In the Australianstate of Tasmania, there are many areas which are commonly known by regional names. Regions are areas that share similar characteristics. These characteristics may be natural such as the Furneaux Islands, the coastline, or the Central Highlands. Alternatively, the characteristics may be cultural, such as a viticulture land use. Tasmania is divided by numerous regional boundaries, based on different characteristics. In many cases boundaries defined by different government agencies are coterminous and are often cited by the Australian and local media that tend to distinguish between North West, West Coast, Southern, and East Coast.[citation needed]
Some regions were historically identified in terms of land use.[1] In the 1960s the Atlas of Tasmania was the definitive Tasmanian Government publication in relation to regional geographical variations in Tasmania.[2]
In Tasmania the third tier of elected government after the federal and state governments are the local government authorities, which are responsible for the local government areas. The types of LGAs in Tasmania are cities and councils.
Tasmania has 29 local government areas[3] which have an elected council and carry out various functions delegated to them by the Tasmanian Government.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has multiple regional structures for which it analyses and reports data. These regional structures derive from the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (AGSC). The AGSC defines at the very smallest level, the Census Collection District (CCD). These CCD's aggregate to form the Statistical Local Area (SLA), which is the common base unit for each of the larger regional structures.[4] The boundaries of the SLA are designed to be typically coterminous with Local Government Areas unless the LGA does not fit entirely into a Statistical Subdivision (SSD), or is not of a comparative nature to other LGA's.[4] Bureau of Statistics provides statistics for Local Government Areas, as well as three other statistical structures: Statistical Divisions, Statistical Regions, and Statistical Districts.
Statistical Divisions
Statistical Divisions (SD) form the main structural hierarchy of statistical analysis. These regions are structured to provide a broad range of social, demographic and economic statistics.[4] The basis for the boundary delineations centre on socio-economic criteria.[4] The five divisions for Tasmania are:[5]
Greater Hobart, Southern, Northern, Mersey-Lyell, Off-Shore Areas & Migratory.
Statistical Regions
The Statistical Region (SR) structure was established in 1986 as a means for labor force analysis.[6]
Greater Hobart, Southern, Northern, Mersey-Lyell.
Statistical Districts
The Statistical District (SDist) is a non-capital, urban region of one or more adjoining areas, with a population of 25,000 or more. The SDist is defined with consideration of a 20-year growth forecast. The SDist does not need to conform to LGA boundaries or to state territory boundaries.[7] The two Statistical Districts in Tasmania are:
Launceston, Burnie-Devonport.
Biogeographic regions
IBRA 6.1 regions map
The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) is a biogeographic regionalisation of Australia; divided into 89 bioregions and 419 subregions. Each region is a land area made up of a group of interacting ecosystems that are repeated in similar form across the landscape. Regions and subregion cross state and territory boundaries. There are nine bioregions that are located within all or part of Tasmania:[8]
As its name implies, the centre of Tasmania, from Lake St Clair in the north to the lower River Derwent in the south east.
North West
From the Bass Strait coast in the north to Pieman River in the north west.
Specific uses of regions for different purposes
Weather forecasting
Since 2013, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) divided Tasmania into eleven land-based districts for the purpose weather forecasting. In addition, the Bureau detailed nine coastal districts and a further five inshore districts covering the bays and channels in the River Derwent lower estuary.[9]
Land based districts
Furneaux Islands
North East
East Coast
Central North (including Launceston)
Midlands
South East (including Hobart)
Upper Derwent Valley
Central Plateau
Western (includes South Western and Western Tasmania)
North West Coast
King Island
Coastal districts
Far North West Coast
Central West Coast
Southwest Coast
Southeast Coast
Southeast Inshore
Lower East Coast
Upper East Coast
East of Flinders Island
Banks Strait (Larapuna)
Central North Coast
Tasmanian Government
Other coastal regions
In some schemes a quadrant of the coast is made into four parts:[citation needed]
In general terms, the usage is found in a number of forms:[citation needed]
North West - generally starting north of the Pieman River mouth and proceeding round into the Bass Strait coast
South West - generally starting at Cape Sorell and finishing at either South Cape or South East Cape
South East - usually incorporates the region around Hobart and through to wineglass Bay or further north
North East - usually referring to the coast from the Tamar River and proceeding round onto the East Coast
These regional schemes do not relate to the physical realities of the coast, or any of the coastal processes, but are simply organisational categorigisation.[citation needed]
Tourist regions
Tourism regions are a scheme of tourist promotion; some tourist regions are in sub-regions, or a component of separate regions, and others are grabs of separate regions.
Regions most commonly used for tourism purposes include:
As of 2015[update] Tourism Tasmania, a Tasmanian Government body, divided the state into five regions on the Tasmanian mainland, and two regions covering the two major Bass Strait islands:[10]
East Coast
Flinders Island
Hobart and South
King Island
Launceston and North
North West
West Coast
Zones have also been historically used for the purposes of public transport[11] including: Hobart and surrounds, Launceston, Tamar and the North, North West Coast, East Coast, and Western Wilderness.
^"Local Government Area populations". Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2006-2007. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 22 April 2009. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
