Last Monday, at Warner’s Landing on the Gordon River in south-western Tasmania, twenty seven UpRiver activists gathered to celebrate their pivotal role in a historic victory, 30 years ago. On this site the first bulldozer ripped into temperate rainforest of the world heritage-listed Wild Rivers national park, leading to the mobilising of a global conservation movement. “The Franklin River is now a world class tourist attraction, symbolic of the sustainable direction being embraced by many Tasmanian ‘Clean and Green’ industries today”, veteran activist and former member of NSW Parliament, Ian Cohen said.
UpRiver activists were delighted to note the improvement of the area in the last 30 years, since stringent protection measures were put in place in the wake of the High Court decision to stop the dam. The former HEC worksite at Warner’s Landing is slowly re-growing the ancient Gondwanan ecosystems of astounding beauty with an expanding diversity of unique plants and animals.
The delays by the Tasmanian Government to protect the ancient forests in the Tarkine and Florentine valleys has dismayed the veteran activists. Saving the Franklin River saved the West coast of Tasmania — boosting tourism, jobs and the economy. Alice Hungerford, convener of the UpRiver Project, CD and book, said: “The thriving centre of Strahan stands as an example for the rest of Tasmania ¬— saving our unique ecosystems, will save Tasmania’s economy — as well as protecting our natural heritage for all time.”
“We’ll be back to join the actions to save the Tarkine,” said Tony Murphy.
Alice Hungerford, 20/12/2012
