Burnie
Burnie is a port city on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is the fourth largest city on the island, located approximately north-west of the state capital of Hobart, north-west of Launceston, and west of Devonport. Founded in 1827 as Emu Bay, the township was renamed in the early 1840s after William Burnie, a director of the Van Diemen's Land Company, and proclaimed a city by Queen Elizabeth II on 26 April 1988. As of the, Burnie has a population of 19,918, with a municipality area of, administered by the City of Burnie.
Burnie’s economy has historically been driven by heavy manufacturing, mining, forestry, and farming. The city is located on the Emu Bay coastline, with its fortunes closely tied to its deep water port. The Port of Burnie handles over of freight annually, including nearly half of Tasmania’s containerised freight, and is the state’s key gateway for mineral and forestry exports. The Burnie Chip Export Terminal, often referred to as the "Pyramids of Burnie", surpassed of annual woodchip exports in 2017.
Industrial decline in the late 20th century, culminating in the 2010 closure of the Associated Pulp and Paper Mill, which had been one of Burnie’s largest employers, brought economic and social challenges to the city.
In the 21st century, Burnie has pursued diversification, with growth in education, healthcare, and logistics, alongside proposals in renewable energy and advanced manufacturing that align with Tasmania’s aspiration to achieve 200% renewable electricity generation by 2040.
History
Early history (1827–1875)
Burnie's history is closely tied to the establishment of the Van Diemen's Land Company in the early 19th century. In 1824, a group of wool merchants, bankers, investors, and woollen mill owners gathered in London to explore the idea of creating a land company in Van Diemen's Land, following the model of the Australian Agricultural Company in the Colony of New South Wales. With backing from William Sorell, a former lieutenant governor, and Edward Curr, who had recently returned from the colony, they established the VDL Company, with William Burnie its inaugural Governor of Company. They applied to Lord Bathurst for a grant of, while Bathurst approved a smaller allotment of, the company received a Royal Charter in 1825, giving it broad authority to cultivate land, and build housing and wharves to support colonial development within a area in North-West Tasmania.Oakleigh Park, close to Burnie’s business centre, is the birthplace of Burnie and the cradle of the northwest coast. In 1827, chief surveyor of the VDL Company, Henry Hellyer, camped beside Whalebone Creek there. With approval from the Company’s chief agent, Edward Curr, Hellyer selected Emu Bay as the port to service the Company’s inland holdings at Hampshire and Surrey Hills, located around inland. A year later, government surveyor John Helder Wedge recommended Emu Bay be reserved as an official township due to its strategic value for shipping. Still, the VDL Company was already occupying the area. At that time, the Emu Bay settlement consisted of a store, a small jetty, a sawpit, and a few huts. Hellyer also cut the Old Surrey Road through dense rainforest, establishing the first road on the North West Coast, starting from the South Burnie beach.
However, Burnie’s settlement wasn’t peaceful. Between 1828 and 1832, Tarenorerer, a Tommeginne woman who had escaped from sealers, became the leader of the Emu Bay people. She led a resistance against settlers during the Black War, attacking VDL Company employees until she was eventually captured. Alexander Goldie, the first superintendent of the Company's land assets around Emu Bay, led armed attacks against the Plairhekehillerplue clan. In 1828, Goldie and his men massacred several people inland from the settlement and in August 1829 they murdered a native woman at Emu Bay by shooting her and cutting her neck with an axe. Goldie then kidnapped the woman's five-year-old daughter and another woman. After an investigation, Goldie resigned from his position.
Meanwhile, the VDL Company faced difficulties. By 1833, sheep farming at Surrey Hills had failed due to cold conditions, resulting in the near abandonment of the area.
Throughout the 1840s, the VDL Company began leasing bush blocks to tenant farmers, although Burnie’s growth remained slow. In 1843, the town was surveyed by Nathaniel Kentish and renamed after William Burnie, then serving as one of eighteen directors of the VDL Company.
By 1853, Burnie had a population of approximately 200, with basic services such as a doctor and clergyman located in Port Sorell, and a lawyer and banker in Launceston. Transport and communication systems were rudimentary at this time, with no metal roads or established wharves. Nevertheless, the first official birth registrations in Burnie began that year.
Burnie’s first school was opened in 1862 by Mrs. Mary Morris in West Burnie, followed by the construction of the first government school on a rocky hill off Wilmot Street. In 1875, the VDL Company established its headquarters in Oakleigh, which remained in Burnie until the early 1950s. Burnie became the base for developing the region’s road and rail infrastructure.
Mineral boom and industrial development (1876–1939)
In the late 1870s, modern communication systems arrived, with the telegraph and telephone reaching Burnie. A horse-drawn tramway on wooden rails was established to connect Burnie to Waratah. The VDL Company later upgraded this tramway to iron and steam, facilitating the transport of tin from the Mount Bischoff mine, which commenced Burnie’s role as the west coast’s export gateway for minerals. By the 1880s, Burnie's fortunes had dramatically improved as west coast mineral deposits were discovered. The Emu Bay Railway Company extended the railway to Zeehan by 1900, propelling the town's population to over 1,500.During this time, Burnie’s business district rapidly grew, thanks to improved port facilities and the expansion of the town's infrastructure. By 1900, T. Wiseman's motor coach service was operating between Burnie and Stanley, reflecting Burnie's growing importance as a regional transport hub.
A major turning point occurred in 1936 with the development of the pulp and paper mill in South Burnie. Constructed by Associated Pulp and Paper Mills, by 1939 the mill produced of fine paper annually, the first time in the world that paper was made entirely from eucalypt pulp. This industrial expansion caused a surge in employment and population growth, setting Burnie on the path to becoming an industrial powerhouse.
Post-war boom and industrial expansion (1940–1980s)
The post-war era saw Burnie become synonymous with industry. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, APPM expanded its workforce to around 3,500 employees, while other secondary industries, including pigment producer Tioxide and North West Acid, were established.This industrial boom led to Burnie’s official recognition as a city in 1988. At its peak in the mid 1980s, Burnie had a population exceeding 20,500, thriving as a bustling industrial centre.
However, the town's success came with environmental consequences. During the 1970s, the production of titanium dioxide by Tioxide led to heavy pollution, turning the sea rust-red from effluent.
Burnie also developed a reputation as one of Tasmania’s most polluted towns, a situation highlighted by the Australian band Midnight Oil in their song “Burnie,” which criticised the town’s environmental issues.
Challenges and reinvention (1980s–present)
The rationalisation of Australian industry during the 1980s and 1990s dealt a severe blow to Burnie. APPM downgraded its operations and eventually closed the pulp mill in 2010, leading to significant job losses. Other closures followed, including the Caterpillar mining machinery factory, triggering a period of economic uncertainty for the town.Despite these setbacks leading to unstable population and inconsistent investment, Burnie began to reinvent itself in the 1990s. The Lion cheese-making factory remained a major employer, and efforts were made to diversify the city’s economy.
By the 2000s, Burnie shifted toward tourism and the arts. It became known for its clean beaches, inclusion on the annual cruise ship itinerary, and its growing community of artists and makers. In 2016, Elphinstone Group, previously a designer and manufacturer for Caterpillar equipment in Australia, relaunched its original brand and developed the Haulmax 3900 series off-highway haul truck. The company continues to be a major local employer, with a workforce of 2,500 people. Today, Burnie positions itself as the gateway to Tasmania’s northwest, including the Tarkine forest, and as a hub for new industries and outdoor recreation.
Demographics
Burnie had a population of 19,918 according to the, making it one of the key urban centres in North West Tasmania. Historically, Burnie has experienced periods of rapid growth, particularly in the late 19th and mid-20th centuries, followed by fluctuations in more recent decades, with some signs of stabilisation and recovery in the 21st century. While 2023 State Government growth estimates are positive, Burnie is yet to recover to population levels experienced in the mid 1980s. At the 2021 census, Burnie's population is slightly older compared to national averages, with a significant portion aged 65 and over. This reflects a trend of ageing populations common in regional areas.Economically, Burnie is a working-class hub with a median household income of $1,148 per week, lower than the national median of $1,746. The city's unemployment rate was around 8.1%, higher than the national rate of 5.1%. These figures suggest some economic challenges in the area, although Burnie's role as a regional port and industrial centre still gives it economic significance within Tasmania.
Burnie also has a notable Indigenous population, with around 8.5% of residents identifying as First Nations people or Torres Strait Islander, higher than the national figure of 3.2%. This reflects Tasmania's broader demographics where Indigenous representation is above the national average.
The majority of residents were born in Australia, with smaller populations from England, New Zealand, India, Nepal and the Philippines, and mainland China. English is the dominant language, spoken by 90.2% of residents at home, while 5.9% of households speak a non-English language.
In terms of religion, 53.4% of Burnie's population reported no religious affiliation, while 38.8% identified with a Christian denomination, including 11.4% as Catholic and 11.2% as Anglican. Other religious groups include Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, and Sikhism.