Burnie, Tasmania

Burnie is a port city on the north-west coast of Tasmania. When founded in 1827, Burnie was named Emu Bay but it was renamed for William Burnie, a director of the Van Diemen's Land Company, in the early 1840s.

Burnie is governed by the City of Burnie local government area. At the 2011 Australian Census the local government area recorded a population of 19,329.

Economy

The key industries are heavy manufacturing, forestry and farming. The Burnie port along with the forestry industry provides the main source of revenue for the city. Burnie was the main port for the west coast mines after the opening of the Emu Bay Railway in 1897. Most industry in Burnie was based around the railway and the port that served it.

After the hand over of the Surrey Hills and Hampshire Hills lots, the agriculture industry was largely replaced by forestry. The influence of forestry had a major role on Burnie's development in the 1900s with the founding of the pulp and paper mill by Associated Pulp and Paper Mills in 1938 and the woodchip terminal in the later part of the century. The Burnie Paper Mill closed in 2010 after failing to secure a buyer.

Burnie (mascot)

Burnie is the mascot of the Miami Heat, the NBA basketball team. Burnie is a rough, anthropomorphic depiction of the fireball featured on the team's logo.

Appearance

The Burnie costume is a full-body suit. The body is orange fur, with orange feathers for hair. The "nose" is a green basketball. Burnie wears number 0 for the Heat, typically in a black uniform, although he has also worn the Heat's red and white jerseys during playoff promotions. He also sometimes wears a white team T-shirt.

During the 2012 NBA Playoffs, in accord with the team's "White Hot Playoffs" theme, Burnie's costume temporarily changed to an all-white version of the same suit, with black trim around the jersey's text.

Legal problems

Burnie was sued in 1994 during an exhibition game in Puerto Rico. Burnie selected a woman from the audience, dragged her by the feet, and danced on the court with her during a time-out. The woman turned out to be the wife of a federal judge. The woman pulled away from Burnie and fell. Incredibly, Burnie faced 20 years in jail after being charged with aggravated assault and battery. Burnie was also sued for US$1 million for emotional distress. The media ridiculed the case. The woman appeared several times on late-night television. The case was settled for $50,000.