Preminghana, formerly known as Mt. Cameron West, covers an area of 524 hectares and was declared an Indigenous Protected Area in 1999. Most noted for the splendid Tasmanian Aboriginal cave etchings, it is a unique destination for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people alike. The Preminghana artwork is the finest example of Tasmanian Aboriginal art, and one of the finest displays of hunter/gatherer art in the world. The etching have been buried under sand to protect them. Preminghana is also a popular fishing and 4WD spot.
On the beach between Preminghana and Marrawah a most unusual phenomena occurs. Fresh water bubbles up from springs which are both underneath the rocks and on the beach itself. This water drains from Mt. Camerson West and collects underground, coming to the surface on the beach. This may well explain why Preminghana was so important to the indigenous people of the area.
Greens Beach, Marrawah
Tasmania's westernmost community and the furthest settlement from Hobart, Marrawah is the most popular surfing spot in Tasmania's north. The small town services the surrounding rich dairy farming area. Beyond the town the farmlands undulate down to the sea at Green Point and West Point where the cold and inhospitable waters of the Southern Ocean crash against the lonely coastline. Green Point Beach near Marrawah is also known as a good location for surfing, kitesurfing and windsurfing. The Woolnorth Wind Farm on Cape Grim is visible in the distance to the north of Marrawah.
Marrawah once marked the end of Tasmania's westernmost railway, the Smithton to Marrawah Tramway. Farming, including dairy farming, and tourism are the main commercial activities. The area has several important Aboriginal sites, such as Aboriginal carvings at Mount Cameron West and Sundown Point.
Situated at the mouth of the Arthur River, the tiny settlement of Arthur River is an ideal base for walking (both in the bush and along the coastline), horse riding, fishing, off road driving, cruising the river and picnics in this remote, beautiful area. Tasmania’s wild western river, the Arthur, brews a tempest in the Southern Ocean as they meet. Wind and waves enliven the spirit. Let nature sweep you away.
Gardiner Point, to the south of Arthur River, has been dubbed 'The Edge of The World' as the sea here stretches uninterrupted all the way to Argentina, 15,000 km away. The sea west of Tasmania is in fact the longest uninterrupted expanse of ocean on the globe. From Argentina the currents known as the roaring 40's sweep unimpeded more than halfway around the planet until they hit this point.
A plaque titled The Edge of the World. North West Coast Tasmania, and a poem by tourism pioneer Brian Inder, who coined the term, referring to the coastline at Arthur River which is regularly lashed by the gales of the Roaring Forties. Giant myrtles which have battered their way down from the Arthur’s mountain heights buffet the driving foam as the reach the point's seathing waters.
Though not far from Gardiner Point, West Point State Reserve is markedly different, no doubt due to the amount of lichen-covered rocks there. Rather than just small rocks scattered here and there on the beach, there are huge orange-stained boulders everywhere. It’s just a great place to go for a walk.
The West Point lighthouse, overlooking Lighthouse Beach, was built in 1916 and demolished when it was replaced by the Bluff Hill Point Lighthouse (located further south) in 1982. All that remains is the base of the old lighthouse. Access is via Nettley Bay Road.
Numerous Aboriginal engravings are located at Sundown Point State Reserve, 8km south of the mouth of the Arthur River near Nelson Bay. There are over 40 separate rocks slabs of laminated mudstone in the Reserve, many have clearly defined Aboriginal motifs comprised of concentric and overlapping circles, grooves or lines of pits. Engraving sites are very rare in Tasmania, and at least one panel shows the same complexity as engravings found at Mt Cameron West, further up the coast.
Sundown Point or 'Laraturunawn' has had slabs of rock art stolen over the last 30 years, including one slab of rock art that was spotted in the back of a car on the Spirit of Tasmania ferry by a customs officer in 2000. Vehicles have driven over the site since about 1975 with a four-wheel-drive track going within 20 metres of the site.
Like the nearby Temma Harbour, Couta Rocks is noted as a place where the sea can rage. A not uncommon sight is that of the local fishermen winching their boats out of the water on slips rather than risk them on moorings. This stretch of coast is dubbed the roaring 40s, where prevailing gale-force winds blow persistently from the west. In 1968 the small fishing villages of Couta Rocks and Sarah Anne Rocks opened up after a bridge was built across the Arthur River. Prior to that villagers and visitors alike were forced to punt. Couta Rocks, in the Tarkine region, is the centre of Tasmania s west coast crayfishing industry.
Little more than a collection of fishermen's shacks, Temma is one of the most isolated localities in Australia. Temma Harbour was for around 20 years the sea port for the 700 residents of the copper and tin mining town of Balfour when tin was first found in the area in the 1870s. A horse-drawn wooden tramway once connected the town and port. Balfour is one of the most mineralized copper districts in Tasmania; copper workings occur intermittently along a 35km track between the two localities.
The origin of the name Temma is not known. Mary Hopkin's 1969 hit song 'Temma Harbour' is not about this locality. Its name did inspire the song, however, but the songwriter, Philamore Lincoln, states the name was selected randomly from a map while looking for a place name that sounded romantic.
How to get there: 16 km south of Marrawah; 85 kms from Smithton
Sandy Cape is a large headland which was once home to the Tarkiner Aboriginal people, from which the region derived its name. It was their home for several thousand years, and today, there s evidence of huge shell middens, hut depressions and many significant cultural relics. Sandy Cape is surrounded by magnificent granite boulders creating a number of sheltered and secluded swimming pools. It also features one of the world s loneliest lighthouses.
The cape is also noted for having the largest sand dunes in the southern hemisphere. Because of this, it is a paradise for 4WD enthusiasts and trail bikers.
Pieman Heads and he Pieman River gained its name from the notorious convict Alexander 'The Pieman' Pearce who was responsible for one of the few recorded instances of cannibalism in Australia. There is a small shack community near the mouth of the Pieman River.
Piemen Heads marks the soythern exteemity of the Arthur-Pieman Conservation Area. It is a hotspot for fishers, surfers, campers, horse riders and recreational vehicle enthusiasts, many of whom regard it as their second home. The area may be remote but to the 25 or so permanent residents, shack owners, campers and day trippers, the jounrey to this isolared wilderness is well worth it.
Conical Harbour is a small sheltered rocky embayment located midway along the 8 km of rocky shoreline and reefs between Four Mile Beach and Hardwicke Bay, to the north of Granville Harbour. The bay is named after rounded conical granite outcrops that extend inland from the shoreline, with the most prominent rocks adjacent to the small beach. A vehicle track reaches the bay where there are three fishing shacks located amongst the rocks. The beach is used to launch small boats, with boats occasionally moored in the gutter off the beach.
Originally opened up as a soldier settlement area at the end of World War 1, today it only has a few permanent residents and numerous holiday shacks. Granville is a small fishing and holiday community where the fishing is exceptional. Similar in most respects is the nearby beach and fishing area of Trial Harbour. There are no shops or facilities at either locality. Swimming, camping, fishing, sea, bush walking, 4WD or all terrain vehicle area. Shafts and buildings relating to the Federation and Cornwall tin, silver, lead and zinc can be found in the bush. Granville Harbour is 30kms along Heemskirk Road via Corinna and Pieman River, then a gravel road for a further 8kms.
An exposed and particularly vulnerable small anchorage which is susceptible to the prevailing local weather of the Roaring Forties, Trail Harbour is well known for its fine fishing. An isolated fishing community these days, Trail Harbour was utilised for a short while during the establishment of the early mining communities of Zeehan, and Queenstown, prior to the establishment of the settlements and facilities at Strahan and Regatta Point.
First tramload of cheese, butter and wool to Smithton on the Marrawah tramway
The Marrawah Tramway was a 45.1 km long 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm)narrow gauge forest railway near Marrawah. The construction was initiated around 1911 to harvest timber in the Mowbray Swamp. The tramway was bought by the state government in October 1913 and the steel rails extended to Marrawah. It was decommissioned in 1961.
A company was formed during the early part of 1906 to construct a wooden tramway from Marrawah to Montagu, but as only 1,700 shares were applied for out of a total of 4650 pieces of £1 shares that was required, the project fell through. Representations were then made to the company by Messrs. J. S. Lee and Sons with the view of building the line to Smithton instead of Montagu. As they had some six miles already constructed to wards Marrawah, and substantial help was also promised by the people of Smithton and district, the directors decided to go in with them and build the line.
Jaeger's Mill, Redpa
The first sod of the new line was turned by the Governor, Sir Harry Barron, at Stanley on 4 May 1911. After the winter break the work resumed in August 1911. Iron rails for the line and a new locomotive were delivered by November 1911. Early in February 1913 the tram had progressed so much that it could be to used it for freight transport, and by the first week in February a weekly service was commenced. The first regular rail service between Smithton and Marrawah started on 5 February 1913. The tram ran once a week, on Wednesdays, for freight and passengers, but from the 17 mile peg the journey was made by horse tram. Goods and passengers had to be transferred at this point.
Several timber tramways branched-off from the Marrawah Tramway into the Montagu, Brittons, Arthur River and Welcome. The Marrawah Tramway served the dolomite Mowbray and Montagu Swamps on its journey from Smithton to Marrawah. Brittons’ branch tramway went through Brittons Swamp. On one day in November 1921 no less than 71 trucks were in commission at the one time, and were hauled on the one day. They were all unloaded next morning before the locomotives left the station.
A gala day was held on 15 June 1922 at Marrawah on the occasion of the opening of the steel railway line to within a mile of the township. The branches, however, stayed private property and were operated by the proprietors with their own, sometimes unusual rolling stock. One of the most peculiar locomotives was Harlot a converted Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies steam lorry. Special permission had to be given to drive it to Salmon River on the Marrawah Tramway and extra care was taken due to the type of wheels on the engine but it reached its destination without any serious damage. The journey took a whole day.
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