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Strahan
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STRAHAN
is easy-going, relaxed and even progressive. The only town and port on the west coast, it sits in the huge
Macquarie Harbour
, site of
Sarah Island
, a harsh secondary convict settlement in use between 1822 and 1830, which can be visited on a Gordon River cruise. The entrance to Macquarie Harbour, named
Hells Gates
by arriving convicts, is only 80m wide.
Huon pine
, perfect for shipbuilding, grows abundantly in the area - logging and boatbuilding became the convicts' trade. After 1830 the timber continued to attract loggers, but it wasn't until 1882 that Strahan began life as a port for the nearby copper and lead fields. Although it was Tasmania's third-largest port in 1900, its unreliability led to its closure by 1970 and the population dwindled to three hundred. It's now a small
fishing village
for abalone, crayfish and shark, and commercial fish farming of rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon, though the main industry is tourism. The basing of the
Franklin Blockade
campaign here in 1982 shook up the town and brought the Australian media here for two months.
Cruises
on the
Gordon River
had already been running before this event, but the declaration of a
World Heritage Area
has meant that busloads of tourists now regularly descend upon Strahan to see the river, creating a hectic atmosphere for a short time, after which the town rapidly reverts to its usual peaceful state. You would be mad to come all this way and not take a cruise; though they may seem expensive, it's the best way to get to see the wilderness, and well worth the money. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Australia,
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