Risby Cove, Strahan.Credit: Edwina Pickles
Located 298 km west of Hobart and 41 km from Queenstown, Strahan lies on the edge of the unspoiled beauty of Macquarie Harbour. It is the last outpost of civilisation on the west coast and surely one of the loneliest places on earth.
The British invented this place as the ultimate penal colony. Named after Governor Lachlan Macquarie this 50 kilometres long harbour opens to the sea through the narrow, eddying waters of Hell's Gates and receives the waters of the King and Gordon Rivers.
The first European to explore Macquarie Harbour was James Kelly who, with four companions, entered Hells Gate in December 1815.
It is interesting to note that when Kelly entered Hells Gate he wrote 'The whole face of the coast was on fire, lucky circumstance for us. The smoke was so thick we could not see a hundred yards ahead of the boat. On pulling into the 'Narrows' at the small entrance island, we heard a large number of natives shouting and making a great noise as if they were hunting kangaroo.'
These Aborigines had lived in the area for at least 20,000 years. Tragically by about 1830 there were none left in the area although, in recent times, the discovery of Kutikina Cave near the Franklin River, has offered a rare insight into their lifestyle 15,000 years ago.
James Kelly and his group spent three days exploring the huge 285 square kilometre harbour and it was on the basis of their descriptions of the vast stands of trees that, within a year, timber cutters had entered the harbour and were cutting down the magnificent huon pines. It was probably as early as 1816 that the brig Sophia passed through Hells Gates. This was extremely dangerous as the entrance to the harbour wasn't properly surveyed until 1819.
It was the huon pine, a superb fine-grained wood which was ideal for shipbuilding, which brought the first Europeans to the harbour. It was huon pine which was also the cause for the establishment of a penal colony at Sarah Island in 1821. At that point a signal station was established on Cape Sorell to ensure safe traffic through Hells Gates.
The penal colony, known everywhere as one of the most appalling and cruel of all the convict stations, operated from Sarah Island. It finally closed down in 1833 when the recidivists were all removed to Port Arthur on the east coast. The convicts worked on a nearby coal seam and rowed across the harbour each day to cut down the large stands of Huon pine which edged the waters.
It was from here that the notorious convict Alexander Pearce attempted to escape in 1822. In a bizarre footnote to the history of the region Pearce and seven other convicts attempted to cross the island to Hobart where they hoped they could catch a merchant ship and escape to some ill-defined freedom.
They lost their way and in the ensuing weeks all of the escapees disappeared except for Pearce. When he was recaptured unproven accusations of cannibalism were made against him. The following year Pearce escaped again accompanied by another convict, Thomas Cox. Once again Pearce found himself without food and, to solve the problem, he killed and ate Cox. When he was finally recaptured Pearce admitted to eating Cox and confessed to cannibalism during his first escape. He was subsequently executed in Hobart.
The township of Strahan wasn't really founded until 1877. Prior to that the small port had been variously known as Long Bay and Regatta Point but in 1877 it became a vital port for the tin mines at Mt Heemskirk. It was named after Major George Strahan who was the Governor of Tasmania from 1881-86. The town was officially proclaimed in 1892, two years after the government had constructed a railway from the booming mining town of Zeehan. A railway line from Queenstown was opened in 1899. Thus, at its peak, during this mining boom, Strahan had a population of over 2,000 people and was the second busiest port in Tasmania.
The town continued to prosper as a major port until the 1950s and 1960s. In 1960 the rail link to Zeehan was closed down. Three years later the same fate befell the Queenstown rail link (there is still a remnant of the railway line on the shore near Regatta Point) and in 1969 Mount Lyell Co. started to send its ore by rail to Burnie. The result was that while its importance as a port declined the town became a major tourist centre.
The major change in the area occurred when the Tasmanian Government decided it wanted to dam the Gordon River.
In 1983 the Federal Government, after an extended period of environmental activism, decided that the Gordon-below-Franklin Dam proposed by the Tasmanian Hydro-Electricity Authority would be stopped and that the whole area, including the Aboriginal art in Fraser Cave and the white waters of the dangerous Franklin River, would be preserved under a World Heritage order. The whole area is now known as the Franklin Lower Gordon Wild Rivers National Park and it attracts tourists from around the world.
Things to see
Strahan
Strahan Wharf Centre
An ideal starting point for any visit to Strahan and Macquarie Harbour. The reception desk is built from Huon pine. The foyer is made from river gravel. It also has an excellent and comprehensive display recounting the story of the Tasmanian west coast. Contact (03) 6471 7488.
Strahan Central
This building is now a cafe and gallery with accommodation but for people who visited the town a several years ago it will be remembered as The Royal Ba-k of Avram, a project of the self-titled Duke of Avram who, concerned that the average citizen could not open his own bank decided to open a gift shop selling coins and, in order to avoid getting into trouble, called it a Ba-k. He did not win. Eventually he was closed down by the police.
The Strahan Post Office and Customs Office
This handsome building on the Esplanade is a fine example of an early 20th century Customs House. It was built to meet the demands of Strahan as it became the major port for the mining operations at Queenstown. It is a two-storey brick building with stucco trim. It now houses the National Parks and Wildlife offices.
Ormiston
Located on Bay Street which runs off The Esplanade. Follow The Esplanade to the west at Strahan and it is quite impossible to miss. The house was built by F.O. Henry, a successful local storekeeper who made his fortune investing in mining in the area, in 1902 and is one of the finest examples of Federation architecture in the country. The grounds around the building are large and impressive, as are the beautiful magnolia trees. It was once owned by the so-called Duke of Avram who achieved some notoriety in the area by opening 'The Royal Ba-k of Avram'. It is apparently true that, in Australia, you can't call yourself a bank unless you are actually behaving like a bank. 'Duke of Avram', who promoted the enterprise as 'Australia's most unique coinage and currency' and sold tourists coins, notes and souvenir bank books, was forced to call what was essentially a gift and novelty shop a 'Ba-k'. He was eventually closed down by the police. Ormiston was bought by two Queenslanders who turned it into a 5-star luxury guest house. For more information check out:http://www.ormistonhouse.com.au
Peoples Park and Hogarth Falls
At the northernmost end of Strahan Harbour is the People Park, a pleasant mixture of natural forest and botanical gardens with picnic and camping facilities. From here it is possible to take a 30 minute walk (one way) to the Hogarth Falls. The path passes through rainforest and the trees have been clearly identified for those interested in the botany of the area. For more information check out:http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=1573
Water Tower Hill Lookout
Travelling up Esk Street past the cafe the visitor arrives at Water Tower Hill which offers an excellent view over Macquarie Harbour and shows how small Strahan really is. It would be beautiful on a sunny day - which is rather rare on this harsh coast.
Ocean Beach
No visit to Strahan is complete without travelling across to the ocean beach. If you want to experience what the end of the world is really like it is worthwhile standing on this hard, flat beach watching the huge waves relentlessly breaking and realising that those waves, travelling on the Roaring Forties, have not made contact with land between Australia and Patagonia. At this point you are further south than the Cape of Good Hope and on the same latitude as the southern reaches of Patagonia. Ocean Beach is 40 km long and the dunes behind the beach, given the prevailing winds, are huge. On a fine day the sunsets over the beach are particularly beautiful.
Macquarie Harbour
On a clear day Macquarie Harbour is like a near-perfect mirror. Its waters are stained by the brown button grass which grows on the river banks and its shores are heavily wooded. It is always worth remembering that, when the convicts lived and worked here, it was common for them to row from Sarah Island to the Gordon River, to spend the day cutting down huon pines, and then to row back. The harbour may look beautiful but it has seen great hardship and suffering.
There are a number of cruises which leave Strahan and travel across Macquarie Harbour and up the lower reaches of the Gordon River. Some will take visitors to Hells Gate, others go to Sarah Island and others simply pass those attractions and let passengers explore the rainforest on the edge of the Gordon River. Contact 1800 420 155.
Hells Gate
Hells Gate was named by the convicts who came to Macquarie Harbour. It neatly captures the dangers of the narrow entrance as well as the idea that this was beyond civilisation. It was the entrance to one of the most isolated places on earth.
Cape Sorell Lighthouse
With the development of the silver and zinc mining fields at Zeehan in the 1890s, Strahan and Macquarie Harbour became a major west coast port. A lighthouse was constructed on Cape Sorell in 1899. It stands 40 metres high and the tower is 2.5 metres in diameter. It is now the only structure still standing as the houses and the engine room have been dismantled. It stands where there was some form of signal station from earliest times.
Sarah Island
In January 1822 a ship arrived in Macquarie Harbour with 14 convicts, 16 soldiers and their families. They established a convict station on Sarah Island. This was an act of craziness as the island had neither a regular water supply (water had to be shipped 6 km from Phillips Island each day) nor good soil. Nearby Grummet Island was used to separate the female convicts from the male convicts. The convicts lived in cold and harsh conditions. As early as 1826 the governor was realising that Sarah Island was unsatisfactory. By 1834 the settlement had been abandoned and a new penal settlement had been established at Port Arthur. Today only the remnants of the buildings are left but it is possible (and there are some very informative maps available) to see exactly where the original buildings were.
The Gordon River
'This vanishing world is beautiful beyond our dreams and contains in itself rewards and gratifications never found in an artificial landscape or man-made objects' wrote the great photographer, Olegas Truchanas, who died in the Gordon River in 1972. It is an accurate and passionate description. To see the Gordon River, and to walk through the dense temperate rainforest on its banks, is to experience one of the wonders of the world. It is so isolated, so dark and gloomy, so totally removed from the rest of the world.
Yet, in the late 1970s the Tasmanian Liberal government did everything in its power to destroy the area and to dam the Franklin River. The plan was to build a 105 metre high dam on the Gordon River 40 km from Macquarie Harbour. The battle to save the river took place at Warners Landing, 6 km from the junction of the Franklin and Gordon Rivers. So passionate were the protesters, and so aggressive were the police, that in the summer of 1982-83 a total of 1272 people were arrested. It was the action of the Hawke Federal Labor government and a decision from the High Court in Canberra in 1983 which saved the river. The publicity lead to a huge increase in tourism resulting in 90, 000 tourists a year by the early 1990s. As a result of this the boat from Strahan became larger and faster causing the Tasmanian Government to restrict the speed up the river to 9 knots.
Today it one of the triumphs of the environmental movement and it is easy to see and understand why they fought so passionately. It is a unique piece of Australia. It was first explored by Captain James Kelly in 1816 and named after James Gordon who had given him the whale boat which he used to explore the river.
Tourist Information
Visitors Information Centre
The Esplanade
Strahan TAS 7468
Telephone: (03) 6471 7622
Facsimile: (03) 6471 7461
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