Bushwalk Australia

there are rumblings afoot for feasabilty of a cable car up Mt Roland.
Its been about for a while (rumblings ie- Roland a lot longer) but it will no doubt get a mention in the 'looking into tourist potential of Mt Roland' for which there is a $20000 study about to begin.

Personally I am quite happy for places (mountains) currently out of bounds to people unable to walk, to be enjoyed by those that can walk, knowing that is something so special that development of such kind would destroy the very nature of what people go to see a place for.
I know those who have never experienced the solitude and sheer pleasure of being in a place where only way in is to walk will never have that ability, nor comprehension of such beautiful places, best left for future generations in its current state of access etc.

This could apply to any mountain in Tasy - Wellington, Cradle, Frenchmans??
Wonder what others view are.

Yesterday I came away from a beautiful part of NWest surveying parts of upper reaches of Gawler River - in an area where it hasn't seen development (farming) to the river bank.
It was majestic stuff (apart from the flood damage). But those areas are few and far between in the 'developed' parts of Tasy.

I'm not against develoment,(I burn firewood, earnt a good living from wood products from Tasy's beautiful timbers etc, enjoyed the managed State Forest areas) but often we throw out the baby with the bath water, so to speak and overlook the value of a 'natural asset'.
It saddens me that after 160 years of intensive development that Tasmania is fast heading to be somewhere where these areas are mere history.
My work hat back on - I frequently read the grant surveys (surveys of original land grants) made in 1850's+ and read things such as 'covered in dense bush, gums, stringy bark, sassfrass, myrtle, dogwood, well watered, 1 pound an acre (value)' Often large trees get mentioned - 20+ metre circumference.
Those same areas today are devoid of any of the rainforest type trees we know and yet they were in abundance to low altitudes.
Its a difficult act to balance these things but in the farmed (civilised/ settled) areas close to towns we are running out and what will be left is anyones guess.

This comes up every few months down South for one on Wellington as well. Has been going on for many years.
Personally I think it would be an eyesore and I do not agree with the thought behind it.

One of the main issues down here was they wanted the tourists to be able to experience the snow without the drive up. Problem is with the wind chill it's often -10 -20 even lower on the summit of Wello. how many interstate or international tourists are going to be able to handle that??

Get a plow, and plow the road every time there is a decent dump of snow and let em drive up!! We do not need a cable car!!

And as far as one on Roland goes.. i've walked Roland and it is one of the best mtns I have climbed. Im not sure how often or how much snow holds on Roland, but surely the same principles apply? There are several good walking tracks up Roland. Maintain them and look after what we have! Last thing we need is more litter scattered across the classic peaks in Tassie!!!

While there are places where a cable car would be feasible without having too much impact on the area, Roland isn't one. And a big ditto on luvverboy's rant about Wello, too.

Surely they can find somewhere to do this where it won't wreck the place? I didn't like the idea of the Skyway up to Kuranda but, having been on it and seen it from a distance, it proves that in the right place one can be built and operated sensitively.

It's not a real mountain if there's not some crack-pot who wants to put a cable car up it. Mt Wellington, Mt Roland, Mt Featerthop, Mt Buffalo, even the Caples Valley in NZ.

Don't worry too much, the $ won't add up.

JamesMc

C'mon guys, put a road up it.

why bother with the plow?.... if the gates r shut then they can see the snow from there! if they wanna walk up then they can....

taswegian wrote:.... it will no doubt get a mention in the 'looking into tourist potential of Mt Roland' for which there is a $20000 study about to begin.

I wonder if there is still a budget now that Lara has decided we are broke. I haven't read the full list of cuts yet, but I imagine this sort of thing will have a low priority for a while.

I am against this, I agree that places like this should be kept as pristine as possible. And a Cable car a kiosk etc will add litter, animal and ecological problems. Keep Roland Cable free!

I have a lovely view of Roland from my house, and I'll fight tooth and nail to keep it free of cable cars.

Here's a link http://www.cradlecoast.com/documents/MountRoland-DevelopingaDestination-finalbrief.pdf to the official document - its a pdf for those interested.
Whilst no mention is made of specifics the talk amongst some vocals involved with tourism here is for a cable car. This would be in their best interests as it will 'draw people to Kentish'. It will get high priority from them and no doubt many in the community.

It will be interesting discussion as the value of just its (Roland's)presence is enough to draw people now.
Interestingly the document highlights the mistaken identity with Cradle and its high visibility from many areas.
So obviously any road, cable car would also be visible from many areas.
Perhaps a new high voltage line over the top would see what side of the fence people sit on! Wow - that could nearly span to Deloraine and Devonport without any intermediates.

I agree with several here - the money will have an influence on the deciding factor, but it shouldn't, won't come down to that.

Oh boy- I'm going to start getting my Greenieness going. I downloaded that study- the sited reason for it (drop in tourism numbers) is shocking rubbish- classic spindoctorism. Ohhhhhhhh this shire makes me angry.

(Thinking of turning green like the Hulk...)

What is the source of the 'rumblings'?

the Lavender farm and Eagles Nest - both have been vocal in that 'what Kentish need's jibes.
Lavender farm bloke has written an essay on it. Think it was in a local (free) rag - Devonport Times?

The thing about all this tourism stuff is, they are 'here today gone tomorrow' types, to be replaced by another lot tomorrow.
I'm not rubbishing tourists - I've been one heaps of times. But we don't exist as 'tourists' and yet we seem to have to pander to their needs at the detriment of the community.
What they come to see we destroy by way of 'enhancement' so they can have more and stay longer. (not all the time I will add)

How boring is it at Cradle Mt - no night entertainment, no pinball machines, no Casino. What does one do with one self?
I'm waiting for the day when Macca's wants to open and perhaps a Disney show or similar. I reckon that would draw the city slickers in for another night ot two at least.

Just found some links
http://www.timwilson.org/cable-car/comment-page-1/

This ones a mouthful
http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCAQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kentish.tas.gov.au%2Fwebdata%2Fresources%2Ffiles%2FAT_COUNCIL_last-_October.pdf&rct=j&q=cable%20car%20up%20mount%20roland&ei=7wNZTbqPFoLCcbqsnKMM&usg=AFQjCNHnETWjOnZCYq2BzZu-YKAZFvyCVA&cad=rja
from above 'Access to Mount Roland’s summit has been raised a number of times in the past, with
roads to the summit proposed in 1932, 1958 and 1999.
Councillor Inder recently asked both the Kentish Council Economic Development
Committee (EDC) and the Cradle Coast Authority (CCA) to consider a cable car
development on Mount Roland.

Quoted from a 'newsletter'
SOME THOUGHTS ON THE PLACEMENT AND OPERATION OF A
CABLE CAR UP TO THE TOP OF MOUNT ROLAND
By Brian Inder

An engineering firm has already looked at it and declared it would be in the top ten of all the cable car
enterprises in the world, and that nowhere is there a cable car that is not viable. It could be constructed
for 25 million with their funds.
They have declared that cable car trips are not overly price sensitive so that a commission of $l-$2 per
passenger paid to Council by some mechanism would be entirely feasible.
This money could easily amount to one million dollars per annum in the future. Not a bad little earner.

Not sure how the maths (return to council) works on this last one?

Hmmm yer, dont like the thought of it much really.
I would think that (onto the back of) Mt Wellington would come up first (at least it would decrease the need for all the cars going up there and have a chance of making a $)
I cant really see Mt Roland ever getting up and running...

According to a reliable friend who knows someone in Kentish Shire Council, the Cable Car is a done deal- already put through the back doors of Hobart via the Gunns route. I have no idea if this is true, but I'm going to fight like all get up if it is. This is my post on Tim Wilson's blog, which I thank him for posting.

As a newish Kentish family, my wife and I were horrified when we first heard the Cable Car scheme. We have previously lived on the Gold Coast and in Alpine Shire, Victoria, both of which were plagued by cable car schemes, we are well-familiar with all the ups and downs of these proposals. They fail on environmental grounds, if nothing else. The scheme on the Gold Coast even proposed dropping towers in via helicopters, so new roads did not have to be cut. Still, it was knocked back on environmental grounds.

There are multiple reasons why a cable cart is a bad decision for Mt Roland. First, it cannot be built without destroying the scenic and environmental significance of the mountain. Second, it will only be usable over limited periods of time due to high winds and poor weather that often effects the plateau. Even if the chairlift was able to be operated 12 months out of a year, how attractive will it be to tourists who aren’t as used to our weather. Third, not enough has been done to develop Mt Roland as an eco-tourism destination, such as putting in properly maintained trails, and the rest of the Shire is not being adequately marketed, with major attractions such as Lake Barrington and cottage industries such as Tazmazia, vineyards and other farm gate sales being adequately promoted. Focus on them, and support what you have.

Also, Sheffield itself has a very poor street scape, despite the large amount of money spent on this. A cohesive tree planting program, garden grants, garden and streetscape competitions, and so on would do more to enhance the Sheffield experience than a cable car.

Council should be spending its money fixing the neglected flood mitigation works, and not wasting it on cable car schemes.

I have a Masters Degree in Environmental Management and a Doctorate of Law, and I will fight a cable car with every ounce of experience and energy I have. Many others will join me.

This type of thing time and time again has turned out to be unviable, one example is Queenslands Gold Coast at the Springbrook Plateau which through years of protests failed. There is much value in the preservation of the landscape in its natural form, which after all this is what people come here to see. Rather than these short sighted tactics of trying to capture cashed up tourists in the few months that a cable car might be able to run safely, why not upgrade the current track opening up the opportunity to more walkers.
Then there is the question of cost, both the construction costs which have to be recouped, ongoing maintenance of the complex infrastructure all of which will have to translate into an appropriate cost per head, and still a huge cost to council. So this begs the question will it truly be affordable?. Yes I would have to agree the panorama at the summit is amazing on a good day, but there are numerous more that there is nothing but cloud, and who would want to pay for that?. Here is a hypothetical, what happens if the council can not afford to operate it soon after opening a bailout? privatisation?. Parks & Wildlife with their extremely limited budget will never be able to take over operation nor should they as I see it as a clear conflict of interest. I am of the understanding that this is not a national park well maybe it should be!

Australians Against Roland Cable Car
A.A.R.C.C

They had a chairlift in Queenstown for a while, but I think that got dismantled and sold.
(Points the finger at a "similar enterprise that failed").

My wife spoke to the Deputy Mayor today, who assured her that there is not even a proposal before council at the moment, and they have only just been given a report about it.

Drifting wrote:My wife spoke to the Deputy Mayor today, who assured her that there is not even a proposal before council at the moment, and they have only just been given a report about it.

This may well be true but it will be fore council soon as they would not have commissioned the report otherwise. We should find out what meeting it is going to be tabled and should make a presence.

Genesis

I'll look into it.

A survey has been distributed to residents of rthe Kentis area, which includes Mounts Roland, Van Dyke and Claude. The survey canvasses resident reactions and comments on a hefty raft of proposals. These include such blindingly bright ideas as the cable car, a flying fox , a helicopter service to the top and a restaurant on the mountain itself. The proponents obviously have lots of imagination, and that of course is admirable, as long as the ends are good ones. However, one wonders what their chief motivation might be. It would be uncharitable to suppose that it might be greed.

The horrible thought occurs to me that the cable car proposal, and some of the other curiosities like the helicopter flights, restaurant and flying fox, might all just be cunning schemes intended to stir up controversy so that the proponents who operate businesses in the Kentish district may be called upon for comment and so obtain some very wide publicity, very cheaply (cheaply for them, that is - alas, however, not for the public purse which allegedly is meeting the cost of $20,000 - at least - for a possibly sham survey).

Drifting wrote:I'll look into it.

Still looking into it?

It should be obvious to the slowest of minds by now that the survey promotion is just an ingenious scam, designed to stir up publicity for the area. No sensible business person would sincerely put forward the crackpot schemes for a cable car and other mechanised interferences with genuine enjoyment by residents of, and visitors - including of course, bushwalkers - to the mountain areas.

Goodness knows- but I do know the cable car has been talked about for years. Most locals don't seem to take it seriously, but one of the councilors is mad keen on it, and he's pushing it. I'd love to say it wouldn't go, but you can never really tell...

Welcome by the way, Tasrob!

This is a topic which people clearly have strong opinions on, and it does have the potential to get political, so I just wanted to remind people of the forums rule regarding discussion of politics here:

Rules wrote:Political content unrelated to bushwalking is not permitted, either for or against any particular issue, party, person or organisation.

Discussion of these issues is good (they are clearly related to a bushwalking area), but please be careful to avoid letting the discussion get political in the sense of being for/against any particular politician, party, etc. Ie, try to keep discussion about the issues, rather than the people.

The Mt Claude area around the lookout, up the fire trail and down into the valley between there and Olivers Hill is pretty degraded. I would have thought this a more obvious place to start looking if any further development was looked at (out of 'view' and there is already a road through there).

I can imagine local indifference to either side of such proposals as a a cable car... wake me when the real money starts changing hands, 'proposals' and 'surveys' are similar to job search diaries arent they... being Seen to be doing 'something' in the absence of any real 'progress' from either side...?

or is it a distraction for the public from the west wellington logging or 3 capes track issues- look at the pretty mountain up here..... while we log the hills around huonville and west wellington....

Son of a Beach wrote:This is a topic which people clearly have strong opinions on, and it does have the potential to get political, so I just wanted to remind people of the forums rule regarding discussion of politics here:

Rules wrote:Political content unrelated to bushwalking is not permitted, either for or against any particular issue, party, person or organisation.

Discussion of these issues is good (they are clearly related to a bushwalking area), but please be careful to avoid letting the discussion get political in the sense of being for/against any particular politician, party, etc. Ie, try to keep discussion about the issues, rather than the people.

I'll behave

Liamy77 wrote:..... while we log the hills around huonville and west wellington....

and more than half of eastern and northern Tasmania too.
Why not develop a cable car around Legggggges Tor, say over Jacobs Ladder. This area has already been ruined by development, but yet very few people seem to utilise this area in summer (probably due to the ugliness of the ski area). As Mount Roland is very close to Cradle Mountain and certainly wouldn't have the pulling power of that area.

Took a stroll up yesterday - great day all round and despite the mist really enjoyable.
Some pics of a few highlights of the day - some obviously would not be seen other than by Shanks's pony.




The wild flowers were still very beautiuful, some in seeding mode.