Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park - History

History

The genesis of the Wild Rivers National Park was in the earlier Frenchmans Cap National Park which had the Franklin River as its boundary on the northern and western borders. Frenchmans Cap is a dominant feature in the region, and can be seen on the skyline from the west and north of the park.

The Gordon and Franklin Rivers were the subject of one of Australia's largest conservation battles - the battle to save the Gordon River from being dammed for a hydro-electric scheme.

The Franklin Dam was part of a proposed hydro-electric power scheme that had been in the plans of The Hydro for some time. But it was the enthusiastic endorsement by Robin Gray's Liberal Government which would have seen the river flooded. It became a national issue for the Tasmanian Wilderness Society, led by its director at the time, Bob Brown.

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