| West Coast, Tasmania |
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The West Coast of Tasmania is the part of the state that is strongly associated with Wilderness , Mining , rough country and isolation. As well as that, it was an early Convict settlement location in the early stages of Van Diemen's Land. As a consequence of the images of the region and its attributes, it is regularly considered "outside" the tamed and agriculturally developed eastern side of the island of Tasmania. The separation from the south west region, is that the south west has never had roads or other technical links back to the east coast. The west coast has been mined, it has had railways penetrate, and roads and power lines move through the landscape, it has been entered, but in many locations - where mines or other activities have closed, or settlements become abandoned, vegetation and time have in many cases hidden the locations. THE ETHOS 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, no serviceable road contact with either north or east was made until the 1930's (east) or the 1960's (north). Railways had been the main way out from the 1920's to the 1960's - and the connection was with the north coast. The dangerous conditions at Hells Gates , and travelling in the ocean along the western side of Tasmania has made travel by water even to the current day, despite modern technology and advancements, a dangerous pastime. Despite the presence of the Current Airstrip at Strahan , the airstrip at Queenstown is no longer a current landing ground; in the 1970's a regular service to the east coast was run by Airlines Of Tasmania . All transport services to the west coast are subservient to the weather - even the only roads into the west coast are blocked for days at a time by ice and snow during severe winter conditions. The consequence of the isolation, and the ways that the communities coped with the difficulties, has had little written about, or surveyed - apart from parts of Tim Bowden 's 1979 Radio Documentary "''The West Coasters''", and various references in Geoffrey Blainey 's "''Peaks of Lyell''" book. For a brief time in the early 1900's the west coast had population and political power on a parity with the Hobart and Launceston populations. Following the demise of most of the Zeehan mines, the west coast population has relative to other parts of the island either remained static, or declined. 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 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 it's sense in the 1940s to 1980s considering the west and south west regions as it's '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 Tasmanian State Library in Hobart are the main holdings of the record, while the late Eric Thomas's collection in Queenstown is on a par with both. Some examples of collections: -
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