Geography

In this collection of anecdotal observations, the geography of the Lake St Clair area is explored through the voices of its first European visitors. As you read their observations, make note of what they say about the geography of the area – mountains, valleys, the lake etc. From these notes, create a representation, by drawing or using ICT, of Lake St Clair showing your interpretation of the quotes.

These primary sources can be found in Tasmanian visions: Landscapes in writing, art and photography, edited by R. D. Haynes.

William Sharland, 1832Governmental Surveyor and first European to visit Lake St Clair

‘The lake – which I called Gordon Lake – is surrounded, as far as I could see, with almost inaccessible mountains upon which the snow still remained. The lake appeared to extend between these high mountains in a north-westerly direction, the first point being about three miles distant.’

George Frankland, 1835

‘I will not dilate on the extreme beauty of the scenery as it might be considered out of place in an official Report, but I must confess that while narrating the circumstances of the journey, I feel inspired by the first discovery of such romantic Country, impressions which revive even in cold narrative.

 ‘I believe that every man in the party felt more [or] less the calm influence of this scenery and to all, this day’s journey was a matter of recreation.

 ‘The view from this point [Mt Olympus] was beyond all description, the whole of Lake St Clair lay at our feet with its beautiful bays and golden beaches, and in addition we could descry at least twenty other lakes of various dimensions in different parts of the panorama; two in particular attracted our especial notice and admiration by their beauty. … I named these lakes Petrarch and Laura.’

David Burn, 1842

‘The stupendous mountains that environ this lake, prevent its being seen from any distance … A magnificent mountain [Mt Olympus] rises abruptly from a north-west angle of the lake, its summit presenting the appearance of a gigantic castle, with donjon, battlement, and curtain wall, its rugged front frowning a proud defiance to every wintry blast. …the slanting beams of a cloudless sun fast speeding to his ocean-couch bathed every pinnacled steep with a glorious flood of purple dye. Each crag, each hollow, shone bright with gold, else were lost in the mighty obscurity of fathomless shade, filling the mind with imaginings too deep for words.’

James Backhouse Walker, 1887

‘The lake, or rather the mountains round it were covered with flying clouds and mist, and perhaps this added grandeur to the effect, as the snow showers passed over and great peak after peak loomed through the gloom, forming a splendid vista of mountains seen through a gap between two high wooded hills that rise steeply from opposite shores near the south end of the lake. We all agreed we had seen nothing so fine in Tasmania, and that if only it were better known, and access to it made more easy, crowds of tourists would every year make it their resort.’