The flooding of Lake Pedder half a century ago was an emblematic moment in the history of Australian environmentalism.
A glacial outwash lake deep in Tasmania’s south-west that was celebrated for its pink quartzite beach, Pedder and 230 sq km of forest and wildlife were drowned in 1972 after the construction of dams for the Gordon hydroelectric power scheme. A campaign to save the lake failed, but it is now regarded as a galvanising moment that led to the creation of the world’s first green political party and the successful drive to stop the damming of the Franklin River a decade later.
