Burnie is situated on Emu Bay at the mouth of the Emu River on the northern coast of Tasmania. Established in 1829 as Emu Bay Settlement, the settlement was renamed as a town in 1866. Burnie is served by the Sydney-Tasmania ferry and is the commercial centre for northwestern Tasmania. Nearby is Cradle Mountain - Lake St. Clair National Park, incorporating Cradle Mountain itself with its lava peak rising to 5,069 feet.