Maydena, Tasmania
Maydena is on the Gordon River Road, south west of New Norfolk, through the Bushy Park Hop Fields, turn left at Westerway, past Mount Field National Park and Russell Falls, through Tyenna and Fitzgerald townships and then up to Maydena itself. Gordon River Road continues to Lake Pedder, Lake Gordon and Strathgordon, in the Southwest National Park of Tasmania. Maydena was formerly called Junee and was a small settlement that provided access to Adamsfield Osmiridium mining in the early 1900s. In 1947-1950 Australian Newsprint Mills built 100 houses for the workers of the forestry operations of Australian Newsprint Mill to provide timber for the production of newsprint at their newsprint Mill in Boyer, Tasmania.
At the 1954 Census Maydena had a population of 518 with a further 60 at the Maydena Newsprint Camp. At the 2021 census, Maydena had a population of 198.
Maydena's state primary school and a community online centre have now been closed.
History
The 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) gauge railway line in Maydena was once used for hauling timber and osmiridium ore, as well as a way point for the Hydro Electric Commission to build the Gordon River Road to Strathgordon and the construction of the Lake Gordon Dam for the Gordon Power Station, the largest in Tasmania. The railway ceased operation in 1991 and a portion of the disused rail track is now being used by a pedal powered 'Railtrack Riders' tourist attraction. Maydena Post Office opened on 1 May 1944.
Climate
Maydena has a cool, rainy oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb). Some winter nights drop below freezing, the average winter daytime temperatures average between 8 °C (46.4 °F) and 15 °C (59 °F). The summer is mild with temperatures averaging around 5 °C (41 °F) to 12 °C (53.6 °F) at night rising to 15 °C (59 °F) to 28 °C (82.4 °F) during the day. Rainfall averaged 1,187.9 millimetres (46.77 in) annually and an average of 219.3 days of rainfall.
During the period 1992 to 2021, Maydena's record high of 37.3 °C (99.1 °F) was recorded on 31 January 2020, and the record low of −4.2 °C (24.4 °F) was recorded on 6 June 2006.
| Climate data for Maydena Post Office (281 m AMSL) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 37.3 (99.1) |
35.9 (96.6) |
35.7 (96.3) |
30.1 (86.2) |
25.3 (77.5) |
18.9 (66.0) |
17.9 (64.2) |
22.1 (71.8) |
26.9 (80.4) |
30.0 (86.0) |
33.0 (91.4) |
35.2 (95.4) |
37.3 (99.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22.2 (72.0) |
22.3 (72.1) |
19.7 (67.5) |
16.0 (60.8) |
13.1 (55.6) |
10.8 (51.4) |
10.6 (51.1) |
11.8 (53.2) |
13.7 (56.7) |
15.7 (60.3) |
18.1 (64.6) |
19.8 (67.6) |
16.2 (61.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 15.6 (60.1) |
15.6 (60.1) |
13.5 (56.3) |
10.8 (51.4) |
8.8 (47.8) |
6.8 (44.2) |
6.4 (43.5) |
7.2 (45.0) |
8.6 (47.5) |
10.2 (50.4) |
12.3 (54.1) |
13.7 (56.7) |
10.8 (51.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 9.0 (48.2) |
8.9 (48.0) |
7.2 (45.0) |
5.5 (41.9) |
4.4 (39.9) |
2.7 (36.9) |
2.2 (36.0) |
2.5 (36.5) |
3.5 (38.3) |
4.7 (40.5) |
6.5 (43.7) |
7.6 (45.7) |
5.4 (41.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −0.4 (31.3) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
−3.4 (25.9) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
−3.7 (25.3) |
−3.8 (25.2) |
−3.4 (25.9) |
−3.2 (26.2) |
−1.5 (29.3) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 60.8 (2.39) |
61.2 (2.41) |
69.0 (2.72) |
77.1 (3.04) |
102.4 (4.03) |
98.9 (3.89) |
115.8 (4.56) |
152.4 (6.00) |
135.3 (5.33) |
119.6 (4.71) |
88.1 (3.47) |
85.7 (3.37) |
1,163.7 (45.81) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 12.8 | 11.2 | 15.4 | 16.7 | 20.6 | 19.8 | 22.4 | 23.2 | 21.3 | 19.5 | 15.6 | 15.8 | 212.1 |
| Average rainy days (≥ 1 mm) | 9.0 | 8.5 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.4 | 12.7 | 15.6 | 16.9 | 16.3 | 15.0 | 12.1 | 12.0 | 154.2 |
| Average afternoon relative humidity (%) | 55 | 55 | 61 | 69 | 75 | 81 | 78 | 71 | 66 | 61 | 59 | 59 | 66 |
| Source: | |||||||||||||
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Maydena (State Suburb)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
- ^ Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 10 November 2007
- ^ Maydena Community Online Center Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List". Phoenix Auctions. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
- ^ "Climate statistics for Maydena". Bureau of Meteorology.
External links
Maydena travel guide from Wikivoyage
Media related to Maydena, Tasmania at Wikimedia Commons
