The Tarkine

By Cate Weate

HOBART — The Tarkine wilderness, a 350,000-hectare area in north-west Tasmania, is the largest tract of cool temperate rainforest left in Australia and home to many endangered species, wild and scenic rivers, ancient cultural heritage, rugged mountains and an awesome coastline.

The Tarkine should be allocated as World Heritage Area or national park. Instead, with the blessing of the state government, it is being logged.

In a new direction in environmentalists' campaign to save the Tarkine, Club Tarkine has been formed with the aim of educating more people about this magnificent area as a way to create a public mandate for the protection and management of the Tarkine wilderness. Club Tarkine is supported by the Wilderness Society and the Tarkine National Coalition and is designed to highlight the beauty and value of the Tarkine, but also to educate people about the threats to wilderness areas throughout the world.

Club Tarkine also aims to have the "road to nowhere" (built to allow access to the area by logging companies) closed and rehabilitated. The club's "Tarkine Experience" program, which offers a wide range of guided activities, from bus tours and day walks to remote wilderness bushwalking trips, will therefore avoid using the road. A tree village, located close to but outside the wilderness area, will serve as an eco-friendly hub of art, fun and information.

For more information or to book your Tarkine Experience, call Club Tarkine on (03) 6334 4455 or write to 174 Charles St, Launceston 7250.

From GLW issue 258