Stanley And The North West Guides Attractions Events in Tasmania

Burnie overlooks Emu Bay, on the north-west coast. This proudly industrial city is Australia’s fifth largest container port and a vibrant place to visit.
Burnie was once surrounded by dense rainforest, but this slowly disappeared as fortunes were made felling and milling timber. The paper and pulp mill on the city’s outskirts operated from 1938 to 1998.
Today, Burnie has a population of almost 19,000. You can visit the Burnie Park and animal reserve, or Australia’s biggest eucalypt tree farm. The Pioneer Village Museum will provide you with a detailed account of the city’s history, while at Lactos Cheese Factory you can treat your palate to fine wine and the 2006 World’s Best Camembert.
One of the town’s most distinctive attractions is the Creative Paper Mill, which features the work of local and visiting artists, including roo poo hand-made paper and wonderful life-size paper sculptures. You can even get your hands wet making your own paper.
Test your stamina in Australia’s premier 10-kilometre (six-mile) road race, the Burnie Ten, held every October for runners and walkers of all calibres. Burnie is close to the Fernglade Platypus Sanctuary and Guide Falls, and approximately 90 minutes’ drive from Cradle Mountain.
Burnie was first explored by Bass and Flinders and was known as Emu Bay when it was settled by the Van Diemen’s Land Company in 1827.
Burnie experiences temperate conditions, with an average maximum of 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit) in January and 13.5 degrees Celsius (56.5 degrees Fahrenheit) in June.
The city is 30 minutes’ drive west of Devonport or 152 kilometres (94.5 miles) north-west of Launceston on the A1.

Stanley is the second largest settlement west of Wynyard on the northern coast. It is part of the Circular Head Municipality. Smithton is the main business area of this Municipality. Stanley’s iconic ‘Nut’, a volcanic plug rising 150 metres (492 feet), likened to an enormous Christmas cake by explorers Bass and Flinders.
Stanley has a population of 450. Its main industries are fishing and tourism.
For an aerobic workout Stanley-style – or to walk off the town’s speciality (fish and chips) – you can climb a winding path to the windblown plateau of the Nut. Alternatively, take the chairlift to appreciate the uninterrupted views of Bass Strait.
This is a great place for guided tours. The Tarkine Wilderness Area, to the south, has gained international recognition for its temperate rainforest, and you can travel there by four-wheel-drive with guides who know the area intimately.
Closer to Stanley, brave Highfield Historic Site to learn how the area’s first European settlers lived. Historic tours are also offered through Stanley’s streets, lined with stone cottages dating back to the town’s settlement.
Stanley is a good base to stay and explore the wilderness areas and take a wildlife tour.
Seal-spotting cruises and penguin watching at the foot of the Nut are a must. There are bushwalks in nearby Rocky Cape National Park. Tours of Woolnorth are popular – the historic property, still operated under its original Van Diemen’s Land Company charter, also has modern influences, including a large, productive wind farm.
Stanley was discovered by Bass and Flinders in 1798 and was named after the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Stanley.
The first telephone transmission from Tasmania to mainland Australia was made in 1936 from Stanley. The town was also the birthplace of Joseph Lyons, currently the only Tasmanian to ever hold the office of prime minister.
Stanley has an average maximum temperature of 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) in January and 12.5 degrees Celsius (54.5 degrees Fahrenheit) in June.
Stanley is an hour’s drive west of Burnie on the A2. Head for the Nut – you can see it long before you reach the town.

Waratah sits on the edge of the Tarkine Reserve in north-west Tasmania 40 minutes' drive south of Burnie and 50 minutes from Burnie/Wynyard Airport.
The town with its magnificent waterfall - in the main street - was once the richest tin mine in the world. Today, Waratah offers visitors a rare insight into an original mining town. The town remained isolated from the rest of Tasmania until 1963 when a connecting road was finally completed.
On December 4, 1871, a prospector, James ‘Philosopher’ Smith, discovered tin at Mount Bischoff. His discovery triggered a mining boom and the birth of Tasmanian mining.
When the mine closed in 1935 it had produced 81,000 tonnes of tin and provided a dividend equal to £200 for every £1 initially invested. At its peak the town, which now has only a few hundred residents, had a population in excess of 5,000.
While you can no longer visit the Mount Bischoff mine you can visit the Kenworthy Stamper Mill a working historical artefact and the last mining operation to be conducted on Mount Bischoff. The Stamper was relocated from Dead Mans Gully to a purpose-built facility in the centre of town.
You can also visit the Courthouse Museum with its collection of local historical artefacts, photos and personal stories. A replica of 'Philosopher' Smith's Hut sits next to the Museum, demonstrating the conditions of miners during those early days.
Visitors can picnic by the waterfall or enjoy the views from the comfort of the café, take a stroll around the lake and look out for platypus, or try your hand at fishing for trout.
Every Australia Day the town holds the Annual Australia Day Duck Races and a reunion for the former Luina, Waratah and Savage River residents.
Waratah is a good base for exploring the Tarkine, and you can choose from bed and breakfast, caravan and camping ground and hotel accommodation.
Waratah's weather is subject to the prevailing west coast weather patterns and its lush rainforests are fed by the Roaring Forties winds and rain. Make sure you bring a jacket and all-weather gear.

Wynyard is a centre of agriculture on the A2 about 60 kilometres (37 miles) west of Devonport. The city is on the banks of the Inglis River sheltered by Table Cape - flat-topped and fertile and during spring it is carpeted in tulips.
Take a boat out, go fishing, ride a horse, swing a golf club or a tennis racquet, or just go walking or driving. This is a beautiful stretch of coast, with beaches and bays in either direction.
The Wonders of Wynyard is the local visitor centre with a world class collection of vintage Ford cars and local art.
Behind the town you’ll pass village after tiny village as you explore the country roads among the farmlands, patchworked in green, gold and dark chocolaty brown.
Wynyard has a direct link to Melbourne from Burnie Airport. You can fly to King and Three Hummock islands from Wynyard.