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Devonport, Tasmania

Electricians in DevonportA post-war town on a windy stretch of coast.

Devonport grew quickly after the Second World War, and by the late 1960s it was one of Tasmania's fastest-growing towns, so many homes here may still carry wiring and switchboards from that era. Older boards, storm damage and flood checks are the jobs that come up. TasNetworks takes shocks, sparking and fallen lines on 132 004, and we match the electrical work with a licence-checked local electrician, where we have one.

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Devonport's Mersey River foreshore and parkland with a small white lighthouse, seen from the water.
Photo: Wj32, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped

What shapes electrical work in Devonport

After the war, new subdivisions spread west across the Don Valley, north toward Coles Beach and along both banks of the Mersey, and by the late 1960s Devonport was among Tasmania's fastest-growing urban centres. A house from that time may still have its original board, few power points per room and no safety switches on the lighting.

It's mostly houses: 87.2% of occupied homes in the council area were separate houses at the 2021 Census, 11.5% were semi-detached or townhouses, and almost none were apartments. The median age was 43, and 31.8% of homes were rented.

Devonport at a glance

TasNetworks

Shocks, sparking, fallen lines and faults affecting life support equipment: 132 004, 24 hours. For a general enquiry, 1300 137 008 on weekdays.

Wind and westerly fronts

Spring and early summer here are typically windy, and winters bring frequent westerly fronts. Branches near lines are a risk: TasNetworks says to keep vegetation at least 3 metres from overhead powerlines, using an authorised contractor.

The Don River

Tasmania SES lists Don River floods in January 2011, June 2016 and October 2022, when at least four houses were inundated. The Bureau of Meteorology doesn't issue a specific flood warning for the Don.

Storm tides

Devonport City Council rates extreme storm tide events causing foreshore erosion and inundation as a high risk, and expects coastal inundation to increase.

Water rising or already in the house?

Tasmania SES's advice for the Don area is to prepare for power outages and to turn off the electricity if it's safe to do so. After the water drops, keep everything off until a licensed electrician has tested it. A line down after a storm goes to TasNetworks on 132 004, and 000 if anyone is hurt.

Jobs that suit Devonport homes

Switchboard upgrades. Replacing old fuses with circuit breakers and adding safety switches, with room for a heat pump or solar later. Switchboard upgrades explains the job.

More power points. Fewer leads and power boards in rooms that were wired for a radio and a lamp. Power points covers adding them.

Private poles and lines. In Tasmania, private poles and lines generally start at the first pole on your property and are yours to look after. Private power poles explains what that means.

Rental checks. A landlord can't start, extend or renew a lease unless the power points and the wiring in walls and ceilings are safe and working.

If it were our place in Devonport

If the house dates from the 1950s or 1960s and nobody's looked at the board in years, we'd get it checked before winter and before adding anything big. We'd also walk the yard and look at any private pole or overhead line for leaning, cracks or branches, and get that seen to before the spring winds.

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Questions

Straight answers.

Who do I call when the power goes out in Devonport?

TasNetworks. Check its online outage map, and report an outage that isn't shown with its online form. Shocks, sparking and fallen lines go to 132 004 straight away.

Is there a flood warning for the Don River?

Tasmania SES says the Bureau of Meteorology doesn't issue a specific flood warning for the Don River, though it does issue broader flood watches and severe weather warnings. Keep an eye on those when heavy rain is forecast.

What record should I get after electrical work?

In Tasmania, the person responsible for the work must give you a copy of the record in an approved form once it's energised, and keep their own for at least 10 years.

Ready for a sparky in Devonport?

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Related help

Helpful next

Switchboard upgradesOld fuses, no safety switches or no room for a charger: when to upgrade and what changes.Old fuse boxes and ceramic fusesCeramic fuses you pull out and rewire? What an old fuse box means and what replaces it.Power pointsToo few outlets, a cracked or dead power point, or a new spot for the TV: what's involved and what to ask.Private power polesWho owns the pole on your property, who inspects it, and what to do about a defect notice.Electricians in BurnieWet winters, creek and CBD flash floods, heating loads and TasNetworks in Burnie.Electricians in TasmaniaTasmanian practitioner and contractor licences, the record of work, smoke alarms, rentals and TasNetworks.

Where this information comes from

Rules change, so check with your state regulator if something matters to your job. How we write and check these pages.

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