| Central Highlands Tasmania | |||||||||||||||
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 Mount Olympus depicted by W. C. Piguenit in 1875. | |||||||||||||||
| Population | 2,141 [1] | ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Central Highlands | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Lyons | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Lyons | ||||||||||||||
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The Central Highlands is a region in Tasmania, Australia where geographical and administrative boundaries closely coincide. It is also known as The Lake Country of Tasmania. [2]
The mountains of Central Tasmania are mainly found in four different conservation reserves:
The Central Highlands Council incorporates most of the highland region.
Early power developments by Hydro Tasmania in the Central Highlands included the communities of workers who were employed in construction. Significant numbers of the communities were migrants to Australia [3]
The Tarraleah community was one established in 1934 which was a significant early community for the Upper Derwent Power Development. The part of Tarraleah known as Ticklebelly Flat - the area of the married quarters of the community - has become a part of Hydro history, being utilised in the most comprehensive history of the Hydro to date, Heather Fenton's book Ticklebelly Tales. [4]
The Central Highlands of Tasmania are home to famous trout fishing lakes and boasts some of the best trout fly fishing found anywhere in the world. The location played host to the 2019 World Fly Fishing Championships. The Central Highlands are on the bucket list for many fly fisherman with popular locations including Great Lake, Arthurs Lake, Woods Lake and Pinestock Lagoon. [5]
The combined councils of the Central Highlands and the two Midlands councils - the southern and the northern have had for almost a decade a web based portal which combines the areas to a name of Tasmanian heartland. [6] The Central Highlands Council has been organising the annual Bushfest which includes various outdoor activities such as fishing, camping, hunting and adventure sports. [7] The event started in 2014 and witnesses a gathering of nearly 4000 people every year. [8]
Many lakes are found in the Central Highlands - giving the region the tourist feature of the 'Lakes Region'; they include:
Lake St Clair or leeawulenna is a natural freshwater lake located in the Central Highlands area of Tasmania, Australia. The lake forms the southern end of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. It has an area of approximately 45 square kilometres (17 sq mi), and a maximum depth of 215 metres (705 ft), making it Australia's deepest lake.
Central Highlands Council is a local government body in Tasmania, encompassing the Central Highlands region of the state. Central Highlands is classified as a rural local government area and has a population of 2,144, the two largest towns are Bothwell and Hamilton.
The Midlands is a region of Tasmania between Launceston and Hobart. It also refers to the relatively flat, dry agricultural area, so named because it covers the region between the two cities. Its name is probably also influenced from the Midlands in the United Kingdom. It lends its name to the Southern Midlands Council, Northern Midlands Council, and the Midland Highway. The region is sometimes conflated or confused with the adjacent region of the Central Highlands—with the added term Tasmania's heartland.
Hydro Tasmania, known for most of its history as the Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC) or The Hydro, is the trading name of the Hydro-Electric Corporation, a Tasmanian Government business enterprise which is the predominant electricity generator in the state of Tasmania, Australia. The Hydro was originally oriented towards hydro-electricity, due to Tasmania's dramatic topography and relatively high rainfall in the central and western parts of the state. Today Hydro Tasmania operates thirty hydro-electric and one gas power station, and is a joint owner in three wind farms.
The Great Western Tiers are a collection of mountain bluffs that form the northern edge of the Central Highlands plateau in Tasmania, Australia. The bluffs are contained within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site.
The Great Lake, officially yingina / Great Lake, is a natural lake and man-made reservoir that is located in the central northern region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Lyell Highway is a highway in Tasmania, running from Hobart to Queenstown. It is the one of two transport routes that passes through the West Coast Range, the other being the B28 Anthony Road.
Ben Lomond is a mountain in the north-east of Tasmania, Australia.
The Crotty Dam, also known during construction as the King Dam, or the King River Dam on initial approval, is a rockfill embankment dam with a controlled and uncontrolled spillway across the King River, between Mount Jukes and Mount Huxley, located in Western Tasmania, Australia.
Central Plateau Conservation Area is an animal and plant conservation area in Tasmania, Australia. It is adjacent to the Walls of Jerusalem National Park.
Miena is a small town at the southern end of the Great Lake in the Central Highlands of Tasmania, Australia. At the 2021 census, Miena and the surrounding area had a population of 127.
The Tarraleah Power Station is a hydroelectric power station located in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania, Australia. The power station is part of the Upper Derwent hydro scheme and is operated by Hydro Tasmania.
The Tungatinah Power Station is a conventional hydroelectric power station located in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania, Australia. The power station is situated on the Upper River Derwent catchment and is owned and operated by Hydro Tasmania.
The Sticht Range is a mountain range located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. The range runs between two tributaries of the Eldon River and is located within the eastern part of the West Coast Range and has an unnamed peak with an elevation of 1,080 metres (3,540 ft) above sea level.
South West Tasmania is a region in Tasmania that has evoked curiosity and wonder during the period of European presence on the island.
Tarraleah is a rural locality in the local government area (LGA) of Central Highlands in the Central LGA region of Tasmania. In the 2016 census, a population of nil for the state suburb of Tarraleah was recorded.
Bronte Park is a rural locality in the local government area (LGA) of Central Highlands in the Central LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about 82 kilometres (51 mi) north-west of the town of Hamilton. The 2016 census recorded a population of 28 for the state suburb of Bronte Park. It is a locality on the Marlborough Highway at the southern edge of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. It is located just north of the Lyell Highway and approximately halfway in between Hobart and Queenstown, and is also almost exactly in the geographic centre of the island.
The Scotts Peak Dam is a rockfill embankment dam without a spillway across the Huon River, located in the South West region of Tasmania, Australia.
Bronte Lagoon is a lake that was created by Hydro Tasmania in the 1950s along with Bradys Lake, Lake Binney and Tungatinah Lagoon as water storages for the Tungatinah Power Station on the Nive River.
The Arthurs Lake is a man-made reservoir located in the Central Highlands region of Tasmania, Australia. The lake was created in the 1920s by the Hydro-Electric Commission of Tasmania damming the Upper Lake River, Blue Lake and Sand Lake as well as the Morass Marsh. The principal purpose of the lake is to support the generation of hydroelectricity.
