Huonville
| Huonville Tasmania | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.JPG) Huonville township from Scenic Hill | |||||||||
  Huonville | |||||||||
| Coordinates | 43°01′50″S 147°02′55″E / 43.03056°S 147.04861°E | ||||||||
| Population | 3,002 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||
| Established | 1891 | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 7109 | ||||||||
| Time zone | AEST (UTC+10) | ||||||||
| • Summer (DST) | AEDT (UTC+11) | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
| LGA(s) | Huon Valley Council | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Franklin | ||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Franklin | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Huonville is a town on the Huon River, in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. It is the seat of the Huon Valley Council area and lies 38 km south of Hobart on the Huon Highway. At the 2016 census, Huonville had a population of 2,714 and at the 2011 census had a population of 1,741.[3][4]
History
[edit]The first Europeans to set eyes on the Huon River were the members of the crew commanded by Admiral Bruni d'Entrecasteaux. The river was named by him in honour of his second-in-command, Captain Huon de Kermadec. The name is preserved today in many features: the town, the river, the district and so on. The first European settlers were William and Thomas Walton in 1840.
Huonville was not originally intended as the site of a town. Nearby Ranelagh was laid out as the town of Victoria in colonial days. Huonville grew around the bridge crossing the Huon River and hotels at the bridge. It was officially declared a town in 1891.[5]
The township has faced significant threats due to climate change in recent years. Record floods in 2016 inundated a large section of the town, including twenty businesses.[6] The town has also been at risk due to major fires, and was an evacuation centre during the 2019 bushfires.[7]
Climate
[edit]Huonville has a oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb), with very mild, slightly drier summers and cool, wetter winters. Average maxima vary from 22.4 °C (72.3 °F) in February to 11.8 °C (53.2 °F) in July while average minima fluctuate between 9.4 °C (48.9 °F) in January & February to 2.0 °C (35.6 °F) in July.[8] Mean average annual precipitation is moderate: 744.7 mm (29.32 in), spread between 163.4 precipitation days. Expectedly, the town is not sunny: with 133.5 cloudy days and only 32.7 clear days per annum. Extreme temperatures have ranged from 40.4 °C (104.7 °F) on 29 January 2009 to −7.5 °C (18.5 °F) on 24 June 1972. Climate data was sourced from Grove, which is 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northeast of Huonville.
| Climate data for Huonville (42º58'48"S, 147º04'48"E, 63 m AMSL) (1952-2010 normals and extremes) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 40.4 (104.7) |
39.7 (103.5) |
37.3 (99.1) |
31.7 (89.1) |
25.1 (77.2) |
21.0 (69.8) |
19.7 (67.5) |
23.6 (74.5) |
28.6 (83.5) |
32.2 (90.0) |
36.6 (97.9) |
37.2 (99.0) |
40.4 (104.7) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22.3 (72.1) |
22.4 (72.3) |
20.5 (68.9) |
17.6 (63.7) |
14.5 (58.1) |
12.1 (53.8) |
11.8 (53.2) |
13.0 (55.4) |
14.9 (58.8) |
16.9 (62.4) |
18.5 (65.3) |
20.3 (68.5) |
17.1 (62.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 9.4 (48.9) |
9.4 (48.9) |
8.0 (46.4) |
6.2 (43.2) |
4.3 (39.7) |
2.4 (36.3) |
2.0 (35.6) |
2.7 (36.9) |
4.1 (39.4) |
5.7 (42.3) |
7.1 (44.8) |
8.6 (47.5) |
5.8 (42.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 0.3 (32.5) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
−3.4 (25.9) |
−5.5 (22.1) |
−7.5 (18.5) |
−5.6 (21.9) |
−4.6 (23.7) |
−5.7 (21.7) |
−3.2 (26.2) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
−7.5 (18.5) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 46.6 (1.83) |
47.1 (1.85) |
48.3 (1.90) |
60.7 (2.39) |
58.6 (2.31) |
61.4 (2.42) |
71.9 (2.83) |
78.0 (3.07) |
74.7 (2.94) |
69.1 (2.72) |
65.7 (2.59) |
62.4 (2.46) |
744.7 (29.32) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 10.3 | 9.0 | 10.8 | 12.8 | 14.3 | 14.4 | 16.3 | 16.2 | 16.1 | 16.0 | 14.5 | 12.7 | 163.4 |
| Average afternoon relative humidity (%) | 53 | 53 | 56 | 60 | 67 | 71 | 68 | 63 | 59 | 58 | 58 | 56 | 60 |
| Average dew point °C (°F) | 9.6 (49.3) |
10.2 (50.4) |
9.2 (48.6) |
7.9 (46.2) |
6.8 (44.2) |
5.3 (41.5) |
4.7 (40.5) |
4.5 (40.1) |
5.1 (41.2) |
6.4 (43.5) |
7.9 (46.2) |
8.8 (47.8) |
7.2 (45.0) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 238.7 | 209.1 | 179.8 | 144.0 | 114.7 | 93.0 | 111.6 | 139.5 | 159.0 | 198.4 | 204.0 | 220.1 | 2,011.9 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 52 | 54 | 47 | 44 | 38 | 34 | 38 | 43 | 45 | 48 | 47 | 46 | 45 |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology (1952-2010 normals and extremes)[2] | |||||||||||||
Economy
[edit]Today the Huon Valley is best known as one of Tasmania's primary apple-growing areas. The significance of the industry, once enormous in its extent, has declined steadily since the 1950s; today, cherries and fish farming are the rising commercial stars of the district.
The Huon River and the nearby d'Entrecasteaux Channel are popular fishing and boating areas. The Channel is sheltered from the wrath of the Southern Ocean by the bulk of Bruny Island to the east. Tourism is an important part of Huonville and the surrounding Huon Valley. The area is known for its scenic environment and its history as one of Australia's biggest apple-producing regions.[citation needed]
Poised on the edge of the south-west wilderness, an economic driver for the area since colonisation has been forestry, an industry that has become controversial in recent decades.[citation needed] A wood-based industrial park nearby was the subject of extensive community discussion prior to being built but is now operating successfully.[citation needed] There have been several recent[when?] controversies about development in the region, including logging at Recherche Bay and the development of a tourist resort inside the national park at Cockle Creek.[citation needed]
Notable people
[edit]- Amy Sherwin – soprano singer dubbed "The Tasmanian Nightingale"
- Geoffrey Proud – artist, winner of the 1990 Archibald Prize, and the 1975 Sulman Prize
References
[edit]- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Franklin (Urban Centre Locality)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Grove (Comparison) Climate Statistics (1952-2010) (nearest AWS)". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Huonville (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "2011 Community Profiles: Huonville-Ranelagh (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2011 Census of Population and Housing.
- ^ "HUONVILLE". utas.edu.au. University of Tasmania. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ^ "Derwent Valley floodwaters peak, caravan park evacuated". ABC News. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
- ^ "'We're seeing metres lost': This is what climate change looks like". www.abc.net.au. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
- ^ "Grove (Comparison) Climate (1952-2010) (nearest AWS)". FarmOnline Weather. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
External links
[edit]
Huonville travel guide from Wikivoyage
Media related to Huonville, Tasmania at Wikimedia Commons- Huon Valley Council
- Huon Valley Environment Centre Archived 7 September 2023 at the Wayback Machine
- Huon Valley.net.au Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
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