Tag Archives: Glenora

Glorious photos of Meadowbank Lake

 

Meadowbank Lake is the last expanse of water that has been dammed for hydro power generation purposes, before Hobart.  A good, but narrow bitumen road (Ellendale Road) crosses Meadowbank Lake near its inland western extremity.

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This glorious sight is easily accessible from the Lyell Highway on the northern/eastern side of the Derwent River, or via the tiny towns of Glenora and Ellendale on the southern/western side.

Looking westwards:

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Looking eastwards:

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I have written about Meadowbank Lake before and previously included photos.  The photos in this post were taken one day after completing a walk further inland. I was being driven back to Hobart along the Lyell Highway, and then we deviated by crossing the Lake and proceeding to Ellendale to buy freshly picked raspberries and blueberries.

Only on one occasion have I passed by this Lake under cloud.  Even then, the more sombre colour of the Lake and the less vivid greens, greys and beiges of the landscape were still most attractive.  There are picnic spots either side of the Lake, and public toilets on the Lyell Highway side.  A wonderful location for solo or family visits.

Meadowbank Dam and Power Station

Meadowbank Dam and Power Station, as part of Hydro Tasmania’s electricity generating facilities, are located the closest of their properties to Hobart.  Access to the Dam is restricted.

East of the Dam, Meadowbank Dam Road makes the connection with the Lyell Highway but this is a locked gate gravel roadway.  Meadowbank Road is a quite different road; this public gravel road exits the Gordon River Road west of the tiny township of Glenora and travels in a north-westerly direction, but mostly not close to the Derwent River – so that it isn’t reasonable to be used as the conduit to ‘walk the river’. Before reaching the Dam, the road passes Meadowbank Vineyard and acres of vines under cultivation. However, access is restricted: there are quite a few lockable gates barring continuation to the Dam.

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The first unit of the Meadowbank Power Station was commissioned in 1967. This was the last such operation to be built in Tasmania.  Photos are on show on Hydro Tasmania’s website and more details are available on their Fact Sheet .  The CSIRO library holds another photo taken from a different vantage point.

I am grateful for Alex driving me as close as we could go by car.