Tag Archives: Service Tasmania

The euphoria continues

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Yesterday a friend An drove me up along the Derwent River where we stopped off at a few dams, power stations and lakes. I was studying the terrain at ground level (our most recent Service Tasmania maps are aged and Google Earth photos are not current either), seeing where forestry and hydro tracks existed and determining where I will need to make my way through bush ‘with walls’. I can see a line of fiction here – turning an almost impassable density of bush into a character (an evil character – even though the bush is sublimely beautiful and bountiful) that has to be overcome.  My strategy will be as always, one slow step at a time and then the bush won’t even know I have come and gone (although my muscles will).

I walked some small sections yesterday, but I won’t write them up until I have walked in the areas westwards from Gretna to those sections.  I know now that it is difficult for some local readers to understand where I have been and therefore, if I change the blog posts from being a chronological record, it may be even more unclear.  Besides, by writing the stories in order and finishing with the last walk to the source it will be clear I have walked the Derwent.

Yesterday explorations and walks were as uplifting as the previous day’s flight; it was as equally wonderful, just different.  I feel gushy with delight when I am in the bush on a blue sky day, with no wind, and with a temp that rises sufficiently but not so that I boil.  Once I am sitting on rocks in the river bed with my lunch, listening to the birds, and sensing the spirit of the place, my life feels so right.  This is the place for me.

Then, despite the day’s experiences already being a treat, life added a new wonderful surprise.  Recently one of my blog followers, Justy, alerted me to the fact she and her partner were engaged in creating a new work of art for GASP beside the Derwent River at Glenorchy, a city in the Greater Hobart Area.  As part of their project, they had already walked along the Derwent River in Cumbria, England and now were planning to walk from the sea to the source of the Derwent early next year.  I hadn’t met them and only communicated a few times by email.  But yesterday, as An drove me towards Cluny Dam, I saw two women step from their car.  I waved and smiled as you do on a country road. As we drove on, I said to An “I bet they’re the two women who are engaged in the GASP project, out conducting a reconnaissance trip”. There was no reason to believe this except I felt I knew it to be the truth (the bush works its miracles). Nevertheless we continued on and had parked near the northern end of Cluny Lagoon when the two women drove past us. Again we waved. On a later road we found ourselves coming towards each other from opposite directions, so An waved them to a stop. The women looked at us queryingly. “Are either of you Justy or Margaret? we asked.” “Yes”, they responded. Instantly I called out, “I’m Helen”.  Their nod of acknowledgement followed. And then we all poured out of our cars, and hugged and had a lively chat standing on a dusty road in strong Spring sunlight. It was a brilliant unexpected meeting and capped off what had been a day of immense discovery and pleasure.

Best wishes for your project Justy and Margaret!

Limited access roads, and limited direct access to the river from the land: Stage 14 of my walk along the Derwent River

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A few times during my Stage 14 walk I noticed a sign ‘Limited Access Road’ and sometimes another sign indicating the Roads and Jetties Act 1935. This was true, for example, in the Sorell Creek area as I walked to New Norfolk. I wondered if this was Tasmanian state legislation affecting land ownership to the edge of the Derwent River.  Blog followers will have read my annoyance at not being able to walk along the exact river edge from time to time, because private property occupies the space and this is often gated and fenced. On my return home from the Stage 14 walk, I delved deeply into various pieces of legislation and other sites. This is what I discovered.

At http://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/publications/river-access-angler-rights-and-responsibilities, I learned that angler rights and responsibilities were as follows: “All anglers have an important role in maintaining good relations between landowners and the angling community. Firstly, anglers should understand that access is a privilege not a right, and secondly, when in doubt, ask permission. In Tasmania, most private land titles extend to the bank of the river and some titles extend to the middle of the river. This can mean that you may be trespassing, which is a criminal offence, even if you are wading in the river.

Rivers also flow through public land such as Crown Reserves, State Forests, National Parks, Hydro property and Conservation Areas. Whilst public access is usually permitted, different entry conditions may apply depending on the management authority.

The Inland Fisheries Service has been working to develop access to angling waters with a focus on improving foot access to major river fisheries. Much of this has involved negotiating with landowners and establishing formal agreements regarding access for anglers. Access points are now clearly marked with signs at the access locations on seven major river fisheries around the State.

Apart from registered private fisheries, Tasmania’s fishery is public property – the fish are not the property of the landowner. However, the land that surrounds public water is subject to title and the rights of the landowner to control access to the river or lake is at their discretion. Anglers must ensure that they are on public land or that they have sought the permission of the landowner to access the river or lake they wish to fish.

The majority of lakes in Tasmania exist on Hydro Tasmania or reserve land (Crown, National Parks etc) and public access is generally permitted across the land to the lakes and around the lake shores. Hydro does control access to areas where there is infrastructure or there are safety issues with public access. These areas are generally signposted with appropriate warnings.

Rivers generally traverse a number of different land tenures along their length, which may be a combination of reserves and private land. Land title generally extends to the edge of the river, and occasionally to the middle of the river. Land tenure can be searched on the LIST Tasmanian Property Database (www.thelist.tas.gov.au). Another useful tool is the Tasmanian 1:25000 map series, available from Service Tasmania. These show river reserves where they exist and anglers are permitted to access these areas provided they do not have to cross private property to reach them. The most important principle is ‘Access is a privilege not a right – when in doubt ask permission’.”

Stiles across fences have been installed for anglers and I saw a few of these during Stage 14 of my walk along the Derwent River.  These usefully provide access to sections but do not allow a continuous uninterrupted walk along the river’s edge.

 Stile jpeg

An 2007 article on the site http://www.exploroz.com/Forum/Topic/45914/Public_access_to_waterways_on_private_land.aspx

confirms this situation is similar across Australia, and it debunks some myths.

How does this get changed to allow easy public access to the river in Tasmania?  The permission must come from a State government minister under the Crowns Act 1976 (http://www.thelaw.tas.gov.au/tocview/index.w3p;cond=;doc_id=28%2B%2B1976%2BGS74%40EN%2B20131211000000;histon=;prompt=;rec=;term=). Clause 57 states: “Reservation of land abutting on streams. Where, in the opinion of the Minister, it is desirable to reserve Crown land –

(a) abutting on any permanent river, stream, or lake; or

(b) that is contiguous to the sea or an estuary –

he shall reserve, from any sale of that Crown land, land to the extent of at least 15 metres in width on each bank of the river, stream, lake, or the high-water mark of the sea or estuary.” I cannot imagine any government minister taking ‘rights’ away from current owners, so the chances of my lobbying successfully for a clear walking path next to the Derwent River are probably zero and zilch.

By the way, the interpretation clauses of the Roads and Jetties Act 1935 includes: a “country road means a road not being or forming portion of a State highway or subsidiary road, but does not include a street in any town”. I was reminded of an earlier post which tried to determine how a ‘back road’ might be defined.