Wild and wonderful

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 09 Desember 2012 | 19.55

BOB Brown clearly remembers the moment he heard Tasmania's South-West Wilderness had been named a World Heritage Area.

It was December 14, 1982, the same day he and other activists started their blockade of the Gordon-below-Franklin dam site to stop the Hydro-Electricity Commission from flooding the Franklin River.

The then Liberal state government had sent its attorney-general to Paris to lobby against the UNESCO listing.

"When the news came through from Paris, it was met with a great deal of joy," Dr Brown said. "We knew it would be important."

He said the decision had given Tasmania a place of international renown, brought millions of dollars into the economy and had created thousands of jobs.

It is difficult to quantify the monetary value of the site, although in 2008 the Federal Government commissioned a study by Gillespie Economics and BDA which estimated that visitors supported 3886 direct and indirect jobs and contributed a total $123.4 million in household income.

With the dam dispute long over, the heritage area concept has become widely accepted.

It has attracted a range of tourism ventures, particularly around Cradle Mountain and the West Coast town of Strahan, where the Federal Group has invested heavily in accommodation, cruises up the Gordon River and the West Coast Wilderness Railway.

Federal Group spokesman Daniel Hanna said his company considered Strahan "an iconic location".

"We believe that World Heritage listing has encouraged the growth of a sustainable tourism industry in Strahan and that the World Heritage Area has received greater appreciation because of the growth of the local tourism industry," Mr Hanna said.

Tourism Council of Tasmania chief executive Luke Martin said the 30th anniversary was an opportunity for the industry to take stock.

"Visitor numbers to national parks and to the West Coast have declined in the past few years," he said.

"We can't take it for granted.

"There is a need for some fresh new product."

West Coast Mayor Darryl Gerrity said it was time for a review of the area's economic and social value for Tasmania and of how it could be used better as an attraction.

"It's like having a grand old heritage house," he said. "It needs maintenance and work."

Dr Brown said he hoped the Tasmanian Forest Agreement would lead to more areas being listed, including the Styx Valley of the Giants, "equivalent to anything in the Redwood National Park in the US", Mt Wellington and the Tarkine area in the far North-West.

philip.heyward@news.com.au

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