Burnie

Burnie ( ; pirinilaplu/palawa kani: ''pataway'') is a port city located on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is the fourth largest city on the island, located approximately north-west of the state capital of Hobart, north-west of Launceston, and west of Devonport. As of the , Burnie has a population of 19,918, with a municipality area spanning , administered by the City of Burnie. Founded in 1827 as Emu Bay, the township was renamed in the early 1840s after William Burnie, a director of the Van Diemen's Land Company, and proclaimed a city by Queen Elizabeth II on 26 April 1988.

Burnie's economy has historically been driven by heavy manufacturing, mining, forestry, and farming. Situated on the coastline of Emu Bay, the city’s fortunes are closely tied to its deep water port. An intermodal freight transport facility, the Port of Burnie handles over of freight annually, including nearly half of Tasmania's containerised freight. As Tasmania's most north-westerly city, it provides the shortest sea lines of communication between mainland Tasmania and mainland Australia. The city is a key exporter of Tasmanian minerals, including copper, silver, gold, tin, lead, zinc, iron, tungsten, and ultra-high purity silica, alongside forestry products such as logs, pulpwood, and wood chips. The Burnie Chip Export Terminal, often referred to as the "Pyramids of Burnie", surpassed of annual wood chip exports in 2017.

During the 1970s and 80s, Burnie faced pollution challenges linked to titanium dioxide production. From the 1990s, the city experienced significant industrial decline, with the closure of several manufacturing plants and the eventual shutdown of its pulp and paper mill. This downturn led to population decline and high unemployment, presenting economic hardships and uncertainty for the community.

In recent years, Burnie has been positioning itself as a future leader in Tasmania’s renewable energy sector. By 2024, the city is set to be a key player in the proposed North West Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), a project designed to foster investment in large-scale wind and solar energy developments. The Marinus Link, a high-voltage direct current submarine power cable, is also planned to connect Tasmania’s renewable energy supply to mainland Australia, potentially generating 1,400 local jobs and bringing an estimated $3 billion in economic investment. Current proposals for the region include the Guildford and Hellyer Wind Farms, as well as Australia’s first synthetic electrofuel facility. Other growing sectors in Burnie include education, healthcare, and logistics, contributing to its economic diversification. Provided by Wikipedia