DISCOVER TULLAH
The Gateway to the West Coast
Tullah was originally a mining town called Mt Farrell which was first established in 1900 following the discovery of silver lead ore by Tom Farrell in 1892. On the 9th April 1901 the Development of Lands, without consultation with the locals, gave the town the name of Tullah, which in aboriginal means 'meeting of waters'.
In March 1908 the Mt Farrell tramway was completed which was the first mode of transportation out of the town except horse or foot. The Wee Georgie Wood Steam Railway was linked to the Emu Bay Railway in 1924. In 1964 after the completion of the Murchison Highway the tramway was closed.
In 1973 the Hydro Electric Commission commenced building of the Pieman River Power Development. All of the construction for this project was undertaken in Tullah, boosting it's population up to 2500. The Hydro used Tullah as a base for construction on the West Coast up until 1994.
Since then the town has continued to support local mining operations, but has moved predominantly into the tourism industry. Situated on the peaceful shores of Lake Rosebery, at the foot of Mount Farrell - a 712m mountain - Tullah has some amazing walking and mountain bike tracks, through to kayak and pedal boat hire, and even the world renowned Wee Georgie Wood Railway.
Tullah
Lake Rosebery
Lake Rosebery is a man made lake formed in 1983 with the construction of the Bastyn Power Station. This lake is fed from the Mackintosh Power Station, which is the 2nd power station in the line.
There is a walking track along one side of the lake starting at the boat ramp that has magical views of the lake and even offers a chance to spot a platypus or the odd trout.
Lake Rosebery is a popular destination for not only locals but also tourists and is a gem hidden between wild and rugged mountains. Lake Rosebery is one of the few self sustaining lakes for trout and is also stocked with salmon which makes it a popular fishing destination.
There is a boat ramp for access, ski club and you can also hire kayaks or pedal boats to explore the magical waters of Lake Rosebery.
Mount Farrell
Mount Farrell was the reason that the town of Tullah exists today. Josiah Innes discovered major ore bodies while cutting the Innes Track from Mole Creek to Rosebery in 1897. It was found to be rich in Galena (lead and silver ore) and was the reason many people flocked to the area to stake their own claim on the mountain.
There is a medium-hard walking track up Mount Farrell that boasts one of the best views in Tasmania. Also there is a glacial lake, Lake Herbert, that is definitely worth stopping for a look at. All in all it is about a 3 hour return trip from the starting point near Centenary Park in Tullah. The park also contains information boards about the area and and a replica mine poppet head.
Anthony Power Scheme
The Anthony Power Scheme was first approved by the Tasmanian Parliament in September 1983. The development is designed to utilise the power potential of the Anthony River by diverting the upper reaches of the Henty and Langdon Rivers into the Anthony storage's, additional energy is obtained at both the Anthony Power Stations and at the stations in the Pieman River Power Development, When complete the Development will produce an average of 403 million units of electrical energy a year which is equivalent of 46 MW average.
Run-off is obtained from a total catchment area of 85.5 sq. km. Before the leave the Henty surface and fall into the Henty Gorge White Spur Creek and the headwaters of the Henty River itself are diverted by the dams into a canal which carries the water to the Anthony Storage.
The headwaters of the Langdon River are diverted north to the Tyndall Creek which flows into Newton Creek.
Newton Reservoir is created by a dam across Newton Creek above the Henty Gorge and pumpoing station will deliver the water from there up into the canal leading to Anthony storage. Henty Dam and Henty Canal were brought into service in August 1988.
The Langdon storage will be conveyed by canal to the Newton storage which will be created by building a dam across Newton Creek.
A concrete faced rock fill dam on the Anthony River near Arnold Peak collects the run-off from a natural catchment area, The combined yield of the Anthony and Henty Rivers flow into a pressure tunnel 5.5m in diameter and 7.5km long. The underground power station is located below the western shore of Lake Murchison.
Pieman Power Scheme
The Pieman Power Scheme was approved for construction in 1971. Construction for this development was started in 1974 with the first dam Mackintosh being commissioned in 1982, followed by Bastyn in 1983 and then finally with the completion of of the largest dam the Reece in 1986. The full project was completed in February 1987.
This was the first real major damming and power station system that the Hydro built as a full scheme and was later followed by the Anthony Power Scheme.
