Zeehan is a town on the west coast of

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

, Australia south-west of

Burnie Burnie is a port city on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. When founded in 1827, it was named Emu Bay, being renamed after William Burnie, a director of the Van Diemen's Land Company, in the early 1840s. , Burnie had an urban pop ...

. It is part of the West Coast Council, along with the

seaport A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...

Strahan, and neighbouring mining towns of Dundas, Rosebery and Queenstown.

History

The greater Zeehan area was inhabited by the indigenous Peerapper and

Tommeginne Northern Tasmanian, or Tommeginne (Tommeeginnee), is an aboriginal language of Tasmania in the reconstruction of Claire Bowern.Claire Bowern, September 2012, "The riddle of Tasmanian languages", ''Proc. R. Soc. B'', 279, 4590–4595, doi: 10 ...

clans of the North West group for over 10,000 years prior to the British colonisation of Tasmania. They were greatly coastal peoples, residing in small numbers on a diet consisting of muttonbirds, seals, swan eggs and cider gum, and constructed bark huts when strong westerly winds brought about rain and icy temperatures.

European naming

On 24 November 1642, Dutch explorer

Abel Tasman Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first known European explorer to reach New ...

became the first European explorer to sight and document the Heemskirk and West Coast Ranges. Tasman sailed his ships close to the coastal area which today encompasses the

Southwest Conservation Area The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions— north, east, south, and west—eac ...

, south of Macquarie Harbour, but was unable to send a landing party ashore due to poor weather and did not make contact with any South West Tasmanian groups. In their circumnavigation of Tasmania between 1798–99,

George Bass George Bass (; 30 January 1771 – after 5 February 1803) was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia. Early years Bass was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, Georg ...

and

Matthew Flinders Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first littoral zone, inshore circumnavigate, circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland ...

named the Heemskirk Ranges mountains Mount Heemskirk and Mount Zeehan after Tasman’s ships, the warship ''Heemskerck'' (

Old Dutch In linguistics, Old Dutch (Dutch: Oudnederlands) or Old Low Franconian (Dutch: Oudnederfrankisch) is the set of Franconian dialects (i.e. dialects that evolved from Frankish) spoken in the Low Countries during the Early Middle Ages, from aro ...

for "Home Church") and the fluyt ''Zeehaen'' (Old Dutch for "Sea Rooster") in honour of Tasman's voyage of exploration. Although Dutch in origin, Bass and Flinder's

Anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

naming of Mount Heemskirk and Mount Zeehan created some of the oldest British place names in Tasmania. Only a few Dutch place names in Tasmania originate from Tasman's 1642 voyage. Most place names were not assigned in

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sep ...

until after the settlement of Hobart Town at Risdon Cove in 1803, although some place names originate from Bruni d'Entrecasteaux's French expedition in 1792. It was not until after the 1815 discovery of Macquarie Harbour by explorer and mariner James Kelly that many place names on the West Coast were assigned.

Mining boom

Tin was discovered nearby at Mount Bischoff in 1871 and at Mount Heemskirk in 1879. Deposits of silver and lead were discovered in the area by Frank Long in 1882 and Mount Zeehan Post Office opened on 1 August 1888. The township was named Zeehan in 1890 and over the following decades, quickly expanded due to its proximity to the

Zeehan mineral field Zeehan mineral field is a mining area near Zeehan in Western Tasmania, Australia. The field is frequently associated with the short lived shallow silver deposits in the field, which peaked in the 1890s and early 1900s, and had faded by the time o ...

. The peak period for mining was up to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, when 159 companies operated at the town’s peak and the town stock exchange had 60 members. With a main street over two miles long (3.2 km); it claimed over 20 hotels, several pubs, a hospital, and two theatres, the Gaiety Theatre and Theatre Royal. It developed a friendly rivalry with Queenstown, and while the silver boom lasted it was known as the ''Silver City''. In the first decade of the twentieth century it was the third largest town in Tasmania, after Hobart and Launceston. A port was established at Trial Harbour for Zeehan, however its exposure to the

Roaring Forties The Roaring Forties are strong westerly winds found in the Southern Hemisphere, generally between the latitudes of 40°S and 50°S. The strong west-to-east air currents are caused by the combination of air being displaced from the Equator ...

made the site a vulnerable anchorage. After the construction of the

Strahan–Zeehan Railway The Strahan–Zeehan Railway, also known as the "Government Railway", was a railway from Strahan to Zeehan on the west coast of Tasmania. It linked two private railways: the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company railway line (now known as the ...

, Strahan became Zeehan's favourable port. The mines earned some two hundred thousand dollars per year for two decades, before progressively declining till the 1960s, when the last mines, Montana and Oceana were closed.

Decline

The population of Zeehan-Dundas peaked at 10,000 in about 1910, over ten times the current population. In the 1970s it saw increased activity due to operations at the nearby Renison Bell tin mine, and again in the 1990s. It had its own council until the early 1900s, and has since merged with surrounding councils to form the Municipality of West Coast. At the , Zeehan had a population of 728. The town was subject to several acts of arson in the 2010s, one of which saw damage to historic buildings dating back to the 1890s. The township has had its share of criminal characters-with various acts of manslaughter, assault and aggravated burglary in its history both past and present. During the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

pandemic, ten parcels of land, some as cheap as $8000, were sold by the West Coast Council as a means to attract new residents. It is hoped tourism will continue to bolster the local economy, with a new takeaway (Wildz Takeaway) open on the main road, and the creation of The Western Echo newspaper. A replica train set of the township is being built as a tourist attraction. The area has also seen an influx of visitors due to the bike tracks around Zeehan,

Trial Harbour, Tasmania In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribuna ...

and

Queenstown, Tasmania Queenstown is a town in the West Coast region of the island of Tasmania, Australia. It is in a valley on the western slopes of Mount Owen on the West Coast Range. At the , Queenstown had a population of 1,808 people. History Queenstown's ...

Surrounding ecological and health repercussions

In 2021, a study of the levels of pollution in the lakes of northwest Tasmania found a level of contamination with lead copper, cadmium and arsenic equal to the most severely polluted lakes in the world. Owen Tarn and Basin Lake near Queenstown were the worst, but Dove Lake, Lake Dobson, Lake Cygnus, and Perched Lake were also affected. These lakes are in the mountainous areas up to a hundred and thirty kilometres downwind from Zeehan and Queenstown and have been adulterated by atmospheric pollution mainly caused by open cut mining proceeding uninhibited till finally controlled by the Environment Protection Act of 1973. Recent bushfires have caused an increase in atmospheric mercury levels to three or four times the pre-industrial level due to the release of mercury previously locked in trees. Evidence indicates the area has suffered from dangerous levels of environmental pollution for over a century.

Roads

Zeehan is connected with the north coast of Tasmania by the Murchison Highway, to Strahan by the Zeehan-Strahan Road, and Queenstown by the Zeehan Highway.

Railways

Zeehan was an important railway location—the end of the

Emu Bay Railway The Emu Bay Railway was a Tasmania, Australian railway company. The railway was significant during full operation, in that it linked the Tasmanian Government Railways system at Burnie with that at Zeehan that further linked to the Mount L ...

, and the beginning of the government-owned Strahan-Zeehan Railway service that connected to Strahan and Regatta Point, where the Mount Lyell Railway connected to Queenstown. Also at early stages of the town's history, a series of timber trams spread out from Zeehan towards the Pieman River as well as a number of other locations. Some of the smaller railway operations east of Zeehan were unique. One had the honour of having the first

Garratt A Garratt (often referred to as a Beyer Garratt) is a type of steam locomotive invented by British engineer Herbert William Garratt that is articulated into three parts. Its boiler, firebox, and cab are mounted on a centre frame or "bri ...

steam engine designed and built for its operations. After the government rail connection between Zeehan and Strahan closed, the Mount Lyell Company trucked its copper ore to the Emu Bay Railway terminus at Melba Flats, a few kilometres east of Zeehan.

Newspapers

:See the article: '' Zeehan and Dundas Herald''

Economy

Dundas Mining's Avebury

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow ...

mine, Zeehan Zinc's

Comstock Mine Comstock mining operation in West Coast, Tasmania is at mine site is situated 4 km west of the township of Zeehan along Trial Harbour Road and neighbours the Avebury Nickel mine a further 4 kilometres to the south-west. Mine The Comstock le ...

and Bluestone Tin's Renison Bell tin mine are significant economic contributors to the community, but the majority of the town relies on

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism ...

for its survival. In 2018, construction began on the $280 million Granville Harbour Wind Farm, Tasmania's tallest wind farm, located 35 km north-west of Zeehan. It took Tasmania to 100 per cent renewable energy, and in 2020, it was Australia's best performing wind farm. In 2022, Avesbury mine opened- bringing lots of job opportunities for the town of Zeehan and surrounds.

Tourism features

The main streetscape of Zeehan is one significant feature of the town, featuring many boom-time and pre-Federation buildings. Among these attractions is the Gaiety Theatre, Grand Hotel and the West Coast Heritage Centre (formerly known as the ''West Coast Pioneers Museum'') located within the former Zeehan School of Mines and Metallurgy building. The West Coast Heritage Centre features examples of Tasmania's mineral emblem, the valuable crystal crocoite, as well as other geological specimens and historic mining artefacts.

Notable people

The famed concert pianist Eileen Joyce was born in Zeehan, and Eileen Joyce Memorial Park in Zeehan was named in her honour. Reverend

Dorothy McRae-McMahon Dorothy McRae-McMahon (born 1934) is a retired Australian Uniting Church minister and activist, formerly Minister at Pitt Street Uniting Church—known for its human rights work and local "street level" activism. McRae-McMahon has been a feminist ...

, Australia's first openly gay clergy member and human rights activist was born in Zeehan.

Notable events

Parts of a 1925 Australian silent film, '' Jewelled Nights'' were shot on Savage River, north of the town in the Tarkine rainforest. Bushfires were reported near Zeehan in 1896, 1908, 1977, 1980 and 2006. In November 2012 the town was threatened by bushfires from two directions. However, the alert was later removed. There were also bushfires in February 1890 (diary of Edward Jennings and this http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13761103). Bushfires also threatened Zeehan in 2019- with the fire coming approximately 2 kilometres from the town. Residents were evacuated to Queenstown and Strahan after it was decided that the school was no longer a safe locale for residents to gather. A new television series, ''Bay of Fires'', starring Marta Dusseldorp has been announced to be filmed at locations in Zeehan, Queenstown and Strahan in 2022.

Climate

Zeehan has a cool, wet

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(''Cfb'') with mild damp summers and chilly, long, rainy winters.

Gallery

File:Gaiety Theatre Zeehan 20171121-057.jpg, File:Zeehan School of Mines 20171121-053.jpg, File:112 Main Street Zeehan 20171121-063.jpg, File:Zeehan Police and Court 20171121-058.jpg, File:Locomotive West Coast Pioneers Museum Zeehan.JPG, File:Locomotives West Coast Pioneers Museum Zeehan.JPG,