Three Views of the First Basin
Three comparative views of the South Esk River running through the Cataract Gorge. We are looking towards the First Basin and suspension bridge. The photo on the left was taken on an early morning in May 2020 at the end of a dry autumn. The one on the right was taken late in the afternoon of September 2019. You'll notice that this part of the gorge is largely shaded all day.
The centre shot shows the recent flooding in the Cataract Gorge as the waters were still rising. Now that the rain has stopped water levels are gradually returning to normal levels. Historically however, the centre photo represents something closer to the normal flow of the South Esk River prior to the building of the Trevellyn Dam in the early 1950s.
At the time this was one of the earliest conservation struggles in Tasmania. It was lost, as was the loss of the priceless wilderness around Lake Pedder in the early 1970s. The environmental tide turned however, with the successful anti-dams campaign in the lead-up to the 1983 Australian national elections. No dam has been built in Tasmania since.
* All photos taken with the Nikon D850.
Three Views of the First Basin
Three comparative views of the South Esk River running through the Cataract Gorge. We are looking towards the First Basin and suspension bridge. The photo on the left was taken on an early morning in May 2020 at the end of a dry autumn. The one on the right was taken late in the afternoon of September 2019. You'll notice that this part of the gorge is largely shaded all day.
The centre shot shows the recent flooding in the Cataract Gorge as the waters were still rising. Now that the rain has stopped water levels are gradually returning to normal levels. Historically however, the centre photo represents something closer to the normal flow of the South Esk River prior to the building of the Trevellyn Dam in the early 1950s.
At the time this was one of the earliest conservation struggles in Tasmania. It was lost, as was the loss of the priceless wilderness around Lake Pedder in the early 1970s. The environmental tide turned however, with the successful anti-dams campaign in the lead-up to the 1983 Australian national elections. No dam has been built in Tasmania since.
* All photos taken with the Nikon D850.