As a result, the flooded Lake Pedder now has a surface area of approximately 242 square kilometres (93sqmi), making it Tasmania's second largest lake.[1][3][4]
The original and modified lake
In early 20th century the original lake was named after Sir John Pedder, the first Chief Justice of Tasmania. The new artificial impoundment received the official name of the original lake. Although the new Lake Pedder incorporates the original lake, it does not resemble it in size, appearance or ecology.
The new lake consists of an impoundment contained by three dams:
Edgar Dam – a 17-metre (56ft) high rockfill dam at Lake Edgar near Scotts Peak.[5]
The dams were designed and constructed by Tasmania's Hydro Electric Commission (HEC) as part of the Upper Gordon River hydro-electric generation scheme. The aim of this scheme was to increase Tasmania's capacity to generate hydro-electricity in accordance with the Tasmanian Government's policy of attempting to attract secondary industry to the State with the incentive of cheap renewable energy.
There were protests in Tasmania and mainland Australia at the flooding of the original lake, before, during and after construction of the dams. Protests began when in 1967 the Tasmanian Government revoked the status of the Lake Pedder National Park that had protected the lake since 1955. The role of the HEC as a surrogate wing of the Tasmanian government was perceived when the political or wider social dissent against the HEC power over the Tasmanian environment seemed impregnable. Tasmania's political leader, PremierEric Reece and Allan Knight, the HEC Commissioner, were seen as the leading proponents of the 'damming' of Tasmania against any opinion to the contrary, and were not averse to taking their opinions to statewide and national advertising campaigns asserting their right to dam the lake.[8]
Reece was well known for his staunch support of the HEC and its power development schemes on the Gordon River, which earned him the nickname "Electric Eric".[9] In 1972, Reece approved the flooding of Lake Pedder, which proceeded despite a determined protest movement and a blank cheque offer from Prime MinisterGough Whitlam to preserve the Lake Pedder area. Reece refused Whitlam's offer, stating that he would "not have the Federal Government interfering with the sovereign rights of Tasmania".[10]
"There was a National Park out there, but I can't remember exactly where it was . . . at least, it wasn't of substantial significance in the scheme of things. The thing that was significant was that we had to double the output of power in this state in ten years in order [to] supply the demands of industry and the community. And this was the scheme that looked as though it could do a greater part of [the] job for us."
A series of photographs in the 1976 Tasmanian Year book illustrated the process of flooding of the Lake Pedder area.[12]
Community response
Opposition to the flooding of Lake Pedder extended well beyond Tasmania and spread throughout Australia and internationally. The focus on the South West Tasmania Wilderness area as an environmental battleground increased interest in the area, and many travelled to Lake Pedder before it was flooded to see what the issues were about.
In 1971, a large number of people travelled to Pedder to see the lake before it was to be inundated, and a particular weekend in March of that year became known as the Pedder Pilgrimage due to the large number of people present.[13]
The protests included the United Tasmania Group who were the precursor to the Tasmanian Greens and are now recognised as the world's first green party. The group that preceded the Tasmanian Wilderness Society – the South West Tasmania Action Committee continued after the flooding, with the knowledge that surveying and appraising other catchments in the south west and west of Tasmania was well underway by the HEC. Although increasingly sophisticated economic, environmental and engineering arguments were raised by the opponents of the dam, it was not until the Franklin scheme that either the Hydro or its defenders were even considering the critiques. In 1972, the Christian activist Brenda Hean perished with pilot Max Price in a tiger moth aircraft they were flying from Tasmania to Canberra to protest the damming of Lake Pedder; it was alleged that pro-dam campaigners had entered the plane's hangar and placed sugar in one of its fuel tanks.[9]:280–281
Hesba Fay Brinsmead, an Australian children's author and environmentalist, wrote two books about the damming of Lake Pedder:
Echo in the Wilderness is a children's novel set on Lake Pedder on the eve of its flooding (published 1972)
I Will Not Say the Day Is Done (her only non-fiction/adult book) describes the struggle to save Lake Pedder (published 1983)
Concerns over the construction of the dam revolved around the loss of the distinctive pink quartzite beach of the original lake, and an increased understanding of the unique nature of the wilderness quality to the south west of Tasmania. This developed further with the Franklin Dam issue.
In 1994, a campaign group was launched called Pedder 2000.[14][15] They proposed, unsuccessfully, the draining and restoration of the lake to its original state. There is an ongoing low-key campaign with the same goal by the group known as the Lake Pedder Action Committee which remains active.[16]
A controversial and contested name
As is the case in many land use, land ownership and territorial disputes, the name currently officially assigned to this body of water has considerable significance. It is also important in terms of understanding the technical status of the body of water as a component of a hydro-electric scheme.
From a technical, hydro-electric scheme point of view, the current Lake Pedder can be correctly termed a lake or reservoir as the water from Lake Pedder can flow into Lake Gordon via the McPartlan's Pass canal and is thereby connected to the Gordon power station.[17] However, people opposed to the flooding of the original lake do not accept the legitimacy of the official, gazetted name of Lake Pedder for the body of water that drowned it in 1972. Instead, they prefer to use the name Huon–Serpentine Impoundment. This name denotes the two major rivers dammed to create the current lake (Huon and Serpentine) and describes the technical status of the lake as an element of a hydro-electric scheme (impoundment) more accurately than the terms lake or reservoir.[18] Bushwalkers sometimes informally refer to it as "Fake Pedder".[19][20]
Lake Pedder extinctions
The Lake Pedder earthworm (Hypolimnus pedderensis) is only known by the type specimen collected from a beach on Lake Pedder, Tasmania in 1971. After the flooding of the lake, this invertebrate was never seen again. A 1996 survey that sought to determine whether the species still existed in the area failed to find any examples. Since 2003 the Lake Pedder Earthworm has been listed as extinct on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.[21]
An extinction claimed to have occurred after the flooding is that of the Lake Pedder planarian (Romankenkius pedderensis), an endemic flatworm. Since 1996 this invertebrate has also been listed as extinct on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.[22] In 2012, the continued existence of this species was reported.[23]
The Pedder galaxias, an Australian freshwater fish, is considered extinct in its natural habitat of Lake Pedder and its tributaries, although it still exists in captivity and in two translocated populations, one at Lake Oberon in the Western Arthurs mountain range[24] and the other at a modified water supply dam near Strathgordon.[25]
Restoration Campaign
To coincide with the United Nations Decade of Ecological Restoration, 2021–2030, the Lake Pedder Restoration Committee is aiming to have the lake restored to its original state.[26] The committee, convened by Christine Milne with support from Todd Dudley, Bob Brown, Paul Thomas and Tabatha Badger, plans to have an Ecological Management Plan to restore the original Lake Pedder and surrounding iconic ecosystems.
Gallery
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lake Pedder.
Shores of Lake Pedder, c. 1970.
Photograph of Lake Pedder Beach, March 1966.
Panoramic view of 'new' Lake PedderPanoramic view of the 'new' Lake Pedder from Mount Eliza, Southwest National Park, Tasmania, Australia
The Gordon-below-Franklin Dam project was a proposed dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, Australia, that was never constructed. The movement that eventually led to the project's cancellation became one of the most significant environmental campaigns in Australian history.
Lake Gordon is a man-made reservoir created by the Gordon Dam, located on the upper reaches of the Gordon River in the south-west region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Gordon River is a major perennial river located in the central highlands, south-west, and western regions of Tasmania, Australia.
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.
Olegas Truchanas was a Lithuanian-Australian conservationist and nature photographer.
Eric Elliott Reece, AC was Premier of Tasmania on two occasions: from 26 August 1958 to 26 May 1969, and from 3 May 1972 to 31 March 1975. His 13 years as premier remains the second longest in Tasmania's history, Only Robert Cosgrove has served for a longer period as premier. Reece was the first Premier of Tasmania to have been born in the 20th century.
The Tasmanian Wilderness Society was a Tasmanian environmental group that started in 1976 in response to a proposal by the state's Hydro Electric Commission to construct a dam on the Gordon River, downstream from the Franklin River, that led to the Franklin Dam controversy. The group evolved from membership of the South West Tasmania Action Committee and members of the United Tasmania Group. It was active in public protest about the issues of Wilderness, the Franklin River and South West Tasmania.
The Pedder galaxias is an Australian freshwater fish. It is considered to be extinct in the wild since 2005 by the EPBC Act, and was originally found only in Lake Pedder in Tasmania.
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.
South West Tasmania is a region in Tasmania that has evoked curiosity and wonder during the period of European presence on the island.
The Gordon River Road, sometimes called the Strathgordon Road, (B61), is a road in the south western region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Gordon Dam, also known as the Gordon River Dam, is a major gated double curvature concrete arch dam with a controlled spillway across the Gordon River, located in Southwest National Park, Tasmania, Australia. The impounded reservoir is called Lake Gordon.
The Serpentine River is a major perennial river located in the south-west and western regions of Tasmania, Australia.
The Scotts Peak Dam Road is the most southerly point of road access into Southwest National Park, Tasmania, Australia.
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.
The Serpentine Dam is a rockfill embankment dam with a concrete face and a controlled spillway across the Serpentine River, located in the South West region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Edgar Dam is an earthfill embankment saddle dam without a spillway, located offstream in the South West region of Tasmania, Australia.
Brenda Hean (1910-1972) was a member of the Lake Pedder Action Committee (LPAC) and a resident of Hobart, Tasmania who disappeared at the time of the flooding of Lake Pedder.
The Lake Pedder Action Committee was a Tasmanian environmental group.
Pieman River Power Development was a major 1970s and 1980s hydroelectric development of the Pieman River and its tributaries on the west coast of Tasmania.
↑ McKenry, Keith, Pedder Papers – Anatomy of a Decision, 1972, chapter: A History and critical analysis of the controversy concerning the Gordon River Power Scheme, pages 9 – 39, publisher: Australian Conservation Foundation
↑ Mosley, J. G. (John Geoffrey); Lake Pedder Study Group; Pedder 2000 (Organization) (1994), How Lake Pedder can be restored, Pedder 2000, ISBN978-0-646-22388-9{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
↑ Sharples, C. E. (Chris E.); University of Tasmania. Centre for Environmental Studies; Symposium on Lake Pedder: Values and Restoration (1995: University of Tasmania) (2001), Lake Pedder: values and restoration: the proceedings of a symposium held on 8th April 1995 at the University of Tasmania, Hobart (1sted.), Centre for Environmental Studies, Dept. of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Tasmania, ISBN978-0-85901-970-5{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
↑ Forteath, G. N. R.; Osborn, A. W. (2012). Survival of endemic invertebrates of Lake Pedder and Lake Edgar subsequent to inundation. Records of the Queen Victoria Museum. ISSN0085-5278.
↑ "Galaxias pedderensis". Species Profile and Threats Database, Department of the Environment and Heritage. Canberra: Australian Department of the Environment and Heritage. 2006.
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