Gowrie Park and Sheffield

An abandoned village and a town of murals

15.02.2013 - 17.02.2013 25 °C

We camped at the small village of Gowrie Park which is located 16 km south of Sheffield and used to be a hydro construction village in the 60's. The construction of the Mersey-Forth Power Development Scheme in 1963 saw the town grow dramatically to about 3000 inhabitants. In 1969 there were 1800 people working on the project. After the completion of the power scheme - seven dams and seven power stations - in 1973 the town's population declined rapidly to a handful today. The streets are abandoned with only a few residential homes, a caravan-cabin park and a restaurant left. The restaurant serves excellent food. The scenery in the area is stunning with Mt. Roland and Mt. Vandyke dominating the southern horison. At our campsite (Gowrie Park Wilderness Park) we saw many Tasmanian pademelons who were very inquisitive and liked to have close inspection of the Quantum.

We took a drive to the delightful little town Sheffield which has huge and fascinating murals on every available blank wall in town. The first mural in Sheffield was unveiled in December 1986. Since then over sixty murals depicting the area's rich history and beautiful natural scenery have been painted on walls scattered throughout the town and buildings along the roadside.

Tomorrow we will travel to Cradle Mountain National Park.

Abandoned streets of Gowrie Park