NA ="Bicheno, Swansea, Cranbrook, Seymour, Coles Bay, Freycinet,";
FE1[0]=" The east coast of Tasmania is claimed to have the finest weather in the state, and is often called 'Tasmania's Suncoast'. White sandy beaches line the east coast, and Tasmania's most-visited National Park, Freycinet National Park ";
FE2[0]="is in the area.  The two largest towns on the east coast are St. Helens and Bicheno, both wonderful fishing ports. Bicheno is one of Tasmania's most beautiful towns and one of the most popular holiday destinations. It began life a";
FE3[0]="s a sealing and whaling town and then transitioned to a coal mining port (shipping coal mined inland at Fingal), but today crayfishing is the largest industry.  Bicheno is blessed with many natural attractions, including a mild cl";
FE4[0]="imate, beaches and scuba diving and superb fishing of almost every type, but has not relied solely upon these with the local wineries winning many awards. The coast setting applies not only to the landscape, soils and climate, but";
FE5[0]=" several wineries were developed by retired abalone divers looking for a way of staying in this delightful area. The east coast economy is anchored on the tourism and fishing industries. Abalone, oysters, scallops, crayfish and de";
FE6[0]="ep-sea species form the bulk of the catch. There are vineyards scattered throughout the region. Tourism and timber milling employs a significant number of local residents. The vineyards in the area near Bicheno, Cranbrook and Swan";
FE7[0]="sea have been carefully sited to benefit from a unique microclimate, which ensures a long, gradual ripening period. Most of the vineyards are planted on northerly or easterly facing hillsides in east running valleys. The region is";
FE8[0]=" famous for its mild climate throughout the year, with no winter frosts or fogs.   The climate is quite dry as the mountains act as a barrier to the prevailing westerly winds, creating a rain shadow across the east of the island. ";
FE9[0]="Mean annual rainfall of 3,500 mm on the western highlands at Lake Margaret, drops to as little as 685 mm at Bicheno. Rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year with a spring dry-period. Irrigation and frost control devices";
LA1[0]=" Soils in the area are mostly brown Chromosols and Brown Dermosols derived from Jurassic dolerites.  These soils are dark brown sandy clay loams over blocky heavy clays, with moderate to imperfect drainage. Similar soils are found ";
LA2[0]="along the slopes of the East Tamar Valley. There are patches of Tertiary basalt in the area around Great Oyster Bay, forming clay soils. At Springvale Vineyard the soil is mostly a fertile clay loam, with the subsoil varying from ";
LA3[0]="porous friable loam with rock to medium-heavy clay. Drainage is excellent throughout the vineyard and the pH of the soil is around 6.5.  ";
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CL1[0]=" The east coast of Tasmania is claimed to have the finest weather in the state, and is often called 'Tasmania's Suncoast'. The region is famous for its mild climate throughout the year, with few winter frosts or fogs and mild summe";
CL2[0]="r temperatures.   The climate is quite dry, compared with the rest of Tasmania. The central and western mountains act as a barrier to the prevailing westerly winds, creating a rain shadow across the east of the island. Mean annual";
CL3[0]=" rainfall of 3,500 mm on the western highlands at Lake Margaret, drops to as little as 685 mm at Bicheno. Rainfall is evenly distributed throughout the year with a spring dry-period. Maximum mean monthly rainfall is 73 mm in Decem";
CL4[0]="ber. Irrigation and frost control devices are used at most wineries. Mean hours of sunshine range from 4.5 hours in June to 8.5 hours on October. Mean monthly temperatures are lowest in July/August (minimum 5 degrees C, maximum 14";
CL5[0]=" degrees C) and highest in January/ February (minimum 13 degrees C, maximum 21degrees C).";
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HI1[0]=" The East Coast has many beautiful, white sandy beaches, clear turquoise seas, rugged crags, a dramatic history and plenty of wildlife. The place names tell the story of the region's heritage: Freycinet (French), Schouten and Maria";
HI2[0]=" (Dutch), Swansea (Welsh), Ben Lomond (Scottish), and Triabunna and Weilangta (Aboriginal). Bicheno was established as a whaling centre as early as 1803. The sealers and whalers, who predated the first official settlement, arrived";
HI3[0]=" and began using Waubs Boat Harbour (the old name for Bicheno) as a their base. The town was named after James Ebenezer Bicheno, the British Colonial Secretary for Van Diemen's Land from 1843-1851. In 1854 the tiny fishing vessel ";
HI4[0]="harbour was expanded to provide port facilities for the coal mining at Denison River. The coal was transported to the port along a horse-drawn tramway that ran 5 km from the mines. The Gulch, located between Gulch Road and Governo";
HI5[0]="rs Island, still has metal rings in the rocks where the coal ships would moor while the coal was being loaded. Apsley Gorge Vineyard, established in 1988, is a waterfront winery in a spectacular waterfront setting at the 'Gulch'. ";
HI6[0]="The use of Bicheno as a coal port was short-lived. People left for the Victorian goldrush in 1855. Fishing has continued to be the lifeblood of the town, though tourism and wineries have become popular attractions. Spring Vale Pro";
HI7[0]="perty at Cranbrook has been in the hands of the Lyne family, since 1875. William Lyne, his wife and five children took up their land grant in 1826. The vineyard was first planted in 1986. In 1979, Hobart dentist John Austwick esta";
HI8[0]="blished Craigie Knowe Vineyard near Cranbrook. His love of Bordeaux led him to plant all the major Bordeaux varieties. Geoff and Susan Bull planted Freycinet vineyard in 1980 Vineyard, just south of Bicheno, in a coastal setting l";
HI9[0]="ying 100 metres above sea level and 20km from the coast. Coomben vineyard was established in 1985, on the north-facing slope of an unpolluted valley between Swansea and Bicheno.";