Misplaced Pages

#623376

38-669: It was important as a port during the construction of the railway between Regatta Point and Teepookana in the late nineteenth century. It was located between the two railway bridges that cross the King River. Following the completion of the railway the community diminished in size and importance, however it is still listed in railway information for the West Coast Wilderness Railway . Teepookana Plateau, Tasmania ( 42°11′S 145°23′E  /  42.183°S 145.383°E  / -42.183; 145.383 )

76-759: A High Court challenge to the Commonwealth's powers. The new Hawke Labor Government in Canberra had opposed the Franklin dam and had moved to stop its construction. The compromise between the State and Federal government and conservationists led the HEC to see the end of an over fifty year long dam making enterprise in the construction of the Henty River and King River power developments. The conservationists and

114-444: A German competitor and again in 2005 when it allowed the sale of part of its financial interests in wind farm company, Roaring 40s to a Hong Kong-based company CLP Power Asia . However, the present policy of all three major political parties is against privatisation, and community opinion mostly supports public ownership . Hydro Tasmania in the 2000s saw the loss of the old dam building generation. The Anthony Power Development ,

152-662: A flood in 1974, with the new bridge just south of the original. As of June 2024, the railway was operating two services - the Lynchford Express from Queenstown and the Teepookana and the King service from Regatta Point. The full length of the track is currently undergoing maintenance, with the inner stations being renovated. On 4 February 2013 the Federal Group announced that it would be terminating its lease of

190-551: A referendum on the issue, which only offered two choices: the Gordon below Franklin dam and the Gordon above Olga dam. There was widespread condemnation that the referendum did not offer a 3rd choice of not having any dam on the Gordon River, and various opinions were offered as to the best way of communicating this at the ballot box. As it turned out, of the 92% of eligible voters to attend the voting booths that day, 47% voted for

228-422: A significant number of people into the local community enriching the social fabric and culture of each state. Most constructions in this era were concentrated in the centre of the island. As the choice of rivers and catchments in the central highlands were exhausted, the planners and engineers began serious surveying of the rivers of the west and south west regions of the state. The long term vision of those within

266-537: Is a reconstruction of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company Mount Lyell railway in Western 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

304-561: Is high ground adjacent to the King River, the site of forest reserves and forested areas to the west of the West Coast Range and Mount Jukes in the West Coast of Tasmania . It is within a few kilometres south of the location and railway line. 42°11′S 145°23′E  /  42.183°S 145.383°E  / -42.183; 145.383 West Coast Wilderness Railway The West Coast Wilderness Railway

342-721: Is operated by the Abt Railway Ministerial Corporation, a State Government corporation. Most of the historical stopping places and named locations of the original railway line have been kept. The following list is made for the journey from Queenstown, and can be read in reverse for the trip from Regatta Point. The former owners and operators of the railway were the Federal Hotels group which also owns and operates other tourist operations in Strahan . The West Coast Wilderness Railway has three of

380-574: The Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC) or simply The Hydro , is the trading name of the Hydro-Electric Corporation , a Tasmanian Government business enterprise which is the main electricity generator in the state of Tasmania , Australia . The Hydro was originally oriented towards hydro-electricity , due to Tasmania's dramatic topography and relatively high rainfall in the central and western parts of

418-626: The Launceston City Council 's Duck Reach Power Station , opened 1895 on the South Esk River (it was one of the first hydro-electric power stations in the southern hemisphere. Reefton Power Station in New Zealand is the first municipal hydro-station, beginning operations in 1888) and the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company 's Lake Margaret Power Station , opened in 1914. These power stations were taken over by

SECTION 10

#1732793510624

456-706: The National Electricity Market (NEM) and electricity deregulation. In anticipation of Tasmania joining NEM, the Hydro-Electric Commission was broken up on 1 July 1998, creating three separate state-owned companies: Tasmania joined NEM in May 2005. Starting from the 1990s, Hydro Tasmania has been investing in wind farms, the first one being the Huxley Hill Wind Farm on King Island, which was completed in 1998. This

494-660: The Puffing Billy Railway in Victoria with the other locomotives put on static display or in museums. With the removal of the railtrack the formation from Regatta Point came to be used by road vehicles for access to Lette's Bay and Lowana to the east. Most bridges remained intact but fell into disrepair, and the route was unsuitable for vehicle access beyond the Iron Bridge that crosses the King River at

532-866: The Treasurer of Tasmania , currently the Hon. Guy Barnett MP. Hydro Tasmania was projected to pay the Tasmanian Government a dividend of A$ 122 million in 2024. In 1914, the State Government set up the Hydro-Electric Department (changed to the Hydro-Electric Commission in 1929) to complete the first HEC power station, the Waddamana Hydro-Electric Power Station . Prior to that two private hydro-electric stations had been opened

570-538: The 1990s but failed to convince the public of its merits. They have now reversed this policy. The Labor Party and the Tasmanian Greens have never openly supported privatisation; however many speculate that the Labor Party will support this move in the future. Some evidence of this first arose in late 2003 when a Labor government allowed Hydro Tasmania to sell its subsidiary software business, Hydstra, to

608-682: The Abt Wilderness Railway, and was officially re-opened by Prime Minister John Howard and the State Premier Jim Bacon in 2003. The new terminus in Queenstown is on the site of the original station yard. The station at Regatta Point terminus has been renovated. The railway follows its original alignment except for the Quarter Mile Bridge near Teepookana. The old bridge was washed away in

646-484: The Gordon below Franklin option, with the remainder voting informally (45%) or for the Gordon above Olga option (8%). The conservationists were ultimately successful in their campaign to stop any dam on the Gordon River, and the proposal and early works on the Gordon-below-Franklin Dam ended in 1983 when it was blockaded by the environmentalists and the recently elected Liberal State Government lost

684-608: The HEC and Duck Reach was closed in 1955. Lake Margaret was closed in 2006, but after a multimillion-dollar refit was recommissioned in 2009. Following the Second World War in the 1940s and early 1950s, many migrants came to Tasmania to work for the HEC with construction of dams and substations. This was similar to the Snowy Mountains Scheme in New South Wales and similar effects in bringing in

722-409: The HEC and the politicians in support of the process, was for continued utilisation of all of the state's water resources. As a consequence of such a vision, the politicians and HEC bureaucrats were able to create the upper Gordon river power development schemes despite worldwide dismay at the loss of the original Lake Pedder. The hydro-industrialisation of Tasmania was seen as paramount above all, and

760-418: The HEC in the 1980s acknowledged that there were a limited range of options for further power development schemes, and it was inevitable that the substantial workforce within the HEC specifically employed in the investigation and development of further dams would eventually become redundant. Since the late 1990s HEC water storages have been progressively drawn down due to power demand exceeding long term supply,

798-597: The Mount Lyell mining operations area in Queenstown, and at Regatta Point the line linked around the foreshore of Strahan to link with the Government Line to Zeehan . In 1936, the company owned six locomotives, three railcars, eight coaches and 131 goods wagons. The railway ceased operation on 10 August 1963 due to increasing maintenance costs and the improvement of road access to the West Coast from

SECTION 20

#1732793510624

836-458: The WCWR was operating four itineraries from both Strahan and Queenstown either running the full length of the railway or sections of it. All tours include a number of stops to detrain and experience the forest floor, views etc. Two classes are offered - standard and heritage. COVID lockdowns saw service suspended. Operations are now restarting. Federal Hotels produced unattributed materials about

874-711: The West Coast, that some very committed local West Coast people campaigned for the restoration of the Abt Railway as a heritage tourist attraction featuring the unique rail system and the community's mining history. The restoration of the Abt Railway was made possible through the allocation of $ 20 million from the Federal Government's Prime Minister's Federal Fund, with further funding from the State Government and some private investment. The restored railway commenced operations on 27 December 2002 as

912-542: The complaints from outsiders were treated with disdain. Following the flooding of Lake Pedder by the HEC for the upper Gordon Power Development and the subsequent backlash against the HEC incursions into the south west wilderness of Tasmania , environmental groups of the 1970s and 80s alerted the rest of Australia to the continued power that the HEC had over the Tasmanian environment and politics. Numbers of Tasmanian politicians either rose or fell on their alignment with

950-580: The dispute by offering a compromise dam, sited on the Gordon River above the Olga River, which would have avoided flooding the Franklin River. However, almost no-one wanted this compromise. Conservationists were concerned that the Franklin River area and surrounding wilderness would be damaged, and those in favour of a dam preferred an option that would utilise the Franklin's water as well as the Gordon's water. The Tasmanian Government then offered

988-530: The five former Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company locomotives (1, 3 and 5) preserved in operational condition. Loco 2 came back to service in 2023 after completion of general repair. It also has two diesel locomotives . The passenger carriages were newly built when the line reopened in 2002, providing passenger comfort for year-round operation. The railway received an Engineering Heritage International Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program . Prior to COVID,

1026-498: 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. The Mount Lyell Mining Co (reformed on 29 March 1893 as the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company ) began operations in November 1892. The railway officially opened in 1897, and again on 1 November 1899 when the line was extended from Teepookana to Regatta Point and Strahan. The railway

1064-592: The location of the early port of Teepookana. The steepest gradient on the rack section was 1 in 12 (8.33%). The line includes the steepest gradient climbed by a regular train in the Southern Hemisphere, between Dubbil Barril and Rinadeena. Despite various proposals post 1963, it was not until the 1990s after the demise of the main Mount Lyell Company mining operations, and the downgrading of Hydro Tasmania 's activities of dam building on

1102-466: The north with the opening of the Murchison Highway . The last train run was hauled by the same locomotive that ran the first service (no.1 in 1896 was the first engine to steam into Queenstown). The rail and other movable items were lifted taken off-site, leaving most of the bridges intact. Following the closure of the railway, the rolling stock was dispersed with no. 5 and carriages going to

1140-529: The overcoming of which was the original reason the Gordon-below-Franklin dam was proposed. The shortfall has been offset first by drawing down water storage and in latter years through increasing volumes of fossil fuel power generation, at first fuelled by oil and more recently by gas and, via the Basslink cable link to Victoria, coal. In the early 1990s, eastern state governments prepared for

1178-536: The railway and its history for travellers on the line. The most accessible recent writer regarding this railway is Lou Rae , as he has written a number of books about West Coast railways. In its latest edition: Some other works on the Mount Lyell Railway are :— 42°09′11″S 145°29′46″E  /  42.153°S 145.496°E  / -42.153; 145.496 Hydro Tasmania Hydro Tasmania , known for most of its history as

Teepookana, Tasmania - Misplaced Pages Continue

1216-558: The railway in April 2013, the company citing a downturn in business and a need for investment in infrastructure had caused the railway to no longer be viable. The Tasmanian government responded by estimating that maintaining the railway would cost $ 15 to $ 20 million, and that the government alone could not fund it. Following track rehabilitation work, the railway re-opened between Queenstown and Dubbil Barril on 6 January 2014. It resumed operation along its full length on 14 December 2014. It

1254-589: The state. Today, Hydro Tasmania operates thirty hydro-electric and one gas power station, and is a joint owner in three wind farms . The Minister for Energy, currently the Hon. Nicholas Duigan MP, has portfolio responsibility for Hydro Tasmania. Hydro Tasmania operates under the Government Business Enterprises (GBE) Act 1995 and the Hydro-Electric Corporation Act 1995, and has a reporting requirement to

1292-538: The support of the HEC and its power development schemes in the south west and West Coast of Tasmania. When the HEC proposed a dam on the Gordon River, sited below the Franklin River, there was widespread and vigorous opposition. During the Franklin River 'No Dams' campaign it was common for members of families to be in conflict with one another by being aligned with the HEC proposals or the Conservationists. The Tasmanian Labor Government attempted to resolve

1330-525: Was considered to be part of the last hydro-electric power development in Tasmania. In 2008, the 1,000 GWH Project saw upgrades to parts of existing structures operated by the Hydro, and on-going progress towards being a carbon neutral operation. In 2020, Tasmania has an annual renewable electricity capacity of 10 TWh, equivalent to its average annual electricity consumption. In early 2016, as Tasmania

1368-476: Was followed by two wind farms at Woolnorth with a combined capacity of 140MW. Construction of a fourth power station, the Musselroe Wind Farm with a generating capacity of 168 MW was completed in 2013. It was argued in support of the privatization of Hydro Tasmania that it would result in an increase in revenue and an improvement in company efficiency. The Liberals supported privatisation in

1406-563: Was reaching the lowest water levels ever encountered, there was a fault in Basslink which led to the shutdown of the link to the mainland for about 6 months creating the 2016 power crisis. After Basslink came operational in 2006, the Bell Bay Power Station was decommissioned in 2009, resulting in a reduction of electricity generation capacity of 240 megawatts (320,000 hp), and leaving only Tamar Valley Power Station as

1444-461: Was the only way to get copper from the mine at Queenstown to markets. Until 1932, when a Hobart road link was completed, it was the only access through to Queenstown. The railway utilised the Abt rack and pinion system for steep sections. Because of the gradients, tonnages were always limited on the railway. The gauge is 3 ft 6 in ( 1,067 mm ). The original line continued into

#623376