Did you see the 'real' Lake Pedder ?

[red tag]

The old photos are there, but it isn't like being there ..

I missed my chance . In March 72 , I was a 16 year old helper at a major green event or whatever , held at the Melbourne town hall - the main speaker for the evening was Judith Wright , the poet . In the foyer .. there was a group from Tassie with a display and placards etc. Save Lake Pedder ! They were all rugged up in thick jackets, which we thought very strange ... it was March after all.

Anyway .. the deal was : the taswegans were offering a package tour of Lake Pedder .. this was about 3-4 months before it flooded . It was about 50 ( around 500 today ) bucks from memory .. it included a flight from Melbourne to Hobart ,from Hobart , a light aircraft flight to the lake .

I've still got my Save Lake Pedder button ... and bumber sticker ..
Mike

[geoskid]

Hey Red Tag,
Really enjoying your personable trips down memory lane in a few topics, I think I am a little younger than you (not by much from what I can gather, and brought up elsewhere), but you certainly have a gift for painting a picture with words -thanks! - keep it up please.
Regards
Geoskid

[tas-man]

Hi Red Tag, I saw the Launceston Walking Club's first Brisbane presentation of their "Do You Know Tasmania" slide show in 1971, which was very political then, and was stirring up public opinion against the flooding. As a result I made a trip to Tassie with five mates from the Brisbane Bushwalkers Club to see Lake Pedder in December 1971 before it was flooded. That was an experience that became piviotal in my life and ultimately brought me and my family to Tasmania. I started this thread some time back, and you may get a feel for what Lake Pedder meant to many of us who did experience it. viewtopic.php?f=9&t=699

[red tag]

Fortunate fellow , Ian .

To be honest, I was dragged along to many outings, by a friend from high school - I didn't really understand the significance of the movement until much later on . The friend , a fanatical ,green ecologist ... lived close by . During 1973, a group of us set up and ran a environment centre in a S.E. suburb of Melbourne - a shop front and residence ... not a bad effort for a bunch of youngters ... I didn't do much except man the shop for long periods. We sold posters and badges and books .. and rented the rooms out to local green groups. We even sold PVC kits for cars .. a device that circulates crankcase fumes back into the carby ..instead of going into the atmosphere... One of our contemporaries, a local... we grew up with, and knew very well , he was the Australian of the year last year ...he's the climate change advocate and academic , author , so on .

Esso/bhp were building a pipeline across port phillip bay ..and we used to go down and harrass the workers, digging the trenches ..the union banned the operation..but esso employed scab workers ..Here's a link to the story..I was there the that day of the rally and those pics were taken.

http://localhistory.kingston.vic.gov.au ... le/318.htm

Mike

[flyfisher]

In 1971 I was getting married in Hobart and Lake Pedder was not clear on my radar.
So I missed out.
Now many years later I often think of what I missed out on.
Luckily we have many other beauty spots to take our minds off what we lost,but it makes me annoyed with myself that at that time I was not aware enough of what was there to go and have a look.
FF

[flyfisher]

A lake.
Lying in a wilderness valley for thousands of years.
Found by John Wedge in 1835.
Flooded for a hydro-electric scheme in 1972

(Who said democracy is the voice of the people ? )

All the protests are past;
all the words have been said.
The photographs taken.
The pictures painted.

Drums and trumpets have faded.
Only the cello sings,deep and sad and far away,
a requiem for a dead lake.

Memories live for such a short time.
In a hundred years there will be no one
who can say,"I saw Lake Pedder".

Ellen Miller

Beautiful words-says it all.

Flyfisher

[Taurë-rana]

I didn't see it, I was too young to even know about it. Although given the heartache I carry from seeing so many forests trashed, maybe I'm glad I don't have to carry the pain of losing a Lake Pedder that I was intimately acquainted with too.
I wasn't too young to be passionate about the Franklin though, but too young to be down there protesting. I walked in the marches, I supported my parents No Dams vote, I carried food in to help the protestors, and I was ecstatic with Labor's win and stopping the dam.

[Robbo]

I only heard bits and pieces as a young lad in country NSW, and remember virtually nothing from that time - although I recall one of my primary school teachers reading a, 'drama in real life' story to about a bloke who almost drowned canoeing down a 'Serpentine River', and who was stranded in a deep ravine after heavy rain, escaping only with his life and a jumper as pants, I believe - I have since come to learn that this was Olegas Truchanas. But after getting a copy of the Wilderness DVD from the ABC, I feel really cheated at not having the opportunity to see it in real life.

The reality of all this is however, that so much of our natural environment, on a global basis, is being destroyed, in the name of so-called progress, as we are writing about this, as developing nations struggle to achieve a standard of living that approaches those of us who live in first world countries.

At least we are now in a position to limit some of what is happening, such as the saving of the Franklin and the Daintree, because of lessons learned from the Lake Pedder experience. We need to keep vigilant and limit as much as possible the losses by educating as many as we can to live sustainably and minimise our 'environmental footprint'...

Tony Robinson

[red tag]

I found the badge and bumber sticker . Why I kept this stuff ? God knows .... it is dating from 1972 or 73 . I've also got some pamphlets on Pedder , from the time . Can scan and post if anyone is interested .

Mike

[Chris]

The old photos are there, but it isn't like being there ..
I missed my chance .

Yes, I missed mine too. The first I heard of it was when my fellow Sunday School teachers started talking of flying there on what I now realise was probably a West Tamar Camera Club excursion. They were all much older than me, and I probably couldn't have afforded it anyway, but I felt a bit hurt that they hadn't invited me.

Not long after that I was about to leave Tassie for the mainland (we all make mistakes in our youth) . A member of the squash team I played with showed slides of her recent visit to LP to our little gathering after my last game, and I knew I'd missed something very special. By the time I returned to live here it was all over.

[rcaffin]

Yep. Camped on the beach by the hut a couple of times. Have some lovely trannies - must scan them one day.
A pygmy possum spent the day curled up asleep in my shirt pocket there once.

Cheers

[GerryDuke]

No, but I attended a "Do You Know Tasmania" show by the Launceston Walking Club at the then National Theatre in Launceston - now Foot & Playsted printers. Must have been about 1970. Olegas Truchanas presented a session in the vain hope saving the lake by gathering support for Lake Pedder. The whole propaganda campaign was exactly the same as the forestry debate today. The manipulaiton of the truth and the manipulation of the parlimanent today - ie the reduction in the size of the lower house. Perhaps a topic for Controversy Corner.

[Steve]

My Pop used to know the architect of Lake Pedder quite well.

According to him Lake Pedder was at its current level eons ago and the flow of glaciers eventually pushed their way out and the water escaped and became what it was in the pre-century. When the dam was made it was a pretty easy feat considering the areas history. According to him Ted's Beach (named after the architect) was a beach from the original Lake Pedder and he was "restoring" it to its original size.

[olblackbilly]

Yes I did way back in 1971 when I was still in high school, just incredible, it was a tragic loss to tasmania plus the rest of the world. I know its a bit of a clique but lake pedder was 'jewel in the crown' of our magnificant south west wilderness.., I've still got some lake pedder sand and some lake pedder pennies, unfortunatly doesnt bring the lake back though......good memories....olblackbilly

[mikethepike]

Yes I visited Lake Pedder late in it's last summer and walked around the entire shore line. The beach was as wide as it had ever been - 800 m is the figure you usually read - and just going down to the water to fill the billy from the sand dunes was quite a hike. Lake Pedder was an incredibly beautiful place and was described as the gem in Tasmania's wilderness. I have some beautiful slides of the Lake and I really think that it's flooding is the worst single instance of deliberate environmental destruction in Australian history. Despite its uniqueness, Lake Pedder was either little or not known to the general public even in Tasmania let alone the mainland until it's imminent destruction lead to the protest movement which became huge. The only positive to come out of it I believe was that its loss really hardened the resolve of conservationists and this is what ultimately lead to saving the Franklin River just a few short years later. That battle must surely rank as the greatest conservation victory ever seen in this country. Back to Pedder, I collected some sand with thoughts of making an hour glass, but I'm afraid its gone astray while my Pedder pennies didn't survive rough handling.
Mike

[north-north-west]

I didn't see it, I was too young to even know about it. Although given the heartache I carry from seeing so many forests trashed, maybe I'm glad I don't have to carry the pain of losing a Lake Pedder that I was intimately acquainted with too.

*sigh*
Went in with a High School mob. One of the last ever groups to walk in. Wasn't supposed to do it as the group was meant to be limited to older students, but managed to con my way in (forged a letter from my mother - she really didn't like me going bush) and then begged or borrowed everything I couldn't afford with the pocket money I saved for months and months. Got into so much trouble when I got back and my mother found out what I'd really been doing and the school found out how I'd conned them . . . and I still don't know why I wanted to do it.
It was a long time before I could bear to go back into the South West, after they killed the lake. Such a beautiful place. Such a loss. Sit up in High Camp Hut, looking out the window at what's there now, and it's just wrong. It looks fine - if you don't know what it used to be.
*sigh*
Geeeez, I'm getting maudlin in my middle-age.

[tasadam]

Geeeez, I'm getting maudlin in my middle-age.

No, you're just calling a spade a spade. Or seeing it in the eyes that many of us cannot because it was before our time.

There is a place for photos in another topic, and I have a negative / slide scanner I am happy to scan anyone's Lake Pedder photos for that topic.

[north-north-west]

Pity that was in my pre-camera days. I suppose I could have 'borrowed' the family Box Brownie, but even if it survived that trip, I certainly wouldn't have survived the return.

[Mr. T]

Also did the school group trip in early 70's. About 5 of us. Remember the planes landing on the main beach, the white sand and clear water, and getting very wet on the way in. Walk a fair bit of the shore over a couple of days. Am sure it was what inspired me to get into walkign over the years.

[juju]

Does anyone remember a few years ago Bob Brown throwing in the suggestion that Lake Pedder should be drained and restored? When he did of course everyone laughed and then he went on to say that we restore our architectural heritage so why not do the same with one of our greatest natural wonders. Almost everyone agrees it was a mistake to flood it....
'Our children will undo what we so foolishly have done' Edward St John QC, Lake Pedder inquiry

[ILUVSWTAS]

Yeh theres quite a few bumper stickers floating around on cars in Hobart saying DRAIN FAKE PEDDER
I sport one saying PEDDER LIVES , with a nice photo of the original lake.

They even sent divers odwn recently to see how the condition of the old lake is, the beach is till there which was surprising. Aparantly the wheels of the last planes to land on the beach are still visable

[stepbystep]

Way too young to have experienced this amazing place.
What surprised me when I finally saw 'Fake Pedder' was the depth of feeling I had when I arrived.
Yes, the huge lake is beautiful, but it's eerie and sad - the feeling of loss is not lost on the generations born post flooding.

Perhaps one day my generation can right that wrong, but we're pretty busy at the moment trying to stop the current crop of environmental criminals
The more photos we can see the better, and the more stories like those above we can hear better still.

The Franklin was the first issue I became aware of(I was 9 and in hospital with a ruptured spleen watching the TV, and Tasmania seemed a world away.
By the time of the Styx protests, I was a militant greenie and plotting my move to Tassie

sbs

[Erica]

I really wish I would have been able to see Lake Pedder, but being only 21 now it wasn't really that possible! Hopefully there is still a chance that we do undo the mistakes (such as this) of the past...

[flyfisher]

I hope we can overcome the mistakes of the future which are still to be made.

The destruction of our native forests is ongoing at an exponential rate driven by dollars and spin. If only the workers would wake up,--they would be all sacked tomorrow and replaced with machines if it could be done.
The amount of timber cut compared to the employment created is an evermore unfavourable equation.

Would be nice to see the Pedder of old, but it won't be in my lifetime .Still......

ff

[Robert]

Really missed out on something special. It would have been great to see this treasure.

[Chrisbulldog]

Yes i saw the real Lake Pedder , even camped there for 2 nights. I'm 54 now , was about 15 or 16 at the time. Travelled there with old school friend . The driver and his companion i can't remember who they were now. The main entrance was from Scotts Peak Dam . Was superb seeing all the sand . I still remember the feeling of the sand ,its quartz based so was colder than normal beach sand. Lots of people were going in at the time , passed several parties coming back . Some people came from the northern end . To my utter surprise ,my uncle and his wife did just that at the same time. A great shame it was lost as has been noted. Even at the time though , people were concerned about damage to the vegetation and the shoreline from too much exposure , so it would have needed extensive management. The vehicle we were in was a Datsun 1600 , and before we got to Scotts Peak , it slid off the road and into an embankement .We finished the trip in another vehicle. Pity was , i didn't own a camera at the time , couldn't afford such things.