| Bicheno | |
Location: | 185 km northeast of Hobart on the Tasman Highway |
Council: | Glamorgan/Spring Bay |
Population: | 705 |
Postcode: | 7215 |
In the early 1800s sealers and whalers used Bicheno as a safe harbour. At that time it was known as Waub's Boat Harbour, after an Aboriginal woman whose grave is located in the township, above Waubs Beach.
Later, in the 1850s, the town became a coal port for the many successful mines operating in the surrounding region. Horses were used to haul the coal to the wharf along a 5kilometre tramway from the Denison River Mines, until rising costs of production and transport forced the closure of the mines in 1855.
Bicheno today is a popular holiday resort with fine white sandy beaches and a fishing port where many boats take advantage of the sheltered waters of a picturesque channel known as The Gulch. A walking track follows the coastline from the Blowhole and Rocking Rock, past The Gulch to Redbill Point. There are also tracks to two scenic lookouts within the town area.
A sand bar joins Diamond Island to the mainland northwest of Bicheno. At low tide it is possible to walk across and perhaps catch a glimpse of the fairy penguins living on the island.
Some of the marine life found in the clear waters around Bicheno can be seen at close quarters at the Bicheno Sea Life Centre in the centre of town. Four kilometres north, the unique birds and animals of Tasmania are on display at the East Coast Birdlife & Animal Park.