A few things in Queenstown.

Queen River and the Football Oval at Queenstown, Tasmania.
The Queen River used to be a muddy silver colour when I lived in Queenstown when a child for 4 years, my father was stationed there and it's where he received his Bravery Medal along with two others.

The football oval is gravel, always has been but I believe it was coarser when I lived there.

Bridge across the Queen River to the football oval, yes you drive your vehicle in on another road.
The houses are nothing flash at Queenstown, but at they people have a roof over their heads.  I was taken with all they garden gnomes, certainly not my cup of tea.

Queenstown, Tasmania.

Queenstown, Tasmania which has long been tied to the mining industry.  This mountainous area was first explored in 1862.  It was long after that when alluvial gold was discovered at Mount Lyell, prompting the formation of the Mount Lyell Gold Mining Company in 1881.  In 1892 the mine began searching for copper.

In the 1900's Queenstown was the centre of the Mount Lyell mining district and had numerous smelting works, brick-works, and sawmills.  The area at the time was finely wooded.  The population in 1900 was 5051: the district, 10,451 people with just under 2,000 people today.

The mountains surrounding Queenstown have unusual pink and grey hues that come from the conglomerate rocks on the two most adjacent mountains - Mount Lyell and Mount Owen. The mountains surrounding Queenstown are often snowcapped through winter.  Snow falls a few days out of the year.

Owing to a combination of tree removal for use in the smelters and the smelter funes *for about 40 years), and the heavy annual rainfall, the erosion of the shallow horizon topsoil back to the harder rock profile contributed to the stark state fot eh mountains for many decades.

The Queen River was for most of the history of the Mount Lyell company the recipient of mining effluent and the Queenstown  sewage - which then continued into the King River and conswquently the Macquarie Harbour.
The Mount Lyell Remediation and Research and Demonstration Program scheme has since removed the direct flowing mining waste and local waste from the rivers.
Wikipedia

I believe there isn't much going on in the mine today..

Just nearly there on our holiday in March this year - the Horsetail Falls which is a seasonal waterfall not far from Queenstown.  The falls cascade over 50 metres down a steep cliff face, and can be seen from the road as in the photo.  A walkway opened in 2017 to give access to view the falls.

Above is Mount Owen.

There were 99 bends in the road in 4 miles, now I believe there are just a few less bends.

The above photo you can see just above the road at the far end a long shed then a hill - the below photo of the same hill in the front...just amazing how the vegetation has grown over the years.
I remember Queenstown as below, we girls from the private school formed a chain link with our hands to get to the top.

Queenstown on the West Coast of Tasmania

On the way to Queenstown, Tasmania.

On the way from Derwent Bridge to Queenstown, Tasmania are hills, mountains windy roads and not many places to pull over for a stop.  We did find a couple of places to pull over and take some photos of the scenery, other photos are taken out the side window with same down as we moved along.

Obviously a fire had been through here it went on for miles.

Below - closer to Queenstown Tasmania, a former large mining town.  Mining is still done to a much lesser degree.

Derwent Bridge, Tasmania

Derwent Bridge has no bridge and is located on the Lyell Highway and is situated at the southern end of Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.  It takes several days and nights to walk/sleep from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair, it's a popular walk to do by many.

The Hotel at Derwent Bridge is very popular as many people stop for a walk a round after driving along a rather windy road.  There is free camping behind the Hotel as long as you have a meal, so I'm told.

At Derwent Bridge is 'THE WALL'  [here] certainly worth a visit and to find out what it is about.
No photos are permitted to be taken and I got into trouble by management because my phone rang!

The building for The Wall.

So we were heading to Queenstown in Tasmania where I had lived for 4 years when a child/teenager.
My late dad was stationed there.
The visit to Queenstown was exciting for me as I had only been back there a few times since leaving.

1 hr and 21 min to drive 86.0 km from Derwent Bridge to Queenstown Tasmania.  It has a lot of bends.

Tarraleah, Tasmania

We stopped at Tarraleah for a look then moved on..

Tarraleah is a small town in the Central Highlands of Tasmania is 126 km north-west of the state capital Hobart, and slightly closer to Queenstown.

The township was built in the 1930's by the Hydro Electric Commission to house Tasmania's pioneering hydro electricity officers and management.

The area is noted for its alpine lakes and mountains, and many hydro-electric dams, canals and giant steel pipeways.
After a multi million-dollar redevelopment, the former Hydro construction village has become an estate that comprises Tarraleah Lodge with accommodation, recreation, and dining options.  Fresh water trout fishing, boating, bushwalking, mountain biking and kayaking are all popular activities in and around the township.

Tarraleah is also the home to a high altitude golf course.

On the other side of this building is where the platform is to take photos or just to view the scenery.

The Chalet the main accommodation at Tarraleah.

Scenery in March in Tasmania.

After Gretna we headed to Tarraleah in Highlands of Tasmania - more on Tarraleah a Hydro Town next post.
This is some of the scenery along the way taken from the vehicle as we moved along.

The map shows in red the area of Tarraleah, the road where it says Ouse, somewhere around that area along the highway these photos were taken.

Gretna Hotel, Tasmania

Beautiful inside is the Gretna Hotel established about 1862 very homely with the publican being very helpful.
There is a paddock to the right and to the back of the hotel which the Publican offers for Caravaner's and RV's to park for a night or two.
Meals are offered at the hotel Friday and Saturday nights, but we were there on the Sunday night in March.  Visited Hobart for one night to attend an family picnic then moved on through New Norfolk to Gretna for the night.

The sunset from the paddock

The sheep were our neighbours.

The map show that we are heading west after coming down the east coast of Tasmania.

Buckland, Tasmania

Buckland, Tasmania  which has about 190 people, so it's a small village. The area around Buckland was settled in 1820, the oldest remaining house was built about 1826.
The Buckland timber mill operated from 1948 till 1981.

Approximately 55 Anglican Churches if not more are to be sold as a result of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse here in Tasmania to fund it!
Cemeteries will be protected.

One such Anglican Church to be sold is the St. John the Baptist at Buckland.  We were fortunate we called into Buckland and took photos of the Church on our travels this year.

'St. John the Baptist Church foundation stone was laid on 22 August 1846 by Fitzherbert Adams Marriott the arch deacon of Hobart.  The inscription on the stone reads "That God may in this place be glorified, and the prayers and praises of the faithful continually offered until Christ shall come again".  The inscription is now on the inside of the wall'..
Wikipedia

The Buckland Inn was built about 1831 and behind it is a large area for self-contained caravans and RV's to park but of course no power but there are toilets.  We didn't stop as we were heading to Hobart which is not that far away.

The above photo is where one wipes your dirty boots/shoes before entering the Church.