In 1827, Burnie was established by the Van Diemen's Land Co. and originally called Emu Bay.

The first permanent settlers of Emu Bay (the town was renamed Burnie - after VDL Co. director William Burnie in the early 1840s) arrived from England in the vessel Caroline on February 2, 1828.

During the lifetime of these first settlers Burnie was little more than a VDL Company-owned town existing because of and mainly for the company. Neither the company nor the town made much progress. Indeed, those first settlers, and others who followed in the next two decades, literally carved out the village of Burnie from the rain forests and tea-tree swamps.

They made their own tracks to and from the company store and there was no semblance of a street until the first town survey in 1843. After the first 50 years of settlement, Burnie's population still did not exceed 200.

However, its fortunes took a dramatic turn for the better in the 1880s with the discovery of the west coast mineral deposits.

In 1878 the VDL Co. build a wooden horse-drawn tramway - later upgraded to iron and steam - through its lands to serve Mt Bischoff, then the richest tin mine in the world. Burnie became the port for the mine and its town of Waratah and Burnie's population had nearly trebled to more than 1000 by 1891.

The paper industry's impact on the town was spectacular. The rate of building in the pre-APPM era was a slow 20 houses a year. In the year ended June 30, 1938, when the South Burnie mills were being erected, 262 houses were built. When the paper industry came to Burnie the municipality had a population of about 4000.

By 1945 it had reached 10,000, by 1965 it was about 18.500 and by the granting of city status in 1988 it had exceeded 20,000.

While APPM was not the sole industry responsible for Burnie's post-war development and others established since have contributed substantially to the town's economy and growth, there is no doubt APPM was the industry that set the ball of industrial development rolling. Indeed, Burnie's development history can be clearly and sharply divided into two eras - the 109 years before APPM and the APPM years.

The town's amenities include the multi-function "Burnie Arts and Function Centre" (formerly known as the Civic Centre), post office, police station, supreme court, public and private hospital, as well as numerous sporting and social organisations. Burnie is also home to the Cradle Coast campus of the University of Tasmania.

The average temperature in summer ranges from 12.5 to 21 °C with drier days as warm as 30 °C, with around 16 hours of sunlight per day. In winter, temperature ranges from 6 to 13 °C, and only 8 hours of sunlight. Relative humidity averages over 60% for the year in the afternoon.

Although Burnie offers a rich wealth of fun activities for the whole family to enjoy, it also acts a base to explore the surrounding regions. Fun activities such as sea and trout fishing, surfing, scuba diving and horse riding are all well within day trips from Burnie.

Nearby Natone Hills Fly Fishery offers an interesting trout fishing experience from beginners upwards with expert tuition available together with all equipment hire and the opportunity to catch and cook your own Tasmanian trout!