Port Sorell is a town on the north-central 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 on the waterway of the same name, just off
Bass Strait
Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The ...
, 20 km east of
Devonport and close to
Shearwater
Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae. They have a global marine distribution, but are most common in temperate and cold waters, and are pelagic outside the breeding season.
Description
These tube ...
and
Hawley Beach. It borders the
Rubicon Estuary, which has been identified by
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...
as an
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
because of its importance for
wader
245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots
Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...
s, especially
pied oystercatchers.
History
The area was named Panatana by local Aborigines. The town was originally a
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
and
sealing port named ''Burgess'', however the name was officially changed to Port Sorell (after
Governor Sorell) in 1822. In 1823, in an attempt to encourage further immigration to the North, Governor Sorell would dispatch Captain Charles Browne Hardwicke to the area. While outright not discouraging Port Sorell itself, he would describe the land west (stretching to at least the Mersey River and perhaps across to Circular Head) as "practically impenatrable and uninhabitable" for increased Migration North
Hardwicke would also comment on the Native Tasmanians in the area, whom he described as "Numerous, and appear disposed to be friendly towards Europeans, as we had communication with them." This was in stark contrast to his descriptions of Tasmanians to the west in the Circular Heads area, whom he described as "extremely wild" and shy with "one party running away at a great distance."
The town could have been a lot larger than it is now, had it not been for
bushfires
A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...
, after which nearby Devonport grew to become a major port. At the , Port Sorell had a population of 2,221.
Today Port Sorell is one of many popular holiday spots along the north coast of Tasmania.
The first Port Sorell Post Office opened on 1 February 1845 and closed in 1863. The current office opened on 3 July 1944.
References
Further reading
*Gardam, Faye. ''A History of Port Sorell 1844 - 1994''. Port Sorell Sesquicentenary Committee:
Latrobe, Tasmania
Latrobe is a town in northern Tasmania, Australia on the Mersey River (Australia), Mersey River. It is 8 km south-east of Devonport, Tasmania, Devonport on the Bass Highway (Tasmania), Bass Highway. It is the main centre of the Latrobe Co ...
. 1994.
External links
{{authority control
Localities of Latrobe Council
Towns in Tasmania