Stanley - North West, Tasmania.
Stanley is an historic village and fishing port located on the north-west coast of Tasmania and sits in the shadow of The Nut or Circular Head, a distinctive volcanic plug first sighted in 1798 by Matthew Flinders who described it as a “cliffy round lump resembling a Christmas cake”.
Named after Lord Stanley, British Secretary of state for the Colonies in the 1840’s Stanley owes its early history to the Van Diemen’s Land Company, formed in London in 1825 and granted rights to huge tracts of land for sheep grazing. The company chose Circular Head as its base and landed staff from England, locally assigned convict labour and stud stock nearby in 1826.
The development of Stanley was a slow process. While the port was opened in 1827, the town itself wasn’t surveyed until the mid-1840’s and it was 1880 before a coach service was introduced between Burnie and Stanley, a distance of 80 kilometres which took between 6 and 7 hours to cover.
Today Stanley is a popular stopping place on the Tasmanian tourist circuit offering a large number of historic houses and attractions.
Lyons Cottage, located on Church Street was home to the Honourable J.A. Lyons who moved from Ulverstone to Stanley as a child in the mid 1880’s. Lyons went on to become the Premier of Tasmania from 1921 to 1928 and Australian Prime Minister from 1932 to 1939.
No visit to Stanley would be complete without a trip to the top of The Nut, but be warned, to do so on foot is a steep and difficult task requiring above average fitness. A much better option is to take the Stanley Chairlift, reaching the top of the 152 metre peak in about 5 minutes.
This Tassie Local snapshot was produced by Footloose Photographic & Media Solutions
Things to see around - Stanley
Stanley - North West, Tasmania
