West Coast Piners were groups of men who worked on the West Coast of Tasmania, Australia, logging Huon pine.
In most cases they used Strahan as their base, as it was the port from which the timber was shipped. The main eras of the Piners were the Sarah Island convict era (1821–33, 1846–47) and the period from the 1890s to the 1940s. [1]
Most of their activities were focused on the rivers (and their tributaries) that flow into Macquarie Harbour – the King River and the Gordon River [2] The smaller rivers flowing into Macquarie Harbour on the eastern side are Pine Cove Creek, the Braddon River, the Clark River, and the Bird River. Also Birch's Inlet was an area where pine was transported from.
They were celebrated by an annual event at Strahan, known as the Piners' Festival, which was conducted for a few years. [3]
The Franklin River is a major perennial river located in the Central Highlands and western regions of Tasmania, Australia. The river is located in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park at the mid northern area of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Its source is situated at the western edge of the Central Highlands and it flows west towards the West Coast.
The Gordon River is a major perennial river located in the central highlands, south-west, and western regions of 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.
Macquarie Harbour is a large, shallow, inlet, located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. It is approximately 315 sq.km, and has an average depth of 15m, with deeper places up to 50m. The inlet is navigable by shallow-draft vessels. The main channel is kept clear by the presence of a rock wall on the outside of the channel's curve. This man-made wall prevents erosion and keeps the channel deep and narrow, rather than allowing the channel to become wide and shallow. A reported Aboriginal name for the harbour is Parralaongatek.
The King River is a major perennial river in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Macquarie Harbour Penal Station, a former British colonial penal settlement, established on Sarah Island, Macquarie Harbour, in the former colony of Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, operated between 1822 and 1833. The settlement housed male convicts, with a small number of women housed on a nearby island. During its 11 years of operation, the penal colony achieved a reputation as one of the harshest penal settlements in the Australian colonies. The formal penal station is located on the eight-hectare (twenty-acre) Sarah Island that now operates as an historic site under the direction of the Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service.
The West Coast Range is a mountain range located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia.
The West Coast of Tasmania has a significant convict heritage. The use of the west coast as an outpost to house convicts in isolated penal settlements occurred in the eras 1822–33, and 1846–47.
The West Coast of Tasmania is mainly isolated rough country, 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.
Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company was a Tasmanian mining company formed on 29 March 1893, most commonly referred to as Mount Lyell. Mount Lyell was the dominant copper mining company of the West Coast from 1893 to 1994, and was based in Queenstown, Tasmania.
Hells Gates is the name of the mouth of Macquarie Harbour on the West Coast of Tasmania.
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.
South West Tasmania is a region in Tasmania that has evoked curiosity as to its resources over the duration of European presence on the island.
Port Davey is an oceanic inlet located in the south west region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Gordon Splits is a notable section of gorges of the Gordon River, located in South West Tasmania, Australia. The once impassable gorges are situated on the lower Gordon River in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The splits has also been an important location of focus within the larger environmental campaign for wilderness preservation in South West Tasmania.
The West Coast Wilderness Railway is a reconstruction of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company railway in Tasmania between Queenstown and Regatta Point, Strahan. The railway is significant because of its Abt rack system to conquer the mountainous terrain through rainforest, with original locomotives still operating on the railway today. Now operating as a tourist experience with a focus on sharing the history of Tasmania's West Coast, the original railway began operations in 1897 as the only link between Queenstown and the port of Strahan.
Point Hibbs is a headland on the south-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. The headland is located south of the most southern point of Macquarie Harbour, and west of the Gordon River. It is the next named feature along the coast south of Cape Sorell that is used to delineate sections of the coast. Like South West Cape, it is used as a reference point for nearby wrecks.
The Spero River is a perennial river located in the West Coast or South West region of Tasmania, Australia.
The Birchs Inlet, also spelt Birch's Inlet or Birches Inlet, is a narrow cove or coastal inlet on the south-western side of Macquarie Harbour on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. The inlet is located within the Southwest National Park, part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
South West Tasmania Resources Survey was a government funded and based project in Tasmania to collect and appraise information about the South West Tasmania region in a systematic manner.