The small village of Miena (57 km north of Bothwell), on Highland Lakes Road beside the shores of Great Lake, is the main centre of Tasmania's Lakes District. The town's surrounding landscape consists of mountain peaks and alpine lakes. During winter, snow settles on the shores of the lakes and clear crisp days satisfy those who enjoy feeling close to the environment. The great appeal of Miena is the fishing for which the lakes are famous. Over the years such personalities as George Harrison and former Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser have been drawn to the area for its fishing. There is accommodation and a camping area at Miena. Other basic facilities including boat ramps are sited at Tods Corner and Breona on Great Lake.


Steppes Homestead

Steppes Homestead is a 19th century building with bake house and othjer outbuildings. It is a pleasant place for a bush picnic. Drinking water and toilet facilities are available. Nearby are Steppes Reserve Sculptures, a ring of stone-mounted bronze sculptures by renowned Tasmanian artist Stephen Walker. They capture the beauty and diversity of wildlife and settlement in the Highlands.


Steppes Reserve Sculptures

History of the Area

Miena, Liawenee and Waddamana are place names indicating a strong Aboriginal presence over thousands of years, including the Luggermairrenerpairer clan. Miena, pronounced 'my-enna' , translates to 'lagoon-like'. These names were applied to the area by the Hydro-Electric Commission (Tas.).

The settler and first Sheriff of Tasmania, John Beaumont, explored the Central Highlands plateau during December 1817. The Beaumont Memorial and grave is a short walk from the Dam.

In 1831 G.A. Robinson, the Conciliator of the Aborigines was searching the Central Highlands for signs of "the natives". He camped at the site of the future dam at Miena, where he reported "large numbers of swan, a number of light-coloured kangaroo and signs of platypus".

Murderers Hill, elevation 1055 meters opposite the Great Lake Hotel, takes its name from the murder there of a shepherd and convict hut keeper by bushrangers in 1840. In the period of the Gold Rush and the Tasmanian depression of the 1860s, Tasmania's high country was occupied only by Aborigines, shepherds and the occasional bushranger. Early colonists used the alpine Central Highlands as summer pastures employing shepherds and hut keepers. Hunters were attracted to the Central Plateau, and from the 1890s to the 1960s trapping for pelts was a significant activity.

The introduction of the trout to Tasmanian lakes brought hundreds of visitors to the highlands in the 1890s. Great Lake Post Office opened on 1 August 1897. It was later renamed Miena in 1920 and closed in 1942. It re-opened in 1957 as a telephone office which was closed once more in 1969. The community postal agency is now located in the Central Highland Lodge. An amateur radio repeater is installed on Barren Tier nearby.


Miena Dam

Miena Dam has three dam walls although two are often submerged. The Tasmanian Hydro Electric Power and Metallurgical Co. built a small dam at the outlet from the Great Lake in 1911. Construction of canals and pipelines conveyed the water to Waddamana where it was intended to generate power for the treatment of complex ores. In 1914 the Government acquired the company, and by May 1916 two turbo-alternators had been installed at Waddamana Power Station. In 1919-1922 a multi-arch dam was constructed at Miena to increase the Great Lake storage and the power station was expanded to supply more power. In 1967 a sloping core rock-fill dam was built downstream; this was raised again in 1982.


Waddamana Power Station

Waddamana Power Station is now a museum and heritage site, with restored machinery and displays about the pioneering days of power development in the highlands.

More about Waddamana

Many of the local lakes and lagoons, including Penstock lagoon and the Great Lake, were part of the World Fly Fishing Championships of 1988 and 2012. Little Pine Lagoon has been described as Tasmania's premier fly fishing water location. The 2019 WFFC was again conducted in the area. The geographic centre of Tasmania is located on the western shore of the lagoon.

The area is subject to summer bushfires. The Miena shack community was evacuated in January 2019, as fires crossed Barren Tier and the Great Pine Tier. One house near Miena was destroyed. Warnings were issued for nearby Tods Corner, Penstock Lagoon, Liawenee and Shannon.

Great Lake

Great Lake, which is 22km long, has the distinction of being the highest lake in Australia and, until the HEC drowned Lake Pedder, it was also the largest freshwater lake in the country. It is a mecca for anglers, the trout fishing in Great Lake itself is excellent (as it is in most of the waters in this central highlands region) it is renowned for its summer 'hatches' of Highland Dun mayflies and the fat, speckled brown trout that dine greedily upon them. Miena, the region's major town, which stands on its shores, is often covered in a blanket of snow in winter. Nearby towns Liaweenee and Miena are popular holiday shack destinations for local tourists, despite the area s reputation as being one of the coldest in the generally mild-weathered state.



During the winter months when the weather is hardly conducive to camping, the population of these two small towns drops to two or three hundred. The Lake Highway runs along the west side of the lake. The Lake s original size was much smaller; it has been dammed at its southern outflow for hydro-electricity production. It is Australia s second largest freshwater lake (Lake Pedder is considered to be the largest), 1,030 metres above sea level. The lake has an area of 114 km2.


Pine Lake

Close to the nearby settlement of Breona, Pine Lake Walk provides an excellent introduction to the alpine wilderness. Pencil pine trees, wedge tail eagles and rare alpine insects and wildflowers are there for the viewing. Beyond Breona, Highland Lakes Road reaches its highest point (1210 metres above sea level) before making its descent to the coastal plain, passing Liffey and Quamby Bluff Forest Reserves on its way.

Arthurs Lake

Arthurs Lake is on the edge of the Central Plateau, east of Great Lake. It is a popular angling location and has good facilities for boat launching and camping. Weather in the highlands can change fast, making boating conditions dangerous. Please carry all required safety equipment and check local weather forecasts before you launch.

Bronte and Dee Lagoons, Bradys Lake and Lake Echo are members of a group of lakes on the southern rim of the plateau offering fine trout fishing opportunities and boat launching facilities. Accommodation is available nearby at Bronte Park and Tarraleah.