Mt Wellington Cable Car Proposal
As far as natural landmarks go, nothing could be more commanding than Tasmainas’ Mt Wellington. Dominating the southern landscape, its pinnacle gazes upon Hobarts’ idyllic city life and southern waterways, casting sights east across Derwent Estuary and west towards the World Heritage area some 100 kms away. The view from Hobart is awe-inspiring to say the least, its dominance holds steadfast with prominent natural features including the cliff of dolerite columns known locally as the Organ Pipes.
Charles Darwin saw the same magnificence whilst visiting Hobart Town in 1836 noting in The Voyage of the Beagle how “the broken land and water, forming many intricate bays, was mapped with clearness before us. …” The mountain remained a popular resort destination throughout the 20th century, despite many recreational cabins across the lower slopes being all but destroyed by bushfire.
In 1930 with the depression bitting hard, Tasmania’s Premier Mr A.G.Ogilvie initiated a capital works programme to cater for swelling unemployment numbers through the construction of a road to the summit of Mt Wellington. Pinnacle Drive was officially opened in August 1937 by then Governor Sir Ernest Clark and for some time was known amongst locals as ‘Ogilvie’s Scar’, a sentiment reflecting the heavy logging that was taking place in turn exposing the chiselled out road.
With Pinnacle Drive neatly tucked away once more, the sentiment behind Ogilvie’s Scar has since shifted to represent the easement supplying power to the radio and television ‘Line of Site’ transmission towers. Today two large concrete and steel transmission towers and other smaller dishes blight the landscape of the summit for the purpose of serving the digital needs of most 21st century Hobartians.
Mt Wellington is Tasmania’s fourth most popular tourist attraction drawing in over 300,000 visitors annually and is a must do for tourists and locals alike. The mountain holds the strain of major traffic congestion during peak periods, and at times becomes inaccessible by conventional transport due to inclement weather.
In 2009 Wellington Park Management Trust called for public submissions for alternative modes of transport to the pinnacle which included a shuttle bus service, light rail and a cable car. The resulting Sustainable Transport System report identified walking, private cars, and mini-buses as the preferred modes of transport.
It would be difficult for an economic model that would support buses, as there can be no comparison made between the system of scheduled bus services which operate at Ben Lomond and Cradle Mountain. Cradle Mountain caters for medium stay tourists, whereas Mt Wellington visitors are ad hoc part-day trippers who take the short 22 k drive from Hobart, subject to weather conditions, seven days a week year round.
Light rail was mooted by the 2010 candidate for the seat of Dennison. Ms Ogilvie conceptualised a funicular or incline railway from The Springs to the top of Mt Wellington stating “a funicular railway would be less visually intrusive than the cable car proposals that had been put forward for the mountain in the past” and would provide all weather access.
The cable car vision has been idle for some time. A developer in 1993 proposed the cable works be accompanied by a revolving restaurant and artificial ski field which received support by the then state tourism minister, Peter Hodgman. At that time the Greens Party and Friends of Mt Wellington strongly opposed the development, and called for thorough public consultation and a need to explore all of the alternatives. Needless to say the cable cars are yet to get off the ground.
In early 2010 leader of the opposition Will Hodgman spoke out in favour of an environmentally sensitive cable car system, provided it met criteria established by the Mt Wellington Park Trust. However, it has been reported that chairperson for the Trust stated that ‘current plans didn’t allow for cable cars on the pinnacle and an amendment would have to be subject to a feasibility study to determine whether community attitudes have changed.’
To encourage public debate, architectural visualisation studio Bold Impressions, launched a well produced animation of the potential cable car project tiled ‘Hobart Cable Car – It’s Time’ which can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqRdORoOTpY .
May 2011 saw the release of the Tasmanian Legislative Council report on tourism with part of the study concluding that a properly planned and designed cable car scheme for Mt Wellington had the potential to enhance regional tourism.
Taking a look interstate you soon stumble across the Northern Queensland Skyrail Rainforest Cableway announcement of 1994 that saw passions rage over a proposed development through sensitive rainforest between Cains and Kuranda. The project since completed has taken out 24 state, national and international awards in the categories of Tourism and Sustainability.
Most notable among the Skyrail Cableways international accolades include winner of the 1996 EIBTM European Greening of Business Tourism Award for ‘Most Environmentally Conscious Visitor Attraction’ to the 1999 Winner for the Wet Tropics Management Authority Cassowary Award and then there was the 2000 Winner for British Airways ‘Tourism for Tomorrow’ International Environment Award. The once controversial Skyrail Cableway is now a best practice model for ecotourism right from the construction phase through to ongoing operations. North Queensland is now renowned for providing a high quality rainforest ecotourism experience for hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
If the task at hand is to ensure durable access to Mt Wellington’s splendour year round, the paramount objective should be for Mt Wellington Trust management preservation schemes to accommodate innovative projects, if indeed they achieve the smallest ecological footprint. Logically, Hobart stands to benefit in more ways than one by embracing cutting edge proposals, be they conventional or not, in order to heal some of the visible scars and restore a healthy balance between mountain and man.
Tagged: hobart tasmania, mt wellington, mt wellington cable car, mt wellington tasmania