Birchs Inlet | |
---|---|
Birch's Inlet; Birches Inlet | |
Location | West Coast Tasmania |
Coordinates | 42°30′46″S145°28′12″E / 42.51278°S 145.47000°E Coordinates: 42°30′46″S145°28′12″E / 42.51278°S 145.47000°E |
Etymology | Thomas William Birch [1] |
Primary inflows | Macquarie Harbour |
River sources |
|
Ocean/sea sources | Southern Ocean |
Basin countries | Australia |
Max. length | 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) |
The Birchs Inlet, also spelt Birch's Inlet or Birches Inlet, is a narrow cove or coastal inlet on the south-western side of Macquarie Harbour on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. The inlet is located within the Southwest National Park, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
The inlet lies approximately 38 kilometres (24 mi) south of the town of Strahan and serves as the mouth of the Birchs, Pocacker and Sorell Rivers, three of several draining south-western Tasmania. About 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) in length, the mouth of the inlet lies near the head of Macquarie Harbour not far from the mouth of the Gordon River. It is only accessible by water transport. It has been at times an important access point for loggers working in the area for moving Huon Pine to Strahan.
It lies at the northern end of the Melaleuca to Birchs Inlet Important Bird Area. [2] It is one of only two (the other being at Melaleuca) study sites for orange-bellied parrots in their breeding range. [3] [4]
It is named after Thomas William Birch (1774-1821), a surgeon, whaler, merchant and shipowner who settled in Tasmania in 1808. [1]
Southwest National Park is an Australian national park located in the south-west of Tasmania, bounded by the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park to the north and the Hartz Mountains National Park to the east. It is a part of a chain of national parks and state reserves that make up the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Covering an area of 6,183 km2 (2,387 sq mi), it is Tasmania's largest national park.
The Tasman Peninsula, officially Turrakana / Tasman Peninsula, is a peninsula located in south-east Tasmania, Australia, approximately 75 km (47 mi) by the Arthur Highway, south-east of Hobart.
The Gordon River is a major perennial river located in the central highlands, south-west, and western regions of Tasmania, Australia.
Strahan, is a small town and former port on the west coast of Tasmania. It is now a significant locality for tourism in the region.
Macquarie Harbour is a shallow inlet located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. It is approximately 315 sq.km, and has an average depth of 15m, with deeper places up to 50m. It is navigable by shallow-draft vessels. The main channel is kept clear by the presence of a rock wall on the outside of the channel's curve. This man-made wall prevents erosion and keeps the channel deep and narrow, rather than allowing the channel to become wide and shallow. A reported Aboriginal name for the harbour is Parralaongatek.
The orange-bellied parrot is a small parrot endemic to southern Australia, and one of only three species of parrot that migrate. It was described by John Latham in 1790. A small parrot around 20 cm (8 in) long, it exhibits sexual dimorphism. The adult male is distinguished by its bright grass-green upper parts, yellow underparts and orange belly patch. The adult female and juvenile are duller green in colour. All birds have a prominent two-toned blue frontal band and blue outer wing feathers.
Hells Gates is the name of the mouth of Macquarie Harbour on the West Coast of Tasmania.
Trial Harbour is a rural locality in the local government area (LGA) of West Coast in the North-west and west LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south-west of the town of Zeehan. The 2016 census has a population of 24 for the state suburb of Trial Harbour.
West Coast Piners were groups of men who worked on the West Coast of Tasmania, Australia, logging Huon pine.
The South West Wilderness of Tasmania, Australia is a remote and inaccessible region of South West Tasmania containing unspoilt scenery, rugged peaks, wild rivers, unique flora and fauna, and a long and rugged coastline. Parts of the wilderness are more than 50 km from the nearest road, so the only access to the area is by foot, air or sea.
The Hunter Island, the main island of the Hunter Island Group, is a 7,330-hectare (18,100-acre) island, located in Bass Strait, that lies between King Island and north-west Tasmania, Australia.
James Kelly (1791–1859), Australian mariner, explorer and port official, was born on 24 December 1791 at Parramatta, New South Wales. He was probably the son of James Kelly, a cook in the convict transport Queen, and Catherine Devereaux, a convict transported for life from Dublin in the same ship.
Bathurst Harbour is a shallow bay located in the south west region of Tasmania, Australia. Bathurst Harbour is contained within the Port Davey/Bathurst Harbour Marine Nature Reserve, and the Southwest National Park, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
Port Davey is an oceanic inlet located in the south west region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Corner Inlet is a 600-square-kilometre (230 sq mi) bay located 200 kilometres (120 mi) south-east of Melbourne in the South Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. Of Victoria's large bays it is both the easternmost and the warmest. It contains intertidal mudflats, mangroves, salt marsh and seagrass meadows, sheltered from the surf of Bass Strait by a complex of 40 sandy barrier islands, the largest of which are Snake, Sunday and Saint Margaret Islands.
Munday Island is a small island that lies between Port Davey, an oceanic inlet, and Bathurst Channel, located in the south west region of Tasmania, Australia. The island is contained with the Southwest National Park, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site and the Port Davey/Bathurst Harbour Marine Nature Reserve.
Point Hibbs is a headland on the south-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. The headland is located south of the most southern point of Macquarie Harbour, and west of the Gordon River. It is the next named feature along the coast south of Cape Sorell that is used to delineate sections of the coast. Like South West Cape, it is used as a reference point for nearby wrecks.
The Spero River is a perennial river located in the West Coast or South West region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Melaleuca to Birchs Inlet Important Bird Area comprises a 2315 km2 section of coast and sub-coastal land in South West Tasmania. It stretches southward from the southern end of Birchs Inlet, encompasses Melaleuca and Port Davey, and extends to Louisa Bay on the coast facing the Maatsuyker Island group. The area is rugged, with extensive beaches and coastal plains rising to rocky mountains. It contains a mosaic of temperate rainforest, eucalypt forest, moorland and buttongrass plains.
The North-west Tasmanian Coast Important Bird Area comprises a 2438 km2 stretch of coastal and subcoastal land covering the northern section of the coast of western Tasmania, south-eastern Australia.