Burnie
Burnie City Council, Tasmania
Burnie is a port city on the north-west coast of Tasmania, originally settled in 1826. The town was named for William Burnie, a director of the Van Diemen's Land Company. The city usually includes the outer town of Somerset.
Burnie was first established in 1827 as a town to service local farm areas. However, it remained small until tin was discovered near Waratah in the 1880s. This prompted the Van Diemen's Land Company to construct a tram link from Waratah to Burnie. This eventually grew and became the Emu Bay Railway, which linked Burnie to the west coast mining towns of Zeehan and Rosebery.
Long after mining in the area slowed down, Burnie remained the major deepwater port for the north of Tasmania. It is also the home of a major paper mill from 1938, however it has since scaled back its operations significantly.
Burnie was declared a city in 1988. However, the population has since decreased, and today the Burnie City Council local government area has a population of 19,261 (2001 census).