Ansons Bay is a rural locality in the local government area (LGA) of
Break O'Day in the
North-east
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...
LGA region of
Tasmania
Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
. The locality is about north of the town of
St Helens. The
2021 census recorded a population of 62 for the state suburb of Ansons Bay.
It is both a geographical feature and a small
township
A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries.
Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...
on the extreme north-east coast of Tasmania.
The bay has notable tidal sandflats.
For much of the 20th century the timber industry was predominant but it is now mostly involved in fishing and tourism. The Ansons Bay postcode was changed from 7216 to 7264 in 2009 because the mail service is now via
Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party.
In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...
rather than
St Helens.
History
Ansons Bay was gazetted as a locality in 1968. Several origins of the name have been suggested, including William J Anson (the first surgeon in the Derwent settlement) and Admiral
George Anson.
Another suggestion is that surveyor
Charles Gould Charles Gould may refer to:
* Charles Gould, afterwards Sir Charles Morgan, 1st Baronet (1726–1806), English Judge Advocate-General
* Charles Gould (geologist) (1834–1893), first Geological Surveyor of Tasmania, 1859–1869
* Charles G. Gould ...
named the area after an early settler.
Ansons Bay Receiving House (a private post office) opened on 15 December 1913 and closed around 1917.
Geography
The waters of the
Bay of Fires, part of the
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...
, form the eastern boundary. Ansons Bay (the body of water) is joined to the ocean by a narrow channel and is almost completely surrounded by the locality.
Road infrastructure
Route C843 (Ansons Bay Road) enters from the south and runs through to the north where it meets North Ansons Road at a T junction, where it turns left and runs north-west until it exits. Route C846 (Eddystone Point Road) starts at an intersection with C843 and runs along part of the northern boundary.
References
Towns in Tasmania
North East Tasmania
Bays of Tasmania
Localities of Break O'Day Council
{{BreakODay-geo-stub