Bronte Park, Tasmania
Encyclopedia
Bronte Park is a locality on the Marlborough Highway
at the southern edge of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park
in Tasmania
. It is approximately halfway in between Hobart
and Queenstown
, and is also almost exactly in the geographic dead centre of the island. Bronte Park is located close to Bronte Lagoon, an artificial lake in the Central Highlands.
It is now primarily a tourist village catering to trout fishermen, kayakers and walkers, but was established in the 1940s as accommodation for workers on the Tasmanian Hydro Electric Commission
's 'Tungatinah Scheme', 'Nive River Scheme' and other associated works in the vicinity. By the 1950s it was a bustling village of over 700 workers, with a store, police station, post office, school, cinema, hospital, dairy and a church, but now many of the original houses and buildings have been removed, with only a few remaining now as part of the Bronte Lagoon Chalet. By 1991 the Hydro Electric Commission (now Hydro Tasmania
) sold the chalets into private ownership.
Marlborough Highway
The Marlborough Highway is a minor highway in Tasmania. It links the Lyell Highway to the Lake Highway and cuts short the otherwise very long journey from the West Coast to the Central Highlands....
at the southern edge of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park
Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park
Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park is located in the Central Highlands area of Tasmania , 165 km northwest of Hobart. The park contains many walking trails, and is where hikes along the well-known Overland Track usually begins...
in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
. It is approximately halfway in between Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
and Queenstown
Queenstown, Tasmania
Queenstown is a town in the West Coast region of the island of Tasmania. It is located in a valley on western slopes of Mount Owen on the West Coast Range.It had a population of 5,119 people . At the 2006 census, Queenstown had a population of 2,117....
, and is also almost exactly in the geographic dead centre of the island. Bronte Park is located close to Bronte Lagoon, an artificial lake in the Central Highlands.
It is now primarily a tourist village catering to trout fishermen, kayakers and walkers, but was established in the 1940s as accommodation for workers on the Tasmanian Hydro Electric Commission
Hydro Tasmania
Hydro Tasmania, known for most of its history as The HEC, is the government owned enterprise which is the predominant electricity generator in the state of Tasmania, Australia...
's 'Tungatinah Scheme', 'Nive River Scheme' and other associated works in the vicinity. By the 1950s it was a bustling village of over 700 workers, with a store, police station, post office, school, cinema, hospital, dairy and a church, but now many of the original houses and buildings have been removed, with only a few remaining now as part of the Bronte Lagoon Chalet. By 1991 the Hydro Electric Commission (now Hydro Tasmania
Hydro Tasmania
Hydro Tasmania, known for most of its history as The HEC, is the government owned enterprise which is the predominant electricity generator in the state of Tasmania, Australia...
) sold the chalets into private ownership.