Coles Bay is an Australian town on the east Coast of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

192 km north-east of Hobart and 173 km south-east of Launceston, being the main entrance point for visitors to the Freycinet National Park. It has a population of 353 people including the surrounding area, but many tourists visit the area for its scenery and outdoor activities, which include

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

, biking,

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

, boating and

Sea kayak A sea kayak or touring kayak is a kayak developed for the sport of paddling on open waters of lakes, bays, and the ocean. Sea kayaks are seaworthy small boats with a covered deck and the ability to incorporate a spray deck. They trade off the man ...

ing. The town is on the northern end of

Great Oyster Bay Great Oyster Bay is a broad and sheltered bay on the east coast of Tasmania, Australia which opens onto the Tasman Sea. The Tasman Highway runs close to the West Coast of the bay with views of the granite peaks of the Hazards and Schouten Island ...

with views of the red and pink granite peaks known as The Hazards, on the

Freycinet Peninsula The Freycinet Peninsula is a large peninsula located on the eastern coast of Tasmania, Australia. The peninsula is located north of Schouten Island and is contained within the Freycinet National Park. The locality of Freycinet is in the local go ...

. It is in the area of the Glamorgan Spring Bay Council. Each Easter the town is one of the three locations for the

Australian Three Peaks Race The 'Australian Three Peaks Race'' is a short-handed offshore sailing and endurance mountain running event that was held in Tasmania, the southernmost state of Australia, over the Easter long weekend. The first race was in 1989 and the race was ...

, a continuous sailing and running event starting at Beauty Point just north of Launceston and ending at Hobart with runners scaling three mountains including Mount Freycinet (33 km run; 620 m ascent).

History

Whaling parties, tin and coal miners and pastoralists are some of the many people who have lived and worked on the Freycinet Peninsula since European settlement. Old mine shafts and abandoned farmers' huts remain today and attract tourists. A shore-based whaling station was established by

George Meredith George Meredith (12 February 1828 – 18 May 1909) was an English novelist and poet of the Victorian era. At first his focus was poetry, influenced by John Keats among others, but he gradually established a reputation as a novelist. '' The Ord ...

in 1824. It only ever operated in the winter months and had been abandoned by the 1850s. In 1916 the area along with Mount Field became Tasmania's first national park. Coles Bay Post Office opened on 21 December 1953.

Population

In the 2016 Census, there were 353 people in Coles Bay. 70.6% of people were born in Australia and 77.7% of people spoke only English at home, The most common response for religion was No Religion at 36.6%.

Plastic shopping bag ban

The town became one of the first in the world to ban

Plastic shopping bag Plastic shopping bags, carrier bags, or plastic grocery bags are a type of plastic bag used as shopping bags and made from various kinds of plastic. In use by consumers worldwide since the 1960s, these bags are sometimes called single-use bags, ...

s in April 2003, after a two-year campaign. Local bakery owner and Coles Bay Tourism Association president Ben Kearney organised all the Coles Bay retailers to stop using plastic bags and worked with

Planet Ark Planet Ark Environmental Foundation is an Australian non-profit environmental organization founded in 1992. Planet Ark works with partners in the public and private sectors to help find the simple ways in which their partners can reduce their im ...

to introduce alternatives including recycled paper bags which can be purchased for a small fee and reusable calico shopping bags. On Australia Day 2005 Ben Kearney was declared ''Australia's Local Hero for 2005'' for his commitment to the environment. The Tasmanian Government awarded Coles Bay an Environmental Excellence Award for banning use of plastic bags. OysterBay

References

External links

Coles Bay Website
{{authority control Towns in Tasmania Bays of Tasmania Localities of Glamorgan–Spring Bay Council Whaling stations in Australia