Great Western Railway (Tasmania)
Encyclopedia
The Tasmanian Great Western Railway was a proposed railway that was never built to connect Hobart with the west coast
during the 1890s mining boom in Tasmania
. It would have passed through a route somewhat similar to the current Lyell Highway
through the northern edge of South West Tasmania
into the west coast
It was a proposal by business interests to utilise Hobart on the east coast, rather than the west or north west coast ports. However the proposal was not a simple idea that failed - but a play between rival companies and regions
The Great Western railway proposal was part of a complex play of political and business interests between the three regions of power in Tasmania that were relatively balanced in the 1890s through to the time of the First World War - after which the distribution was never balanced again. The solution of the North West Route to Burnie and the rise of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company
and Emu Bay Railway
routes saw the Great Western Railway proposals vanish in time.
West Coast, Tasmania
The West Coast of Tasmania is the part of the state that is strongly associated with wilderness, mining and tourism, rough country and isolation...
during the 1890s mining boom 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 would have passed through a route somewhat similar to the current Lyell Highway
Lyell Highway
The Lyell Highway is a highway in Tasmania, running from Hobart to Queenstown. The name is derived from Mount Lyell, the mountain peak where copper was found in the late 19th century, and the site of the Mount Lyell copper mine, and the sole reason for the existence of Queenstown...
through the northern edge of South West Tasmania
South West Tasmania
South West Tasmania is a region in Tasmania that has evolved over the fifty years between its consideration as a potential resource for development to its consideration as World Heritage wilderness...
into the west coast
West Coast, Tasmania
The West Coast of Tasmania is the part of the state that is strongly associated with wilderness, mining and tourism, rough country and isolation...
It was a proposal by business interests to utilise Hobart on the east coast, rather than the west or north west coast ports. However the proposal was not a simple idea that failed - but a play between rival companies and regions
In 1896 two rival companies lobbied for permission to build railways from Hobart to the west. The Great Western Railway Company, promoted in Melbourne, planned an electric railway from Glenora to Mount LyellQueenstown, TasmaniaQueenstown 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 ZeehanZeehan, TasmaniaZeehan is a town on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia. It lies southwest of Burnie. At the 2006 census, Zeehan had a population of 845. It is part of the Municipality of West Coast....
.... The theoretical plans of the rival syndicates passed as genuine currency in Hobart, where the MercuryThe Mercury (Hobart)The Mercury is a daily newspaper, published in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, by Davies Brothers Pty Ltd, part of News Limited and News Corporation...
printed a huge red and black map
The Great Western railway proposal was part of a complex play of political and business interests between the three regions of power in Tasmania that were relatively balanced in the 1890s through to the time of the First World War - after which the distribution was never balanced again. The solution of the North West Route to Burnie and the rise of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company
Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company
Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company was a Tasmanian mining company formed on the 29 March 1893, most commonly referred to as Mount Lyell. Mount Lyell was the dominant copper mining company of the West Coast from 1893 to 1994, and was based in Queenstown, Tasmania.Following consolidation of...
and Emu Bay Railway
Emu Bay Railway
The Melba Line is a narrow gauge railway on the west coast of Tasmania. The line was originally constructed as a private railway line named the Emu Bay Railway and was one of the longest lasting and successful private railway companies in Australia...
routes saw the Great Western Railway proposals vanish in time.