The West Coast has a rich mining and railway heritage as well as a historic
convict settlement. It is the largest of the 29 Tasmanian councils by area, and the second least densely populated, after the
Central Highlands. It takes in the
West Coast Range as well as portions of the
World Heritage areas. The region experiences relatively extreme weather conditions, notably high yearly rainfall totals due to frontal systems, especially at
Lake Margaret and
Mount Read. West Coast is classified as rural, agricultural and medium (RAM) under the Australian Classification of Local Governments.
History Local government in Western Tasmania evolved from locality based councils created in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries: :
Gormanston Municipal Council (1907–1986) - became part of the Lyell Council :
Lyell Municipal Council (1986–1993) :
Queenstown Municipal Council (1907–1986) - became part of the Lyell Council :
Strahan Municipal Council (1907–1993) :
Zeehan Municipal Council (1907–1993) On 2 April 1993, the municipalities of Lyell, Strahan and Zeehan were amalgamated to form the West Coast Council. Historically the region was more oriented towards the North - due to the main transport being by either rail to
Burnie up until the 1950s and 1960s, or by ship out of Strahan until the mid twentieth century. There were no land based transport routes to the south. Consequently, many residents who could afford shopping trips would go to Melbourne in Victoria, rather than Hobart in Tasmania. Some of the small population is located in the small cluster of towns near
Macquarie Harbour -
Strahan and
Queenstown, these were linked in their connection with the
Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company While further north
Zeehan and
Rosebery are settlements that developed from early quite separate mining operations, but were linked by their reliance upon the
Emu Bay Railway There a number of ghost towns or abandoned mining communities in the West Coast, with some such as
Crotty actually submerged under hydro-electric scheme dams. ==Councillors==