A lighthouse at Hell's Gate, Strahan, Tasmania
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (325758)
Rockingham, Australia
June 20, 2018 9:18pm CST
While in Tasmania on holidays, we had two nights in Strahan on the west coast. Only half an hour from Strahan is Queenstown which was once a thriving mining town. Copper is still mined there. Some years ago we travelled on a rack-and-pinion railway between the two towns. The land here is rugged with some very mountainous sections.
Queenstown was once like a moonscape as nothing would grow on the land that had been mined. The rivers had also been deprived of all life because of the chemicals used in the mining industry. Huge efforts are now being made to restore the vegetation.
Strahan lies on Macquarie Harbour which is six times as large as Sydney Harbour. However the entrance to the harbour is very narrow and known as Hell’s Gate. Because of the dangerous entrance to the harbour, it has never been fully developed.
Sarah Island has a tragic and violent history as it was once a penal settlement for the worst of the convicts bought to Australia. I’ll write more about these places later but for now here is a photo of a lighthouse on an island right at Hell’s Gate.
11 people like this
13 responses
@mlgen1037 (29886)
• Manila, Philippines
21 Jun 18
Hi Judy. There is something about that lighthouse. It is stunningly lovely. Serene and mysterious.
3 people like this
@mlgen1037 (29886)
• Manila, Philippines
21 Jun 18
@JudyEv hehehe. Maybe but you will always see the calmness of the sea. 
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325758)
• Rockingham, Australia
21 Jun 18
Lighthouses must have saved hundreds of lives over the years.
@peavey (16936)
• United States
21 Jun 18
I have heard of Hell's Gate but didn't know much about it. That's a really cool picture of the lighthouse.
I sometimes wonder what people thinking when they destroyed environments like that. It has happened all over the world and it's not all that easy to fix.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325758)
• Rockingham, Australia
26 Jun 18
It was a very dangerous entrance to the harbour. And the convicts believed Sarah Island to be Hell on earth so the name made sense to them too.
@WorDazza (15833)
• Manchester, England
21 Jun 18
I suspect some of my ancestors may have spent time on Sarah Island.
It's tragic how are failures to understand (or maybe even failure to care about) what we were doing to the environment is still causing problems many years down the line. Glad they are trying to restore some sort of natural balance to the place once more.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325758)
• Rockingham, Australia
21 Jun 18
I often thought I'd like to live in a lighthouse but I guess I'd eventually get sick of climbing the stairs.
@JamesHxstatic (29242)
• Eugene, Oregon
21 Jun 18
Beautiful photo and very interesting. Too bad about all the pollution.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325758)
• Rockingham, Australia
21 Jun 18
It isn't really the prettiest of towns as much of the landscape is very barren but there are signs that it is recovering.
@andriaperry (116860)
• Anniston, Alabama
21 Jun 18
Pretty lighthouse. Does the chemicals destroy th dirt as well?.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325758)
• Rockingham, Australia
21 Jun 18
The vegetation is slowly growing back now. I think the contaminated rivers are more of a concern.
@JohnRoberts (109857)
• Los Angeles, California
21 Jun 18
The natural terrain can be restored with effort.
1 person likes this
