Mining towns in western Tasmania

Tasmania is home to dozens of abandoned settlements, shrouded in forests and steeped in history. Where had been booming mining towns, the ruins are barely noticeable today due to lush vegetation. We drove by Williamsford in search of the remains of a town of once 100 inhabitants. The local mine closed as late as 1986, but there was nothing left except for some foundations for the haulage system. Close by starts a beautiful track to Tasmania’s highest waterfall, the Montezuma Falls. The track follows the route of the tramway from the 1890’s that transported the ore, but also timber down to Zeehan. We walked through the beautiful forest and were amazed about the 104 meters high waterfall.

Zeehan, commonly known as the Silver City, has been a town of great prosperity, education and entertainment, and reached a population of 10’000 people, 27 pubs, several hotels, an own stock exchange and the famous Gaiety Grand Theatre seating 1000 people. We were really excited about visiting this place, though got quite disappointed. The main road is deserted, only a handful of shops are still open, the rest closed for good. People live in shabby houses outside of the old town centre, or in monotonous barracks belonging to the mining company. The beautiful buildings of the Gaiety, School of Mines and Metallurgy and Police Station stand there like a scenery of a long-forgotten play. Only passers-by like us visit the excellent museum telling about the fascinating history about the west coast.

We stayed for a few days in Strahan, a pleasant little town nestled between the waters of Macquarie Harbour and the rainforest. The weather turned sunny and warm and we enjoyed hanging around the campsite and nearby beach doing as little as possible. Robin learned to play cricket with a bunch of Australian kids and had lots of fun with them.

From here we are driving towards Hobart, where we will be spending the weekend.

Author: cobaroblog

Travelling architect View all posts by cobaroblog