Hamilton

History

Hamilton was gazetted as a locality in 1959. Governor Lachlan Macquarie named the locality "Sorell Plains", and it became locally known as "Macquarie" and "Lower Clyde". Governor George Arthur finalised a name for the locality and this was announced in 1826. Hamilton was named after William Henry Hamilton, a wealthy free settler who had arrived in Van Diemen's Land in April 1824. Hamilton Post Office opened on 1 June 1832. Hamilton was once a bustling frontier town that contained many inns and several working breweries. It contains a few small shops and buildings, such as the court house, many of them dating back to convict times.

Geography

The River Derwent (Meadowbank Lake) forms the south-western boundary. The Clyde River flows through from north to south after forming a small part of the northern boundary. Hamilton has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb), with mild, dry summers and cool, somewhat damp winters. Average maxima vary from in January to in July while average minima fluctuate between in January and in July. Due to its inland location and being downwind of the Central Highlands, midsummer freezes have been recorded, while foehn winds occur (primarily in summer). Mean annual precipitation is quite low, spread on 148.4 days, and is concentrated in winter. Snow is not uncommon. Extreme temperatures have ranged from on 24 June 2013 to on 11 January 2010. Climate data are sourced from Ouse (Fire Station), a town southeast of Hamilton.

Most-observed species

• Forest Raven

  Corvus tasmanicus Mathews, 1912 · Aves
  888
• Gray Fantail

  Rhipidura albiscapa Gould, 1840 · Aves
  789
• Superb Fairywren

  Malurus cyaneus (Ellis, 1782) · Aves
  743
• Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

  Cacatua galerita (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  654
• Green Rosella

  Platycercus caledonicus (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  555
• Black Currawong

  Strepera fuliginosa (Gould, 1837) · Aves
  539
• Yellow-tailed black-cockatoo

  Zanda funerea (Shaw, 1794) · Aves
  440
• Tasmanian Scrubwren

  Sericornis humilis Gould, 1838 · Aves
  411

Most recent

• M 4.7 — 2002-06-15
  46 km NNE of Bagdad, Australia