The Peaks of Lyell is a book by Geoffrey Blainey , based on his University of Melbourne MA thesis that was originally published in 1954. It contains the history of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company , and through association, Queenstown and further the West Coast Tasmania .
25-635: 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. Most of their activities were focused on the rivers (and their tributaries) that flow into Macquarie Harbour –
50-638: A considerable record of the region, which regularly appears in either their own or on generally accessible websites on the Internet. The Tasmanian West bioregion comprises the West Coast region and the South West region. 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
75-543: 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 . 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
100-455: Is at Strahan , with the airstrip at Queenstown no longer a current registered landing ground. 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. The consequence of
125-522: 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
150-488: 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. The west coast has a much cooler and wetter climate when compared to
175-742: The King River and the Gordon River 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. West Coast, Tasmania The West Coast of Tasmania
200-586: The 2000s. In 1993 for a mining conference in Tasmania, a number of publications were produced regarding the same subject. In 1994, when the fifth edition of Peaks of Lyell was printed, the Mount Lyell company closed down, and most of the records held by the company were donated to the State Library of Tasmania . In 2000 the sixth edition of the book was published. This article about
225-476: The West Coast Tasmania history such as Robert Carl Sticht and James Crotty amongst a longer list probably still deserve further work on their significance in West Coast and Tasmanian history, but the book has had significant "presence" in being in print for so long. Scholarship on some of the neglected aspects of West Coast and Queenstown history only emerged from the shadow of Blainey's work in
250-460: 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. The Southern Ocean forms part of the western boundary. The locality encircles Corinna , Renison Bell , Rosebery and Zeehan , and
275-495: 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
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#1732787194280300-405: 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
325-474: The island. 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
350-538: 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 and Kerry Pink . Since the rise of tourism on the west coast, the Franklin Dam issue and
375-486: The locality to Trial Harbour. The Peaks of Lyell It is unique for this type of book in that it has gone to the sixth edition in 2000, and few company histories in Australia have achieved such continual publishing. Blainey was fortunate in being able to speak to older people about the history of the West Coast, some who had known Queenstown in its earliest years. The book gives an interesting overview from
400-500: 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
425-439: The materials and people Blainey was able to access in the early 1950s, and the omissions. Due to the nature of a company history, a number of items of Queenstown history did have alternative interpretations on events such as the 1912 North Mount Lyell Disaster , and there were residents of Queenstown living in the town as late as the 1970s who had stories that differed from the official company history. Significant characters from
450-423: The middle of summer. 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
475-730: 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
500-473: 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
525-577: 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
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#1732787194280550-659: 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
575-513: The west and south west regions as its 'last frontier' for the remaining catchments for its power development schemes. 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
600-629: 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
625-498: Was with the north coast, rather than the more populous southeast. The treacherous conditions at Hells 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
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