Wynyard

---

Wynyard is a rural town on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia 16 kilometres (10 mi) west of Burnie on the Bass Highway at the mouth of the Inglis River.

At the 2006 census Wynyard had a population of 4,812. It is part of the Waratah-Wynyard Council local government area and a major regional hub, servicing many of the surrounding rural districts. The largest employer in the town is the cheese factory, owned by the New Zealand dairy company Fonterra

Free car parking and level walking, along with a wide range of facilities, make Wynyard attractive for weekly shopping. It is an increasingly popular retirement town for the same reason, with a number of new housing developments.

The town boasts two fine old churches, including the Alexander North Heritage-listed Anglican church of St Stephen in Dodgin Street. Its clean beaches are particularly good for walking, thanks to firm quartz sand. 

There are sheltered spots for swimming at 'The Old Port', changing facilities and showers for bathers on the main beach, and good provision for children, including barbecue and picnic areas, playgrounds and a supervised swimming pool, open in the summer school vacations

The Wynyard Tulip Festival, renamed 'Bloomin' Tulips' in 2004 by the festival committee, is a popular event each year. The festival is one of the town's greatest attractions to tourists, whether from Tasmania itself or from the mainland. The tulip fields are well worth a visit. Most of these are on Table Cape, but others can be seen near the Bass Highway. The area is also famous for its lily fields.

Wynyard is an increasingly popular tourist centre. Visitors flock to see the local scenic attraction of Table Cape, an extinct volcano with views inland along the north coast and out to Bass Strait. Tours of the Table Cape lighthouse can now be booked. The Lighthouse was commissioned in 1888 and was manned by three keepers until 1920 when it was automated