West Coast, Tasmania

Last updated

West Coast
Tasmania
Horsetail Falls - August 2021.jpg
LGA(s)
State electorate(s) Braddon
Federal division(s) Braddon
Localities around West Coast:
North West Tasmania
Southern Ocean West Coast Central Highlands
Southern Ocean South West Tasmania

The West Coast of Tasmania is one of the regions of Tasmania in Australia. It is mainly isolated rough country and is associated with wilderness, mining and tourism. It served as the location of an early convict settlement in the early history of Van Diemen's Land, and contrasts sharply with the more developed and populous northern and eastern parts of the island state.

Contents

Western Tasmania and South West Tasmania with natural resources on 1865 map WesternTasmania1865.jpg
Western Tasmania and South West Tasmania with natural resources on 1865 map

Climate

The west coast has a much cooler and wetter climate when compared to the east coast. Frequent low pressure systems hit the west coast causing heavy rain, snow, and ice. The West Coast Range blocks these systems from impacting the east, therefore making the West Coast a rain catchment with some areas receiving over 2,000 millimetres (79 in) of rain a year. In winter temperatures at sea level hover around 10 °C (50 °F), and when not raining, morning frost is common. The temperatures are much lower inland from the coast with maximums in winter often failing to surpass 0 °C (32 °F). Typically, the snow line in winter is around 900 metres (3000 ft), however sea level snow falls several times each winter as well. Summer is mild with maximum temperatures averaging between 17 °C (63 °F) and 21 °C (70 °F), though some days still fail to reach 10 °C (50 °F). Despite snowfall usually occurring in winter, it has been known to fall in the middle of summer. [1]

Transportation and Economy

Many outsiders have had difficulty understanding the isolation of the west coast, and the small communities, and the historical context to that isolation. Initially the only way in and out was by sea, and no serviceable roads to either the north or east existed until the 1930s (east) or the 1960s (north). Railways were the main land connection from the 1920s to the 1960s - though that connection was with the north coast, rather than the more populous southeast. [2]

The treacherous conditions at Hell's Gates at the mouth of Macquarie Harbour, and ocean travel along the exposed western side of Tasmania have made marine travel a dangerous pastime even to the current day, despite modern technology. Memorial plaques to recent lost sailors on the wall at the northern edge of the Strahan wharf illustrate this.

The current airstrip is at Strahan, with the airstrip at Queenstown no longer a current registered landing ground. [3] In the 1970s a regular service to the east coast was run by Airlines of Tasmania.

All transport services to the west coast are subject to interruption by severe weather. In addition to closures of air and marine service, the roads to the west coast may be blocked for days at a time by ice and snow during severe winter conditions.

Hell's Gates, entrance to Macquarie harbour, Western Tasmania Hell's Gates.jpg
Hell's Gates, entrance to Macquarie harbour, Western Tasmania

The consequence of the isolation, and the ways that the communities coped with the difficulties, were little examined prior to the 1990s, except for parts of Tim Bowden's 1979 Radio Documentary "The West Coasters", and various references in Geoffrey Blainey's " The Peaks of Lyell " book and the important works of C.J. Binks [4] and Kerry Pink. [5]

Since the rise of tourism on the west coast, the Franklin Dam issue and the creation of the world heritage wilderness area, a steady number of small publications concerning the history and features of the region have been produced.

For a brief time in the early 20th century the west coast had population and political power on a parity with Hobart and Launceston. Following the demise of most of the Zeehan mines, the west coast population has either remained static, or declined relative to other parts of the island.

The legacy

The environment is described with particular historical understanding by C.J. Binks in "Explorers of Western Tasmania", Chapter 2 - "A Sketch of the Western Country". (See also West Coast Range)

The convict era is introduced in articles about Macquarie Harbour Penal Station, Convicts on the West Coast of Tasmania, and Hell's Gates.

The reliance on the railways can be found in the separate article West Coast Tasmania Railways.

The mining history was captured first in Charles Whitham's Western Tasmania book - and Geoffrey Blainey's Peaks of Lyell and the books that have followed. See also the list at West Coast Tasmania Mines for a list that includes historical names and locations - many now long abandoned.

The vast tracts of forest (Huon Pine, among others) in the west coast region have been subject to fire, and exploitation - as well as significant areas now under conservation. The history of the West Coast Piners who utilised the Franklin River and Gordon River and their tributaries is a vital part of west coast history.

The legacy of the Hydro Electric Commission (The Hydro) on the west coast is a complex one, due to its sense in the 1940s to 1980s considering the west and south west regions as its 'last frontier' for the remaining catchments for its power development schemes.

Photographic record

As most of the European activity on the west coast (after the convict era) lies within the invention and use of the camera, most aspects of west coast history have been captured on film.

The Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, and the State Library of Tasmania in Hobart are the main holdings of the record, while the late Eric Thomas's collection in the 'Galley Museum' in Queenstown is on a par with both.

Some examples of collections:

Due to the rise of tourism in the 1990s, a considerable number of DVDs and videos are commercially available of the region. These DVDs and videos often cover areas which had been inaccessible as recently as 30 or 40 years ago. Additionally, tourists and hikers have gathered a considerable record of the region, which regularly appears in either their own or on generally accessible websites on the Internet.

Bioregion

The Tasmanian West bioregion comprises the West Coast region and the South West region. [6]

Locality

The gazetted locality/suburb named "West Coast" covers a largely uninhabited region between the Arthur River and Queenstown, and does not include the populated towns in the West Coast region. It is in the local government areas of Circular Head (34.6%), Kentish (0.3%), Waratah-Wynyard (27.1%), and West Coast (38%). Its central point is about 137 kilometres (85 mi) west of the town of Sheffield. The 2016 census has a population of nil for the state suburb of West Coast. [7]

The Southern Ocean forms part of the western boundary. The locality encircles Corinna, Renison Bell, Rosebery and Zeehan, and is adjoined by the localities of Arthur River, Couta Rocks, Cradle Mountain, Gormanston, Granville Harbour, Guildford, Lake Margaret, Lileah, Luina, Mawbanna, Middlesex, Nelson Bay, Parrawe, Queenstown, Roger River, Savage River, Southwest, Strahan, Temma, Togari, Trial Harbour, Trowutta, Tullah, Waratah, and West Takone. [8]

Road infrastructure

The locality contains the following road routes: • A10 • B24 • B27 • B28 • C132 • C214 • C218 • C247 • C248 • C249 • C252

The A10 route (Zeehan Highway) enters from Queenstown in the south and runs generally north-west until it reaches Zeehan, where it becomes the Murchison Highway and runs north-east through Rosebery, and then turns north until it reaches the north-eastern boundary, where it exits to Guildford. At Queenstown the Lyell Highway changes from A10 to B24 and runs south and west to Strahan, following part of the southern boundary of the locality. Route B27 (Henty Road) enters from Zeehan and runs through the south-west corner to Strahan. Route B28 (Anthony Road) starts at an intersection with A10 and runs north-east to Rosebery, where it rejoins A10. Route C252 (Pieman Road) starts at an intersection with A10 on the northern boundary of Rosebery and runs west to Lake Pieman, where it ends at an intersection with C249. Route C249 enters from Zeehan as Heemskirk Road and runs north-west and north to Lake Pieman, where it becomes Corinna Road and continues north through Corinna, where it becomes Norfolk Road and continues north until it ends at an intersection with C214. Route C214 (Blackwater Road / Rebecca Road) starts at an intersection with C218 on the northern boundary and runs south and west before exiting to Couta Rocks. Route C218 (Roger River Road / Sumac Road / Rapid River Road / Tayatea Road / Trowutta Road) enters from Roger River to the north and follows a circular path through the northern part of the locality before returning to Roger River. Route C247 (an extension of Corinna Road) starts at an intersection with C249 in Corinna and runs north-east until it exits to Savage River. Route C132 (Belvoir Road) starts at an intersection with A10 and exits north-east to Guildford. Route C248 (Trial Harbour Road) starts in Zeehan and runs southwest through the locality to Trial Harbour. [9] [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strahan, Tasmania</span> Town and port in Tasmania, Australia

Strahan is a small town and former port on the west coast of Tasmania. It is now a significant locality for tourism in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Coast Council</span> Local government area in Tasmania, Australia

West Coast Council is a local government body in Tasmania, covering much of the western region of the state. West Coast is classified as a rural local government area and has a population of 4,167. The major towns and localities of the region include Strahan, Rosebery, Zeehan and the principal town of Queenstown.

Rosebery is a town on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is at the northern end of the West Coast Range, in the shadow of Mount Black and adjacent to the Pieman River, now Lake Pieman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zeehan</span> Town in Tasmania, Australia

Zeehan is a town on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia 139 kilometres (86 mi) south-west of Burnie. It is part of the West Coast Council, along with the seaport Strahan and neighbouring mining towns of Rosebery and Queenstown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Coast Range</span> Mountain range in Tasmania, Australia

The West Coast Range is a mountain range located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regatta Point, Tasmania</span> Port and locality in Western Tasmania, Australia

Regatta Point is the location of a port and rail terminus on Macquarie Harbour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murchison Highway</span> Highway in Tasmania, Australia

The Murchison Highway is a highway located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. The 147-kilometre (91 mi) highway runs generally north–south, with Somerset, near Burnie, as its northern terminus and Zeehan as its southern terminus. The highway was opened on 13 December 1963. Part of the highway from Waratah to Burnie was known as the Waratah Highway until 1973.

Trial Harbour is a rural locality in the local government area (LGA) of West Coast in the North-west and west LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about 20 kilometres (12 mi) south-west of the town of Zeehan. The 2016 census has a population of 24 for the state suburb of Trial Harbour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Mount Lyell Railway</span> Former railway company in Tasmania, Australia

The North Mount Lyell Railway was built to operate between the North Mount Lyell mine in West Coast Tasmania and Pillinger in the Kelly Basin of Macquarie Harbour.

Ocean Beach is a long stretch of beach running north of Macquarie Heads and Hells Gates on the West Coast of Tasmania. It is close to Strahan and parallel to the Strahan Airport runway. It extends as far north as Trial Harbour and the coast immediately west of Zeehan.

The Strahan–Zeehan Railway, also known as the "Government Railway", was a railway from Strahan to Zeehan on the west coast of Tasmania.

Thomas Bather Moore was a pioneer explorer of Western and South West, Tasmania, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Murchison (Tasmania)</span> Mountain in West Coast Range, Western Tasmania, Australia

Mount Murchison is a mountain on the West Coast Range, located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia.

Tullah is a town in the northern part of the West Coast Range, on the west coast of Tasmania, about 111 km south of Burnie. The town has a population of approximately 202 people.

Melba Flats is a railway siding on the Emu Bay Railway east of Zeehan that served as a terminus for trains carrying copper ore from the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company in west coast Tasmania, once the Emu Bay Railway ceased services into the Zeehan townsite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zeehan railway station</span> Railway station in Western Tasmania, Australia

Zeehan railway station in Tasmania, was a major junction and railway yard for numerous different railway and tramway systems in western Tasmania in the town of Zeehan.

The Anthony Road is a major B Route in Western Tasmania, running from the Murchison Highway (A10) at Tullah to the Zeehan Highway (A10) north of Queenstown.

Granville Harbour is a rural locality in the local government area (LGA) of West Coast in the North-west and west LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about 35 kilometres (22 mi) north-west of the town of Zeehan. The 2016 census has a population of 27 for the state suburb of Granville Harbour.

Corinna is a rural locality in the local government areas of Waratah-Wynyard, Circular Head and West Coast in the North West region of Tasmania. It is located about 138 kilometres (86 mi) south-west of the town of Wynyard. The 2016 census did not determine a separate population for the town of Corinna, which was included in Waratah. The entirety of Corinna these days is leased by the Tarkine Wilderness Pty Ltd and is operated as a wilderness retreat/village for leisure travellers and groups. The most detailed information on the locality can be obtained on the Corinna Wilderness Village website.

References

  1. "Climate of Tasmania". Bureau of Meteorology. Archived from the original on 17 March 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  2. See - Railways on the West Coast of Tasmania
  3. Photograph - Aero Club of Southern Tasmania pilots and aircraft on Queenstown Air Strip - Mt Owen in background, LINC Tasmania, retrieved 23 February 2015
  4. "Binks, C. J. - People and organisations - Trove". Archived from the original on 22 February 2015.
  5. "Pink, Kerry - People and organisations - Trove". Archived from the original on 22 February 2015.
  6. "Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA7) regions and codes". Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities . Australian Government. 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  7. "2016 Census Quick Stats West Coast (Tas.)". quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  8. Google (20 July 2020). "West Coast, Tasmania" (Map). Google Maps . Google. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  9. "Placenames Tasmania – West Coast". Placenames Tasmania. Select “Search”, enter "39389N", click “Search”, select row, map is displayed, click “Details”. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  10. "Tasmanian Road Route Codes" (PDF). Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water & Environment. May 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 20 July 2020.

Bibliography