Murdunna
Town in Tasmania, Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Murdunna is a small town at the head of King George Sound, a narrow bay opening off Norfolk Bay. Murdunna is approximately halfway down the Forestier Peninsula on the Arthur Highway to Port Arthur. It is around 6 metres (20 feet) above sea level.
Murdunna | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
  Murdunna | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates: 42°57′S 147°52′E | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | Tasmania | ||||||||||||
| Region | South-east | ||||||||||||
| LGA | |||||||||||||
| Location |
| ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 309 (2016 census)[1] | ||||||||||||
| Postcode | 7178 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Population increases in the summer months, and it is becoming increasingly popular with people from Hobart who are looking for weekend getaways. Many houses are owned by non-residents who use them as holiday homes. The name Murdunna is believed to come from a local Aboriginal word meaning "place of the stars".
Tourism is a major source of income, although forestry was and still continues to be a major employer. Many inhabitants commute to Hobart on a daily basis with improved roads.
Recreation is centred on Sommers Bay, about 5 km (3.1 mi) west of Murdunna itself.
History
In the 1930s Murdanna hosted a semaphore station, used for communication between Hobart and the penal settlement of Port Arthur.[2] It also hosted a slaughterhouse which provided rations for the convicts.[2]
Murdunna Post Office opened on 1 June 1910 and closed in 1969.[3]
Locality
Murdunna is also the name of a rural locality as part of the Tasman Council which encompasses the town. It was gazetted as a locality in 1967.[4] The 2016 census recorded a population of 309 for the state suburb of Murdunna.[1] The waters of the Tasman Sea form the eastern boundary, and Norfolk Bay the western.[5]
Road infrastructure
Route A9 (Arthur Highway) runs through the town from north-west to south.[4][6]