Ouse, Tasmania

Ouse is a small town in the Central Highlands Council local government area in Tasmania, Australia on the Lyell Highway. At the 2011 census, Ouse has a population of 368.HistoryOuse is the settlement where convicts James Goodwin and Thomas Connolly broke out of the South West Wilderness four weeks after their escape from Sarah Island. Ouse Post Office opened on 1 October 1835.The town briefly made national headlines in August 2006 when the Ouse District Hospital, originally established as a Bush Nursing Centre and reconstituted in its present form in 1956, was downgraded to a community health centre.EducationOuse District School is a public school which caters for students from Kindergarten to grade 6.ClimateOuse has a oceanic climate, verging on Mediterranean, with higher rainfall and humidity in winter than in summer, and average temperatures cooler than most of mainland Australia. The diurnal ranges are rather high throughout the year, due to the inland location. Rainfall is highest in late winter and early spring, whilst lowest in midsummer. Frost is very common in the winter. Snowfall is rare, but not unheard of.