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Lake Pedder
Lake Pedder, once a glacial outwash lake, is a man-made reservoir and diversion lake located in South West Tasmania, Australia. In addition to its natural catchment from the Frankland Range, the lake was formed by the 1972 damming of the Serpentine and Huon Rivers by the Hydro-Electric Commission (TAS) for the purpose of generating hydroelectricity at the Gordon Power Station.
As a result, since 1972 the flooded Lake Pedder has had a surface area approximately 24,133 hectares (59,630 acres), making it Tasmania's second-largest lake.
The original lake was named, in the early part of the 20th century, in honour of Sir John Pedder, the first chief justice of Tasmania. Following its flooding in 1972, the impoundment retained the name of the original lake. Although the new Lake Pedder incorporated the original lake, it does not resemble it in size, appearance, or ecology.[citation needed]
Since 1972, the lake has been fed by releases from three dams:
The dams were designed and constructed by Tasmania's Hydro Electric Commission (HEC) as part of the Upper Gordon River hydroelectric generation scheme. The aim of this scheme was to increase Tasmania's capacity to generate hydroelectricity in accordance with the Tasmanian government's policy of attempting to attract secondary industry[citation needed] to the state with the incentive of cheap,[citation needed] renewable energy. The water in Lake Pedder provides around 40% of the water used in the Gordon Power Station. Water in Lake Pedder is diverted to Lake Gordon (formed by the Gordon Dam) via the McPartlan Pass Canal. After use in the Gordon Power Station, water from Lake Gordon then exits through the Gordon Dam and into the Gordon River. Together, as of June 2015[update], the Pedder and Gordon lakes formed the biggest water catchment and storage system in Australia.
There were protests at the decision to flood the original lake that were held in Tasmania and mainland Australia, before, during, and after construction of the dams. Protests began in 1967 when the Tasmanian government revoked the protection status of the Lake Pedder National Park, in place since 1955. The HEC was perceived as a surrogate wing[weasel words] of the Tasmanian government[citation needed] when political or social dissent against the HEC's power over the Tasmanian environment seemed impregnable.[citation needed] Tasmania's Premier Eric Reece, and Allan Knight, the HEC commissioner, were seen as the leading proponents of the damming of Tasmania against any[citation needed] opinion to the contrary, and were not averse to taking their opinions to statewide and national advertising campaigns asserting their right to dam the lake.
Reece was well known for his staunch support of the HEC and its renewable energy development schemes on the Gordon River, which earned him the epithet "Electric Eric". In 1972, Reece approved the flooding of Lake Pedder, which proceeded despite a determined protest movement and a blank cheque offer from his Labor colleague, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, to preserve the Lake Pedder area. Reece refused Whitlam's offer, stating that he would "not have the federal government interfering with the sovereign rights of Tasmania". Reece retrospectively commented:
There was a National Park out there, but I can't remember exactly where it was ... at least, it wasn't of substantial significance in the scheme of things. The thing that was significant was that we had to double the output of power in this state in 10 years in order [to] supply the demands of industry and the community. And this was the scheme that looked as though it could do a greater part of [the] job for us.
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Lake Pedder
Lake Pedder, once a glacial outwash lake, is a man-made reservoir and diversion lake located in South West Tasmania, Australia. In addition to its natural catchment from the Frankland Range, the lake was formed by the 1972 damming of the Serpentine and Huon Rivers by the Hydro-Electric Commission (TAS) for the purpose of generating hydroelectricity at the Gordon Power Station.
As a result, since 1972 the flooded Lake Pedder has had a surface area approximately 24,133 hectares (59,630 acres), making it Tasmania's second-largest lake.
The original lake was named, in the early part of the 20th century, in honour of Sir John Pedder, the first chief justice of Tasmania. Following its flooding in 1972, the impoundment retained the name of the original lake. Although the new Lake Pedder incorporated the original lake, it does not resemble it in size, appearance, or ecology.[citation needed]
Since 1972, the lake has been fed by releases from three dams:
The dams were designed and constructed by Tasmania's Hydro Electric Commission (HEC) as part of the Upper Gordon River hydroelectric generation scheme. The aim of this scheme was to increase Tasmania's capacity to generate hydroelectricity in accordance with the Tasmanian government's policy of attempting to attract secondary industry[citation needed] to the state with the incentive of cheap,[citation needed] renewable energy. The water in Lake Pedder provides around 40% of the water used in the Gordon Power Station. Water in Lake Pedder is diverted to Lake Gordon (formed by the Gordon Dam) via the McPartlan Pass Canal. After use in the Gordon Power Station, water from Lake Gordon then exits through the Gordon Dam and into the Gordon River. Together, as of June 2015[update], the Pedder and Gordon lakes formed the biggest water catchment and storage system in Australia.
There were protests at the decision to flood the original lake that were held in Tasmania and mainland Australia, before, during, and after construction of the dams. Protests began in 1967 when the Tasmanian government revoked the protection status of the Lake Pedder National Park, in place since 1955. The HEC was perceived as a surrogate wing[weasel words] of the Tasmanian government[citation needed] when political or social dissent against the HEC's power over the Tasmanian environment seemed impregnable.[citation needed] Tasmania's Premier Eric Reece, and Allan Knight, the HEC commissioner, were seen as the leading proponents of the damming of Tasmania against any[citation needed] opinion to the contrary, and were not averse to taking their opinions to statewide and national advertising campaigns asserting their right to dam the lake.
Reece was well known for his staunch support of the HEC and its renewable energy development schemes on the Gordon River, which earned him the epithet "Electric Eric". In 1972, Reece approved the flooding of Lake Pedder, which proceeded despite a determined protest movement and a blank cheque offer from his Labor colleague, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, to preserve the Lake Pedder area. Reece refused Whitlam's offer, stating that he would "not have the federal government interfering with the sovereign rights of Tasmania". Reece retrospectively commented:
There was a National Park out there, but I can't remember exactly where it was ... at least, it wasn't of substantial significance in the scheme of things. The thing that was significant was that we had to double the output of power in this state in 10 years in order [to] supply the demands of industry and the community. And this was the scheme that looked as though it could do a greater part of [the] job for us.