Scamander (Scamander)
Scamander is a small town at the mouth of the Scamander River between St Helens and St Marys on the north-east coast of Tasmania in Australia. The town is a popular holiday destination because of its wide, sandy beaches and views of the ocean. Recreational activities include surfing, swimming and fishing for bream in the river.
The first European to travel through the area was surveyor John Helder Wedge in 1825. He named the river "Borthwick" and the position itself he named "Yarmouth" after the English port Great Yarmouth but both the river and town were both later renamed "Scamander".
The wide river mouth has been a challenge to bridge builders for many years. Richard Terry constructed a timber bridge in 1865, but it collapsed around May in 1875 while a large herd of cattle was being driven across it. A second and third bridge were successively washed away in floods in 1889 and 1911. Further bridges succumbed to flood and shipworms, the last timber bridge collapsing in 1929. A truss bridge was built in 1936 and still stands today, used by pedestrians and bicycles. The concrete bridge that currently carries the Tasman Highway was built on a better alignment nearby and officially opened on 26 June 1991.
Scamander Post Office opened on 1 October 1896 and closed in 1933. It reopened in 1950.
On the evening of 11 December 2006, 18 houses and a restaurant were razed by a bushfire that swept around the small town.
The first European to travel through the area was surveyor John Helder Wedge in 1825. He named the river "Borthwick" and the position itself he named "Yarmouth" after the English port Great Yarmouth but both the river and town were both later renamed "Scamander".
The wide river mouth has been a challenge to bridge builders for many years. Richard Terry constructed a timber bridge in 1865, but it collapsed around May in 1875 while a large herd of cattle was being driven across it. A second and third bridge were successively washed away in floods in 1889 and 1911. Further bridges succumbed to flood and shipworms, the last timber bridge collapsing in 1929. A truss bridge was built in 1936 and still stands today, used by pedestrians and bicycles. The concrete bridge that currently carries the Tasman Highway was built on a better alignment nearby and officially opened on 26 June 1991.
Scamander Post Office opened on 1 October 1896 and closed in 1933. It reopened in 1950.
On the evening of 11 December 2006, 18 houses and a restaurant were razed by a bushfire that swept around the small town.
Map - Scamander (Scamander)
Map
Country - Australia
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The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately 65,000 years ago, during the last ice age. Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world. Australia's written history commenced with the European maritime exploration of Australia. The Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon was the first known European to reach Australia, in 1606. In 1770, the British explorer James Cook mapped and claimed the east coast of Australia for Great Britain, and the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Sydney in 1788 to establish the penal colony of New South Wales. The European population grew in subsequent decades, and by the end of the 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing British colonies established. Democratic parliaments were gradually established through the 19th century, culminating with a vote for the federation of the six colonies and foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and wealthy market economy.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
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AUD | Australian dollar | $ | 2 |
ISO | Language |
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EN | English language |