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Stanley
Tasmania
StanleyAndNut.jpg
Stanley and The Nut viewed from Highfield
Stanley is located in Tasmania
Stanley
Stanley
Location in Tasmania
Population 553 (2016 census)
Postcode(s) 7331
Elevation 10 m (33 ft)
Location
LGA(s) Circular Head Council
State electorate(s) Braddon
Federal Division(s) Braddon
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
16.1 °C
61 °F
9.4 °C
49 °F
934.7 mm
36.8 in

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 2016 census, Stanley had a population of 553.

History

Amphitrite Australiastamp
1936 Stamp: Cable to Tasmania depicting Amphitrite

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.

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 1 July 1845; it was known as Circular Head until 1882. In 1880 the first coach service between Stanley and Burnie was established.

In 1936 a submarine telephone cable from Apollo Bay to Stanley provided the first telephone 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 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 or via a chairlift.

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.

Climate

Stanley has a warm-summer mediterranean climate that is transitional with the oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification csb/cfb). Its summers are moderated by its shoreline position, whereas the rainy winters have moderate lows.

Climate data for Stanley
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 21.2
(70.2)
21.5
(70.7)
20.0
(68.0)
17.4
(63.3)
15.1
(59.2)
13.3
(55.9)
12.6
(54.7)
13.2
(55.8)
14.2
(57.6)
16.0
(60.8)
17.7
(63.9)
19.4
(66.9)
16.8
(62.2)
Average low °C (°F) 10.9
(51.6)
11.4
(52.5)
9.4
(48.9)
7.0
(44.6)
5.3
(41.5)
4.1
(39.4)
3.4
(38.1)
3.9
(39.0)
4.9
(40.8)
6.1
(43.0)
7.9
(46.2)
9.5
(49.1)
7.0
(44.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 40.7
(1.60)
47.9
(1.89)
44.1
(1.74)
74.1
(2.92)
99.2
(3.91)
111.1
(4.37)
132.7
(5.22)
108.8
(4.28)
94.5
(3.72)
98.3
(3.87)
74.4
(2.93)
64.3
(2.53)
991.4
(39.03)

Notable people associated with Stanley

  • John Lee Archer - the "Father of Tasmanian architecture". Archer became a magistrate in the Circular Head area in 1838 until his death in 1852
  • Henry Hellyer - Chief Surveyor, explorer, and architect
  • Enid Lyons – wife of Joseph Lyons; also a politician; first woman elected to the Australian Parliament; first woman to serve in the Cabinet of Australia
  • Joseph Lyons – the tenth Prime Minister of Australia
  • Bill Mollison – founder of the permaculture movement
  • Jim Willis – Australian botanist

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