Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park

Franklin Gordon Wild Rivers National Park is a national park in Tasmania.

General

The park's name comes from the two main rivers within the park, the Franklin River and the Gordon River. The Wild Rivers National Park emerged from the former Frenchmans Cap National Park, which had its borders along the Franklin River. Frenchman's Cap can be seen from afar, best seen from the west side and the north side of the park. The dispute over the Franklin Dam, which was to become part of a large-scale project to supply electricity through hydropower in Tasmania, contributed to the designation of the area in its current size. The project failed due to resistance from the Australian environmental movement in 1983.

Location

The park is about 117 km west of Hobart, between the central highlands and the west coast of Tasmania, in the very heart of the Tasmanian Wilderness which is a UNESCO world heritage site. The only one road that runs through the park, is the Lyell Highway, numbered as A10. This winds 56 kilometres through the park and makes travel inside the park easy.

History

The national park contains numerous sites that point to the early settlement by the Aboriginals and are still of great spiritual importance for the Aboriginal community today. The original inhabitants of Tasmania, who lived in isolation from the inhabitants of the mainland for a really long time, developed a culture that differed from them; through the use of fire they introduced profound changes in the vegetation communities.

However, Europeans invaded the area from around 1822. It was then that Macquarie Harbour penal colony was established on Sarah Island. Convicts who managed to escape tried to escape into the wilderness, but often, many had died in the process. From 1850, many prospectors came to the area.

Landscape

The landscape is characterised by impressive mountain peaks, beautiful rainforests, deep river valleys and spectacular gorges.

Wildlife

The national park is home to the golden-bellied parakeet, a critically endangered species of bird. Well-known mammals include the kangaroo species red-necked wallaby and filander, as well as the bag-marten and the well infamous Tasmanian devil. Echidna, platypus, wombats and ring pouches can also be found here as well.

Other websites

• Official website of the park Archived 2008-09-08 at the Wayback Machine