Tullah
Tullah began life as a mining town named Mount Farrell, established in year 1900 after silver lead ore was discovered in the area. Today, it is a relaxed lakeside village in remote setting surrounded by a beautiful landscape of lakes, rivers and the forested slopes of Mount Farrell and Mount Murchison.
The town was extended southwards by the HEC in the 1970s as a hydro electric power scheme construction town during the making of the Pieman Scheme in the 1970s, and then again in 1990s when its population reached 2500, however, it is now mainly a community at the edge of Lake Rosebery and a fishing location. The town is roughly divided into two "suburbs", an older northern and a younger, more planned out southern. the northern half was originally a mining town called Mount Farrell, established in 1900. Prior to adequate roads being built in the area, Tullah was serviced only by the Wee Georgie Wood Railway under its earlier name of the North Farrell Tramway.
Where Is it?: Tullah is a town in the northern part of the West Coast Range, on the west coast of Tasmania, about 111 km south of Burnie.
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Around Town
Lake Mackintosh was created in 1980 by the damming of the Mackintosh River. Both lakes lie on the western edge of the Southwest Conservation Area surrounded by stunning scenery including rainforest and open sedgeland.Views of Mt. Farrell and Mt Romulus from Lake Mackintosh can be breathtaking.
Like many Hydro Tasmania lakes, Lake Rosebery and Lake Mackintosh contain superb brown and rainbow trout. You can launch your boat at either lake and spend the day fishing or enjoy a picnic on the shore.
Lake Mackintosh is accessed by taking the A10, where 1 kilometre north of Tullah Village take a right turn off the highway and follow the road over the dam wall. The camping area Lake Mackintosh is found 6 kilometres from the highway, where after a right turn you will find a large camping area, that is flat and grassed. A 2nd camping location can be found beside the boat ramp. Please Note: This campsite is not accessible when dam water is being released. Lake Mackintosh camping is suitable campervans, caravans and motorhomes. Please note this camping location is suitable only for fully self-sufficient campers, as there are no facilities. Lake Mackintosh is stocked with trout. You can launch a boat at any of a series of boat ramps on the Lake and spend the day fishing (Licenses required). You can also enjoy a picnic or barbecue on the shore.
Camping Information: Camping Tasmania
Mt Cripps and Lake Mackintosh from the Lake Mackintosh campng area
Lake Rosebery provides excellent opportunities for shore based angling particularly around the eastern shores near Tullah and to the north-east of the Bastyan Dam. A boat can be useful to explore less accessible areas of the lake and to target wind lanes in open water. The lake is subject to regular water level fluctuations. Casting from a drifting boat and trolling are the preferred methods for lure anglers. For the fly angler the summer months are best when fish can be found rising to midges or chasing mudeyes. Beetle falls are also a feature during summer and autumn when trout can be found rising along the shores or in the wind lanes. Bait fishing at dusk and into the evening with live mudeyes and floating grubs can be very productive on warm nights.
Lake Mackintosh is primarily a boat fishing lake however opportunities for shore based angling exist particularly around Mackintosh Dam and Tullarbardine Dam.The lake is subject to regular water level fluctuations of up to 10 m. Casting from a drifting boat and trolling are the preferred methods for lure anglers. The best spots for boat fishing are the sheltered Brougham Inlet and the long narrow arm to the north where theVale and Fury rivers enter the lake. Rainbow trout tend to congregate near the inlet at Tunnel End. For the fly angler the summer and autumn months are best when fish can be found rising in wind lanes or chasing mudeyes around the flooded timber.
Take a nostalgic train ride with us and experience what it was like to travel to an isolated Tasmanian West Coast community in the early 20th century. The railway's 1924 steam locomotive, Wee Georgie Wood, is in operation on scheduled weekends over the summer season. A twenty minute train ride will take you through the historic town site of Tullah which is located in the mountainous temperate rain forests of Tasmania's West Coast. The scenery is breathtaking and the history fascinating.
Prior to adequate roads being built in the area, it was serviced by the Wee Georgie Wood Railway under its earlier name of the North Farrell Tramway. The Wee Georgie Wood Steam Railway is the only operating two foot guage Steam Railway on the West Coast of Tasmania. It is hauled by a 1925 Romeo Mechanical Locomotive used on the Lake Margaret Tramway until 1964. The train operates on the first Sunday plus the last Saturday and Sunday of each month for season October to June. Rides commence at 10:00am and finish by 4:00pm , the trip takes approx 25 minutes.
The railway originally had three locomotives, Wee Georgie Wood, Wee Mary Wood and a Krauss engine named "Puppy". Wee Mary Wood was never restored and its chassis is currently in the Ida Bay/Lune River area. Prior to working in Tullah, Puppy worked in the Duck River region of the state and was eventually bought by the North Mt Farrell Co. The name "Puppy" was given due to its high pitched whistle, but it was originally Krauss number 2640 of 1892. The engine was eventually sold to Ida Bay in the 1930s where it still is today. The majority of the original track is now under the waters of Lake Rosebery but a short length of track close to the Murchison Highway is still in use by the Wee Georgie Wood Railway, along with some rolling stock.
Wee Georgie Wood Steam Railway is located on the Murchison Highway in Tullah.
This is an interesting short walk that starts on a signposted track in the small town of Tullah. Initial walking is through forest and climbs steeply after passing a few old mines. Around 35 minutes, and you re out onto a button grass clad ridge. At the track junction, take the right branch, as the other one takes a lower route to the other side of the range and Lake Herbert. Continue climbing and the track makes the top of the ridge, and there s some views of Lake Mackintosh to the east.
The track follows the ridge south over a few ups and downs to the summit. There are a few patches of scrub, but the track avoids most of these and is easy to follow. The summit offers some good views of Mt Murchison, Tullah and the nearby Lake Herbert. The summit of Mount Farrell (712 m) offers views across to Cradle Mountain and Lake St Clair National Park. The walk to the top is relatively short (3 km each way) but in that short distance the track rises 500 metres, so it is for experienced walkers.
