Ouse, Tasmania

Ouse is a small town in the Central Highlands local government area of Tasmania, Australia, on the Lyell Highway. At the 2016 census, Ouse had a population of 303.

History

Ouse is the settlement where convicts James Goodwin and Thomas Connolly broke out of the South West Wilderness four weeks after their escape from Sarah Island. Ouse Post Office opened on 1 October 1835.
The town briefly made national headlines in August 2006 when the Ouse District Hospital, originally established as a Bush Nursing Centre and reconstituted in its present form in 1956, was downgraded to a community health centre.

Ouse District School is a public school which caters for students from Kindergarten to grade 6.

Ouse has an oceanic climate, with mild, dry summers and cool, somewhat damp winters. Average maxima vary from in January to in July while average minima fluctuate between in January and in July. Due to its inland location and being downwind of the Central Highlands, midsummer freezes have been recorded, while foehn winds occur. Mean annual precipitation is quite low, spread on 148.4 days, and is concentrated in winter. Snow is not uncommon.
Extreme temperatures have ranged from on 24 June 2013 to on 11 January 2010. Climate data are sourced from the local Fire Station.