TASPort & river
Somerset
A river-mouth town where timber left the north-west coast by tramway and schooner.
1856Town of Somerset surveyed
WHAT STARTED IT
The Cam River gave small ships a landing at its mouth, between Emu Bay and Table Cape. Surveyors laid out the town of Somerset on its western bank in 1856, though early lots found no buyers.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Settlers came after William Elliott cleared a track to the Cam in 1860. In 1870 his sawmill firm opened the Cam Tramway to Gibson’s wharf to bring timber and farm produce to ships, and the Burnie–Wynyard railway put Somerset on the state network in 1913.
TURNING POINTS
1856The town of Somerset is surveyed; its lots are unsold at a Launceston land sale.
1860William Elliott, the first settler, cuts a road to his land on the Cam.
1870The Cam Tramway opens on 1 September.
1913The Burnie–Wynyard railway opens on 1 February with a station at Somerset.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A coastal town at the western edge of the Burnie urban area, with shops on the highway, a long beach and timber industry. The Murchison Highway to the west coast begins beside the Cam.