'Devonport' is a city in the north-west of
Tasmania,
Australia, at the mouth of the
Mersey River. It, along with the slightly smaller city of
Burnie, are the major regional centres of the north-west of the state. To visitors to Tasmania, it is primarily known as the port for the ''
Spirit of Tasmania'' ferries - Spirit I and II travel to
Melbourne,
Victoria.
The area was first surveyed by Captain
Charles Hardwicke in 1823. The area was originally known as Port Frederick, then Mersey River, the name of the river flowing through the town. Later it became two separate towns - ''Formby'' on the western side, and ''Torquay'' on the east. The towns joined to become Devonport (named for
Devonport in
England) in
1890. The eastern side is now called East Devonport.
Devonport was declared a city in
1981. The
Local Government Area is the
City of Devonport. The Newly Elected Mayor Is Lyn Laycock who has taken over Peter Hollister
St Brendan Shaw College is a co-educational secondary Catholic college for years 7-12 in the city.
Race driver
John Bowe hails from Devonport.
Sister Cities
The city of Devonport has a formal sister city agreement with Minamata City in Japan. This was ratified in 1996 .
★ '
Minamata',
Japan ''(1996)''
Devonport Airport
Devonport Airport is located approximately 7km to the East of the main City Area, about a 10 min drive by car. The airport is serviced by Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft, operated by
QantasLink, with 4 daily services to
Melbourne,
Victoria.
Tasair Regional Airlines operate daily passenger and freight services from Devonport to King Island.
References
1. Selected Characteristics for Urban Centres, Australia, 2001