The first European to travel through the area was surveyor John Helder Wedge in 1825.

He named the river Borthwick and the locality itself he named Yarmouth after the English port Great Yarmouth but both the river and town were both later renamed Scamander.

It is a popular holiday town and its beaches are ideal for swimming, surfing and fishing.

The Scamander River is noted for its bream, while beach fishing and gamefishing in the deep waters offshore are also popular.

Offshore, dolphins and whales in migration season can be spotted.

Scamander became the location of the first coastal tourist venture in the north-east when, in 1896, John Walker and his brother, Frank, both carpenters by trade, built the Scamander Hotel on the approximate site of the present day Pelican Sands Holiday Units.

Scamander River Cruises will also take you to the upper reaches of the Scamander River to experience the awesome beauty of a wild Tasmanian river.

The town's most interesting historic feature is its infamous bridge or bridges.

The Scamander River Bridge has been built, destroyed and rebuilt numerous times. It has collapsed under the weight of a mob of cattle, washed away several times by floods, destroyed by a tornado and even attacked by a ferocious borer which worked its way into the timber quickly destroying it.

At one point the town was forced to rely on a punt to cross the river. In 1936 a concrete bridge was finally built which the town is hoping will last indefinitely.

The upper reaches of the Scamander River are famous for their bream and trout fishing. Mullet, cocky salmon and trevally can also be caught there.