Queenstown or Mars?
This is Queenstown Tasmania. It is on the way to Tasmania's west coast. It is one of the saddest and happiest places I have been. Let me explain.On the road to QT(Queenstown) you travel through one of Tasmania's World Heritage Area. Beautiful rainforests, Gum forests, Button grass meadows with majestic mountains in the backdrop. Suddenly the greenery vanishes before your eyes. The hillside turns barren. It looks very similar to MARS! Welcome to Queenstown the road sign reads.
QT is a mining town. In the mining hayday the smelters working full tilt killed off the thick rainforest that grew there leaving only grey and orange rock. It is really quite a site to behold. So little vegitation for as far as the eye can see. At the top of the hill is a small monument which reads; Queenstown is unashamedly a mining town. Below that statement the story of the mismanagement of the enviroment is told.
These people love their town. They love their lifestyle. Without a doubt they continue to mine but with new regulations. The mistakes of the past have been recognized. The town has taken step to change. There are signs of vegitation comming back now. There is optimism for the future. That's what made me smile.
posted by WendyAs at 6:28 PM
6 Comments:
I just read on Alices blog that you bought a house. My email is down so please email at sandyasaunders@hotmail.com with all the details! Hurry....
It would be great to come back to the same place in ten or twenty years and see the difference. It does make me appreciate just how delicate an environment we live in and how careful we must be to maintain it.
Tanya,
It is encourageing that is comming back so quickly with all the topsoil washed away. I don't belive there is anyway around human impact without population control. This town is trying to minimise the impact now. It is working. It is certainly a challenging balance that needs to be considered.
So I see you off exploring the apple isle again and thanks for sharing all your wonderful pictures.
When we were last in Tassie I didn’t get a chance to visit Queenstown, so the next best thing is to read your interesting description
Open cut mining can leave an area resembling a lunar landscape prior to today’s requirements for environmental impact studies and land restoration.
Best wishes
Congrats on the new home! My email is still down but I got your pictures! It looks great. I'll call you soon to hear all the details!
This story is very encouraging. Funny how it takes us a while to get sensible about things like the environment. Thank heavens we're improving! (and it's not too late).
There is a real sense of pride in QT. I like that!
Interesting pics to illustrate what you're telling us.
I too wondered if you're staying in Taz more than 2 yrs after reading your 'moving' post.
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