How a remote Tasmanian river became the heart of Australia's greatest conservation battle

Countries & Cities · Published 30 September 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The Franklin River, once a forgotten waterway in Tasmania's rugged wilderness, transformed into a national symbol in the 1980s. A massive campaign to stop a hydroelectric dam project turned this remote river into the epicenter of Australia's largest conservation movement, forever changing the nation's approach to environmental protection.

Rising beneath Mount Hugel in the Central Highlands, the Franklin River carves a path through some of Australia's most remote and rugged terrain. It flows westward, fed by sixteen tributaries including the Loddon and Jane rivers, before meeting the Gordon River. This landscape is not merely a wilderness; it is a site of deep history, containing archaeological evidence of pre-European activity, including prehistoric tools excavated from Kutakina Cave.

For much of the early twentieth century, the river was primarily known for pine logging in its lower reaches. By the 1950s, it began attracting adventurous canoers, though many of its features remained unnamed until explorers like Bob Brown began documenting them. This quiet isolation ended in the 1980s when Hydro Tasmania proposed a massive hydroelectric power plan. The resulting "No Dams" campaign, led by Brown, mobilized the public and successfully blocked the project, leading to the river's permanent protection within the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park in 1981.

The controversy fundamentally altered the relationship between Australians and the river. As the area gained status as part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, recreational use surged to unprecedented levels. This popularity brought new challenges, including the need for stricter safety guidelines following tragic drownings. Today, the Franklin remains a destination for rafting and hiking, standing as a testament to the power of grassroots activism in preserving natural heritage against industrial development.

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