Scamander is a small town at the mouth of the

Scamander River Karamenderes is a river located entirely within the Çanakkale Province of Turkey. It flows west from Mount Ida (Turkey), Mount Ida and empties into the Aegean Sea near the Troy#Troy_Historical_National_Park, Troy Historical National Park. Acco ...

between St Helens and St Marys 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 ...

. The town is a popular holiday destination because of its wide, sandy beaches and views of the ocean. Recreational activities include surfing, swimming and fishing for

bream Bream (, ) are species of freshwater fish belonging to a variety of genera including '' Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), '' Ballerus'', '' Blicca'', '' Brama'', '' Chilotilapia'', '' Etelis'', '' Lepomis'', '' Gymnocranius'', ...

in the river.

History

The first European to travel through the area was surveyor

John Helder Wedge John Helder Wedge (1793 – 22 November 1872) was a surveyor, explorer and politician in Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania, Australia).G. H. Stancombe'Wedge, John Helder (1793 - 1872), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Online Edition Early life ...

in 1825. He named the river "Borthwick" and the position itself he named "Yarmouth" after the English port

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

but both the river and town were both later renamed "Scamander". The wide river mouth has been a challenge to bridge builders for many years. Richard Terry constructed a timber bridge in 1865, but it collapsed around May in 1875 while a large herd of cattle was being driven across it. A second and third bridge were successively washed away in floods in 1889 and 1911. Further bridges succumbed to flood and

shipworm The shipworms, also called teredo worms or simply teredo (, via Latin ), are marine bivalve molluscs in the family Teredinidae, a group of saltwater clams with long, soft, naked bodies. They are notorious for boring into (and commonly eventual ...

s, the last timber bridge collapsing in 1929. A

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements, typically straight, may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

was built in 1936 and still stands today, used by pedestrians and bicycles. The concrete bridge that currently carries the

Tasman Highway The Tasman Highway (or A3) is a highway in Tasmania, Australia. Like the Midland Highway (Tasmania), Midland Highway, it connects the major cities of Hobart and Launceston, Tasmania, Launceston – however it takes a different route, via the no ...

was built on a better alignment nearby and officially opened on 26 June 1991. Scamander Post Office opened on 1 October 1896 and closed in 1933. It reopened in 1950. On the evening of 11 December 2006, 18 houses and a restaurant were razed by a bushfire that swept around the small town.

Climate

Scamander has a temperate oceanic climate ( Köppen: ''Cfb''); experiencing mild summers and cool winters. Average maxima vary from in February to in July, while average minima range between in February and in July. Precipitation is moderate, averaging per annum. Rainfall is well-distributed through the year; occurring on 126.8 days. The town is not particularly sunny, experiencing 130.0 cloudy days and 74.3 clear days per annum. Extreme temperatures have ranged from on 30 January 2009 to on 6 July 1990. The former reading is also Tasmania's highest recorded temperature.

Services

Services in Scamander include: *Resort Hotel *Bottle Shop *Two Caravan Parks *Numerous Bed and Breakfasts *Several small motels *Supermarket/minimarket *Petrol Station including mechanic *Fast food store *Surf Shop *Post office *Coffee, Book & Video store *JCG Marine charter *Local Handymen

References

External links

*
Walkabout – Scamander
{{authority control Towns in Tasmania Localities of Break O'Day Council