The Gordon River Road from New Norfolk to Strathgordon passes through the small town of Westerway. 68 kilometres west of Hobart on the Tyenna River, Westerway was first was known as Russell or Russelldale, being named after Surgeon J J Russell, one of the party who discovered a set of waterfalls 3 km from Fenton Forest (although these are not the present day Russell Falls). Three religious denominations were once represented at Westerway. However, no churches now exist in the township.



The Derwent Valley Railway line reached the town in 1909. Due to confusion between the town of Russell and Russell Falls further up the road the towns name was changed in 1919 to Westerway. It was named by, and after, W H Westerway (1851 1930), the main resident and responsible for many developments in the area. He built an accommodation house and store where Coniston siding is now, owned the Coffee Palace at Glenora and started a livery business driving tourists to Russell Falls.

Westerway railway station was important as it was the starting point for the pack horse journey to the long abandoned Adamsfield osmiridium mine. As the timber industry became more important to the area, a sawmill was built and the number of timber mills in the area increased and the train line was used to transport logs to Boyer and Hobart. The Derwent Valley Railway was, until recently, used by tourists to visit the area.

The station was the starting point for the pack horse journey to the Adamsfield osmiridium mine. As the timber industry became more important to the area, sawmills were built and the railway was used to transport logs to Boyer and Hobart. By the 1990s, alternative transportation made the continued use of the railway unprofitable and by 1995, no trains ran beyond New Norfolk. However, the Derwent Valley Railway was, until recently, used by tourists to visit the area. The Westerway station building has been restored by volunteers at the Derwent Valley Railway.

Russell Falls

Russell Falls (9 km west via Gordon River Road) are a major feature of Mt Field National Park, one of Tasmania’s most loved national parks. The falls lies within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Access is via a well-developed track. The smaller Horseshoe Falls is on the walking track beyond Russell Falls. Mt Field National Park has a wide variety of scenic features and wildlife and offers a great range of facilities for day visitors. Few other national parks in Australia offer such a diversity in vegetation, ranging from tall swamp gum forests and massive tree ferns at the base of the mountain, through rainforest along the Lake Dobson Road, to alpine vegetation at the higher elevations.


Derwent Valley Railway Inc. train

Derwent Valley Railway Line

Tasmanian Government Railways opened the Derwent Valley Line in 1886. Initially, it ran from the junction at Bridgewater, on the main north-south Hobart to Devonport line, to New Norfolk, a distance of 18 kilometres. It was extended to 29 km at Plenty in 1887, and then to 41 km at Glenora in 1888. It closely follows the course of the River Derwent for the first 39 km as far as Coniston, and crosses the river at three different points.



The following years saw a number of plans to extend the line further up the Derwent Valley or to connect it to the West Coast. Finally, twenty one years later, in 1909, it was extended along the Tyenna River, another 8 km to what is now Westerway. In 1917 another extension was added to extend the railway to Fitzgerald (66 km), and a final extension was opened in 1936 to Kallista, 74 km from Bridgewater. The last extension replaced an earlier wooden tramway on the same alignment. The primary usage of the line was to provide a service to the rural areas and the logging areas around Kallista. In 1940 there was a significant increase in log traffic along most of the line with the opening of a paper mill at Boyer, 14 km from Bridgewater. This increased traffic resulted in the construction of two deviations and additional facilities at a number of stations.



Sometime later, parts of the railway began to close. Firstly, the logging branches around Kallista, and then the section from Kallista to Florentine Junction were closed. In 1995, TasRail completely closed the line beyond New Norfolk after floods and heavy rain substantially damaged the track. In 1990, Derwent Valley Railway Preservation Society was formed. It purchased the assets of the Tasmanian Locomotive Company, who had been operating excursion trains on the line.

In October 2005, Pacific National, who had taken over commercial running of the TasRail network, closed the Derwent Valley Line west of New Norfolk. This effectively stopped the running of the heritage railway. In May 2006, Pacific National came to a new agreement with the Tasmanian Government which included returning all tracks and rail lands to Government ownership. Derwent Valley Railway Inc. are currently in negotiations to regain access to the Derwent Valley Line to restore it to its former glory and operate it as a world class tourist railway.

Derwent Valley Rail Trail

This proposed 7km rail trail will traverse the scenic Derwent Valley from the hamlet of Westerway to the gateway of and Mt Field National Park. The rail trail follows the beautiful Tyenna River and the road, as they wind through the corridor into the World Heritage Area. There are only a couple of road crossings at the National Park end of the trail and for the most part the trail is an uncomplicated and highly accessible path through eucalypt and casurina forests. At present, the track and sleepers are still in position. This section of the corridor has not been used for up to 20 years, with commercial operations ceasing once the need to cart timber from the valley wound back and transferred to trucks. This section of track has not had any significant maintenance for approximately 40 years.

Tyenna

Tyenna (14 km south-west) is a settlement on the Tyenna River in the Upper Derwent region and is situated approximately 80 kilometres west of Hobart. Only a remnant of a once thriving rural community remains. Tyenna was officially gazetted as a town in 1918 after timber workers built sawmills in the area. Before the establishment of the towns of Fitzgerald and Maydena, Tyenna was a supply base for Adamsfield’s osmiridium miners. Bushfires have have destroyed much of old Tyenna over the years. The Tyenna River is today a popular place for catching Brown and Rainbow Trout.