Devonport, Tasmania

**Devonport** is a city in northern Tasmania, Australia. It is at the mouth of the Mersey River. In 2016 there were 23,046 people living in Devonport.

## History

The city was settled in the 1850s, with two villages, Formby and Torquay, on the opposite banks of the Mersey River. Torquay on the eastern shore was the largest. It had a police station, post office, magistrate, at least three hotels, shipyards and stores. A river ferry service connected the two villages. Between 1870 and 1880 the shipping industry grew and work was undertaken to deepen the mouth of the river. The first regular steamship services operated to Melbourne, Victoria. The Marine Board building (1882) is the oldest building in Devonport.

In 1889 the Bluff lighthouse was built, and later the railway reached Formby. A wharf was created on the west bank, close to the railway and warehouses. This began a building boom in Formby. In 1890 the public voted to join the two villages together to become the town of Devonport.

The Victoria bridge was opened in 1902 and linked Devonport and East Devonport.

Devonport was proclaimed a city by Prince Charles of Wales on 21 April 1981 in a ceremony at the Devonport Oval.

The cross river ferry service was stopped in 2014 after 160 years of continuous service. The vessel the "Torquay" was taken out of service. It has since restarted.

## Suburbs

**Devonport** suburbs include Highfield. **East Devonport** suburbs include Pardoe Downs, Rannoch, and Pannorama Heights

## Facilities and the arts

The main business area is on the west side of the Mersey River. It has a pedestrian mall, cinema, specialty stores, chain stores such as IGA and hotels. There are several restaurants and cafes.

The Devonport Regional Gallery began as "The Little Gallery", private gallery started by Jean Thomas in 1966. The Gallery presents an annual program of exhibitions, education and public programs including events and workshops. Works by local artists are displayed at the North West Regional Craft Centre and gift store.

Tiagarra Aboriginal Culture Centre and Museum displays petroglyphs, designs in rock and displays that show the traditional lifestyle of Tasmanian Aboriginal people.

The Bass Strait Maritime Centre, in the old Harbour Master's House has objects, models and photographs that tell the stories of Bass Strait and Devonport.

A volunteer run vintage railway and museum, the Don River Railway, is at Don, a suburb of Devonport.

The Mersey Community Hospital at Latrobe, is the nearest hospital to Devonport

Devonport's night club was known as "City Limits" in the 1980s, then "The Warehouse" from 1991, and from 2014 as the "House".

Kokoda Barracks is an army barracks in Devonport.

- Devonport Airport

Devonport Airport is located at Pardoe Downs about 7 km to the east. The airport is serviced by Bombardier Dash 8 turboprop aircraft, operated by QantasLink, with four daily services to Melbourne, Victoria.

There are several bus companies serving Devonport including Mersey Link, Redline Coaches and Phoenix Coaches. Metropolitan Devonport bus services are limited on Saturdays and there are no services on Sundays or Public holidays.

- Freight (Shipping)

Searoad Road Shipping have two roll on roll off ships for general freight between Devonport, Melbourne and King Island. These vessels include MV Searoad Mersey, MV Searoad Mersey II (2016- ) and MV Searoad Tamar.

- Rail

A rail line still services the ports area of Devonport.
The roundhouse and railway maintenance yards on the foreshore of the Mersey River have gone, and there is a park on the site.

- Passenger Ferry Terminal

Devonport is the southern terminus for the _Spirit of Tasmania_ ferries – Spirit I and II travel the 11 hours to Melbourne.

**Melbourne – Devonport Passenger Ferry History**
|Vessel|Years|Shipping Company|
| --- | --- | --- |
|SS Oonah|1921–1935|Tasmanian Steamers|
|SS Loongana|1921–1935|Tasmanian Steamers|
|SS Nairana|1921–1948|Tasmanian Steamers|
|SS Taroona|1935–1959|Tasmanian Steamers|
|MS Princess of Tasmania|1959–1972|Australian National Line|
|MS Empress of Australia|1972–1986|Australian National Line|
|MS Abel Tasman|1986–1993|TT-Line Company|
|Spirit of Tasmania|1993–2002|TT-Line Company|
|MS Spirit of Tasmania I|2002–|TT-Line Company|
|MS Spirit of Tasmania II|2002–|TT-Line Company|

## Agriculture

The Devonport area has rich red soils that are ideal for producing vegetable crops (beans, onions, peas, potatoes etc.) There are also large crops of cereals, oil poppies, and pyrethrum.

### Primary schools

- Hillcrest Primary School
- Devonport Primary School
- Miandetta Primary School
- East Devonport Primary School
- Nixon Street Primary School
- Spreyton Primary School
- Devonport Christian School
- Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School

### Secondary schools

- Devonport High School
- Reece High School
- St Brendan-Shaw College

### Senior secondary education (Years 11–12)

- Don College
- St Brendan-Shaw College

A TasTAFE campus, an adult training institution, is in Valley Road.

### Climate

Devonport has an warm-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification **Csb**), bordering on an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification **Cfb**). It has mild to warm summers, cool and moist winters. It has high humidity (about 70%) all year round. Most days from January to March are pleasantly warm, averaging  with frequent sunshine. The warmest and driest days can reach up to . Unlike the south and east coasts of Tasmania, humid northerly winds prevent heatwaves and temperatures rarely go above . Winters are cool and cloudy with frequent light rain; July and August are the wettest months of the year. In winter, because of the constant cloud cover and effect of the sea, winter temperatures rarely drop below  or rise above . September to December has mild and windy weather with frequent showers, and occasional warm, sunny breaks.

### Australian rules football

The Devonport Football Club, Magpies, is an Australian rules football team in the Tasmanian Statewide League. Their home ground is the Devonport Oval.

The East Devonport Football Club, the Swans, is an Australian Rules Football Club, in the North West Football League.

Devon Netball is in Spreyton, just outside Devonport. it is the main centre for netball in the Devonport area.

### Rugby union

The Devonport Rugby Club, a Rugby Union team, plays in the Tasmanian Rugby Union.

Devonport City Football Club an Association Football club that plays in the National Premier Leagues Tasmania.

### Athletics, cycling and woodchopping

The Devonport Athletic Club is a professional athletic club. It hosts part of the Tasmanian Cycling Christmas Carnival Series each year in December, with local and international cyclists. Other sports at the carnivals include athletics and woodchopping. Woodchopping events are also held at the Devonport Agricultural & Pastoral Society Spring Show in November.

The Mersey Valley Devonport Cycling Club host track cycling, the Mersey Valley Tour, Devon 80 Road Race and the Ulverstone Criterium.

### Cricket

Devonport Cricket Club is a cricket team in the North Western Tasmanian Cricket Association.

### Hockey

Devonport Hockey teams play in the North and North West Hockey roster of Hockey Tasmania.

### Basketball

Devonport Warriors are a basketball team in the North West Basketball Union.

### Golf

The Devonport Golf Club has been home to the Tasmanian Open and Tasmanian Seniors Open.

### Harness racing and horse racing

The Devonport Harness Racing Club holds harness racing events at the Devonport Showgrounds.

The Devonport Cup a horse race is held annually in January at the Spreyton racecourse. There is a gazetted local holiday for the event.

### Power boats

Power Boat racing takes place at the Devonport Annual Regatta held each March long weekend. The Regatta was first held in 1958.

### Swimming and aquatic sports

The Splash Devonport Aquatic and Leisure Centre has a world class gym and indoor swimming pool and is based within the Don Reserve.

### Tennis

The Devonport Tennis Club and East Devonport Tennis Club play in the Tennis North West Association.

### Futsal

The Devonport recreation centre hosts weekly futsal games where notable players such as Callan Rigby and Liam Everett ferociously play.

## Notable sportspeople

- David Foster (woodchopper)
- Nita Burke (basketball)
- Corey Cadby (darts player)
- Owen Kelly (NASCAR and V8 Supercar driver)

### VFL/AFL players

Notable players that went on to play in the VFL/AFL:

- Darrel Baldock (St Kilda)
- Graham Wright (Collingwood)
- Grant Birchall (Hawthorn)
- Brady Rawlings (North Melbourne)
- Jade Rawlings (Hawthorn, Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne)
- Matthew Richardson (Richmond)
- Ben Harrison (Carlton, Richmond, Western Bulldogs)
- Dion Scott (Sydney, Brisbane Bears, Brisbane Lions)
- Matthew Febey (Melbourne)
- Joel Rossegger (Victoria)
- Steven Febey (Melbourne)

## Notable people

- Joseph Lyons – Prime Minister of Australia 1932–1939 Premier of Tasmania 1923–1928
- Dame Enid Lyons
- Prema Smith - movie director and producer

## Infobox (australian place)

- **type**: city
- **name**: Devonport
- **native name**: Tiagarra
- **dist2**: 98
- **location2**: Launceston, Tasmania, Launceston
- **dist3**: 277
- **location3**: Hobart
- **lga**: City of Devonport
- **stategov**: Division of Braddon (state), Braddon
- **fedgov**: Division of Braddon, Braddon
- **maxtemp**: 17.0
- **mintemp**: 8.3
- **rainfall**: 773.0
- **location1**: Burnie, Tasmania, Burnie
- **dist1**: 47
- **pop2 year**: 2018
- **state**: tas
- **image**: Devonport, TAS.JPG
- **caption**: Devonport and the Mersey River from the air
- **pushpin label position**: top
- **pop**: 23046
- **pop year**: 2016
- **utc-dst**: +11
- **timezone**: Australian Eastern Standard Time, AEST
- **utc**: +10
- **timezone-dst**: Australian Eastern Daylight Time, AEDT