Stanley, Tasmania

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Stanley
state = tas


caption = Stanley, from partway up The Nut
lga = Circular Head Council
postcode = 7331
est =
pop = 458
pop_footnotes=
elevation= 10
elevation_footnotes= [http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_091094.shtml Bureau of Meteorology] . Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
maxtemp = 16.1
mintemp = 9.4
rainfall = 934.7
stategov = Braddon
fedgov = Braddon
dist1 = 379
dir1 = NW
location1= Hobart
dist2 = 224
dir2 = W
location2= Launceston
dist3 = 127
dir3 = W
location3= Devonport
dist4 = 21
dir4 = NE
location4= Smithton

Stanley is a town on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. Travelling west, Stanley is the second-last major township on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Smithton being the larger township in the Circular Head municipality. According to the 2006 census, Stanley had a population of 458.Census 2006 AUS|id=UCL617000 |name=Stanley (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)|accessdate=2007-11-14|quick=on]

History

In 1825 the Van Diemen's Land Company was granted land in north-western Van Diemen's Land, including the Stanley area. Employees of the company from England settled in the area in October 1826.cite web|url=http://www.arts.monash.edu.au/ncas/multimedia/gazetteer/list/stanley.html |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20050306194054/www.arts.monash.edu.au/ncas/multimedia/gazetteer/list/stanley.html |title=Stanley, Tasmania |archivedate=2005-03-06 |work=Australian Places|publisher=Monash University]

It was named after Lord Stanley, the British Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in the 1830s and 1840s, who later had three terms of office as British Prime Minister.

A port opened in 1827 and the first school opened in 1841. The Post Office opened on July 1, 1845 but was known as Circular Head until 1882. Citation

last = Premier Postal History | title = Post Office List | url = https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&country= | accessdate = 2008-04-11 ] In 1880 the first coach service between Stanley and Burnie was established.

In 1936 a submarine telegraph and telephone cable from Apollo Bay to Stanley provided the first connection to Tasmania from the mainland.

The Town today

Today Stanley is a tourist destination and the main fishing port on the north-west coast of Tasmania.

The most distinctive landmark in Stanley is The Nut, an old volcanic plug discovered by the explorers Bass and Flinders in 1798, who officially named it "Circular Head". It has steep sides and rises to 143 metres with a flat top. It is possible to walk to the top of The Nut via a steep track.

Tourists regularly travel to Highfield (a farming region on the north west of the township) to view the picturesque northern beaches with The Nut in the background.

The port on the southern side of The Nut is also a regularly used fishing spot.

Notable people born or raised in Stanley

*Joseph Lyons - The tenth Prime Minister of Australia.
*Jim Willis - Australian botanist.
*Bill Mollison - Founder of the Permaculture movement.

References

External links

* [http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=1&ti=1,1&Search%5FArg=stanley%20tasmania&Search%5FCode=FT%2A&SL=None&CNT=25&PID=10229&SEQ=20070713181152&SID=1 - Early map of Stanley at National Library of Australia]