "Interstate Hotel".
3. . ["Placenames Tasmania – Whitemark"](https://www.placenames.tas.gov.au/#p1). *Placenames Tasmania*.
4. Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions.
5. (1983). "Whitemark Power Station, Flinders Island : draft environmental impact statement". The Commission.
6. (2004). "Island news : 50 years serving the Furneaux Islands, 9th July 1954 to 9th July 2004". Committee of Island News.
7. "Whitemark, Tasmania".
8. . (May 2017). ["Tasmanian Road Route Codes"](https://dpipwe.tas.gov.au/Documents/Route%20Descriptions%20V3.6.pdf). *Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water & Environment*.