Turners Beach is a small town on the north coast of Tasmania. Almost equidistant between the cities of Devonport and Ulverstone, it is at the western mouth into Bass Strait of the Forth River, opposite the village of Leith on its eastern mouth. Its population as at 2016 was 1715 people.
History
A cairn recording the location of the first European settlement of the area in 1840 by James Fenton is situated 100 metres from Forth Bridge in Turners Beach and was also the site of the pioneer and historian's house. The Gables an early residential house was built around 1850 and was originally known as The Sailors Return Inn. Although the building only operated as a hotel for a decade it had a short and colourful history. In 1853 it was robbed by the bushrangers Dalton and Kelly who stole the landlord's whale boat and sailed across the Bass Strait to Victoria. They were subsequently caught, brought back to Tasmania and executed in Launceston. Its post office opened on 15 December 1956. Turners Beach was originally known as Scott’s Beach, named after the Scott family who operated a flour mill on Claytons Rivulet.. The township of Turners Beach was developed by and renamed in honour of Harry Vincent Glengyle Turner on 21 March 1961 who was on the Ulverstone Council and Town Planning Committee at the time.
Business
There used to be two small supermarkets in the town one each end of the Esplanade. The one at the top of the Esplanade closed and the other is now a café providore. A service station and takeaway exists on Forth Road. There used to be two caravan parks to cater for the summer holiday makers. One has since closed and was redeveloped for residential buildings. For many decades there was a garden nursery operating in Forth Road. , a Twilight Market featuring local producers and artisans with a community focus is held the last Sunday of every month.
The Beach
The tide goes out a fair distance and at times there was an annual beach sprint on the hard sand. The rolling waves produce a very fine white sand which is less course than that of Ulverstone. The mouth of the Forth River is at one end of the beach and has been treacherous to surfers. The Forth River used to be plentiful with Cocky Salmon. At the other end of the beach is Claytons Rivulet known to contain platypus, eels and brown trout.
