Just Tasmania .com
Penguin accommodation, restaurants, history, things to do

The interestingly named Penguin was first settled in 1861 as a timber town, and proclaimed on 25 October 1875.

The town was named by the botanist Ronald Campbell Gunn for the fairy penguin rookeries that are common along the less populated areas of the coast.

It is located 137 km northwest of Launceston, 17 km east of Burnie and 31 km west of Devonport

The area was explored by Bass and Flinders and then by the Van Diemen's Land assistant surveyor Joseph Fossey who travelled through the district in the 1820s and named the Dial Range which rises behind the town.

Timber cutters flocked to the area to exploit the rich forest resource.

Wharves were built along the coast to allow boats to load the harvested palings and this helped to clear the area and the town site was first settled in June, 1861 when Edward Beecraft acquired 167 acres of land.

The town continued to prosper as a port for local produce and it was proclaimed a township on 25 October, 1875. The arrival of the railway in 1901 led to a decline in Penguin's role as a port. Local produce was transported along the coast to the larger ports of Burnie and Devonport.

Penguin continued to survive and these days is a mecca for tourists wishing to see the very birds it was named after.

Evening tours to see the penguins returning from their day at sea can be booked. The summer breeding months (November to March) are the best time to see them.

Hundreds of breeding pairs come ashore after dark and make their way across the sand to burrows that may be among the rocks or in hollow scrapes under tussock grass or in tunnels up to 80 centimetres deep.

There is an interesting replica Dutch windmill in Hiscutt Park that was presented to the people of Penguin to commemorate the Dutch settlers in Penguin and the Dutch explorers who were the first Europeans to make contact with Tasmania.

A plaque proudly declares: 'On behalf of the Dutch settlers of Penguin on the first day of October 1988 as a gift in the Australian Bicentennial Year. The Mill is dedicated to the memory of Janneti Tjaers who was the wife of Abel Tasman.'

On the side of the windmill it has 'This windmill is a Bicentennial Gift from the Dutch community to the people of Penguin in appreciation of the warm welcome extended to those migrants who settled here. 2 January 1988.'

Hiscutt Park has some excellent play equipment for children and is well maintained particularly in spring when there is a spectacular tulip display to complement the Dutch windmill.

The average maximum temperature in Penguin is 21 degrees Celsius in January and 13.5 degrees Celsius in June.