Bridport is a small town on the north-east coast of

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is part of the Dorset Council and takes its name from

Bridport Bridport is a market town and civil parish in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the River Asker, Asker. Its origins are Anglo-Saxons, Saxon and it has a long history as a ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, England. At the 2016 census, Bridport had a population of 1,715.

History

Bridport Post Office opened on 1 May 1882. In 2004 a links golf course, Barnbougle Dunes, was established on sand dunes 3 km north-east of Bridport. This was soon ranked in the top 50 courses in the world. A second links course called Lost Farm was built next to Barnbougle Dunes and opened in December 2010. Built to a similar standard, this development established club facilities high on sand dunes for views of the beach and Anderson Bay.

Geography

Located on Anderson Bay, Bridport is a holiday location with the population increasing markedly in summer. In summer it is estimated that Bridport has a Summer population of 5,000. It has beaches, swimming, sailing and other water sports. Streets in the northern half of Bridport have male person names and those in the southern half have female names. Nearby towns include Scottsdale,

Tomahawk A tomahawk is a type of single-handed axe used by the many Native Americans in the United States, Indian peoples and nations of North America, traditionally resembles a hatchet with a straight shaft. Etymology The name comes from Powhatan langu ...

and Bellingham.

Facilities

Town facilities include supermarkets, hotel, chemist, baker, butcher, clothing store, golf courses, lawn bowls, sailing club, doctor's surgery, visitor's information centre, caravan park and several levels of accommodation from backpackers, bed and breakfast, to holiday resort. Commercial fishing operates from Bridport as well as sporting fishing from the rocks or small boats.

Transport

A helicopter service began in 2008 transporting people between Launceston and Bridport mainly for golfers who fly into Tasmania to play. A ferry operates from Bridport to Lady Barron on

Flinders Island Flinders Island, the largest island in the Furneaux Group, is a island in the Bass Strait, northeast of the island of Tasmania. Today Flinders Island is part of the state of Tasmania, Australia. It is from Cape Portland, Tasmania, Cape Portl ...

, part of the

Furneaux Group The Furneaux Group is a group of approximately 100 islands located at the eastern end of Bass Strait, between Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. The islands were named after British navigator Tobias Furneaux, who sighted the eastern side of ...

. A light aircraft service operates from Bridport Aerodrome to Flinders Island.

Climate

References

External links

* {{authority control North East Tasmania Localities of Dorset Council (Australia) Populated coastal places in Australia