SITTING here in our Brisbane residence seems far removed from where we have just come from in the remote southwest region of Melaleuca, Tasmania. The noise of city traffic, jets, glaring streetlights, flushing toilets, dishwashers, washing machines and hot showers is replaced in Melaleuca with a serene environment that is more suited to the flora and fauna of that rugged area than it is to humans. These days the previous small tin mining community in Melaleuca is filled with adventurous hikers, day tourists coming in to see Port Davey, mariners who enjoy the serene Bathurst Harbour, and environmentalists who manage this World Heritage area.
Last year we hiked through this area on the Port Davey Track and fell in love with the history and wilderness that shapes this land (read South by Southwest, GRW Feb-Mar 2021). There remains a group of dedicated locals whose predecessors started the small tin mining industry here, made famous by the stoic characters of Charles, Deny and Margaret King, Peter and Barbara Wilson; Clyde and Win Clayton, to name a few. We
