VCE Australian History
UNIT 4: OUTCOME 2
ATTITUDES TO THE ENVIRONMENT
1972-1983
Key Knowledge
You are to demonstrate key knowledge of differing
attitudes to Australia's environment comparing the
flooding of Lake Pedder (1972) to the Franklin Dam
decision (1983):
 A range of attitudes at each point in time;
 The connections between the two significant points
in time;
 The degree of change in attitudes between the two
significant points and the reasons for any change.
Lake Pedder
 Lake Pedder is located in Tasmania’s southwest and was
a natural lake popular with bushwalkers.
 It has a historical connection to local indigenous
communities who are considered to have been living in
the region for at least 20,000 years.
 1835: Surveyor John Wedge named it Lake Pedder after
the first Chief Justice of the colony Sir John Pedder.
 Famous for its three km beach and Serpentine River
drainage. It was also located in a particularly beautiful
part of Tasmania surrounded by a mountain range the
Frankland Range and the Serpentine Valley.
Ecological Uniqueness
 Lake Pedder was a very popular destination for
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bushwalkers.
Bob Brown considered Lake Pedder to be a “jewel in the
wilderness, a magnificent untouched natural formation”.
It was highly regarded by many to contain a vast natural
untouched beauty unique to the world.
Its beach was vast with pinkish white sand.
Great seasonal changes in water level (inundated in the
winter and spring and uncovered in the summer).
Behind the beach were tea tree-covered dunes and
flowing channels and creek of the Lake Maria-Maria
Creek system.
Lake Pedder and Unique Fauna
 Before the flooding of Lake Pedder a research report
found that the Pedder-Lake Maria created one of the
most important or the most important of habitats for “13
endemic species” and “3 rare species” (Lake).
 According to Brown Pedder was home to “more than a
dozen creatures found nowhere else on Earth – caddis
flies, strange fossil-like shrimp, tiny snails and aquatic
worms in the beach, a freshwater crayfish and Galaxias
pederensis – the Pedder trout.”
 Pedder also contained “wombats, Tassie devils,
wallabies, native quolls, platypuses, dusky marsupial
mice, possums, tiger cats, black swans, rare groundparrots and emu wrens” (Brown)
Bob Brown and Lake Pedder
 Bob Brown wrote a book on Lake Pedder simply
called Lake Pedder which was more of a collection of
photographs that attempted to capture the beauty of
the lake. Here are some quotes…
 “Buttongrass plains of the region had extensive
accumulatiosn of peat from which the water, acidic
like tea drained to give the lake sand streams their
special amber colour.” (Brown)
 “Simmonds peppermints, ti-trees, silver banksias
and melaleucas grew together on the dunes”
(Brown).
Task
 Choose ONE of the photographs from Bob Brown’s
Lake Pedder and explain what you see in the photo
and why it would drive someone to campaign to save
it.
 Consider Content, Context and Function (CCF).
Descriptions of Lake Pedder’s Beauty
 “Deeply moving beauty” (Bonyhady)
 “Wagnerian cloudscapes” (Kiernan)
 “Moodiness and mystery” (Brown)
Bushwalkers and Lake Pedder
 Many Bushwalkers enjoyed the untouched terrain of
Lake Pedder.
 Bushwalkers were reassured that Lake Pedder would be
protected when their submissions for a national park in
the region were accepted by the government in 1955. A
park enclosing the lake was declared on 8 March.
 One of the oldest conservation groups in Australia, the
South-West Committee (SWC), brought together
bushwalkers, other interested groups and individuals,
was formed in 1962.
 It resolved to form an organisation to work for the
conservation of the area and for the introduction of a
rational plan for the development of its resources.
South West Committee
 The SWC after much consultation and research put
together a plan to protect Lake Pedder and its
surrounding environment in 1966.
 Among other things, the submission suggested areas
particularly suited to be set aside for reserves,
together with the type of development desirable
within each area. Proposals were also submitted for
the type of authority best suited to administer the
area.
The Hobart Walking
 Formed in 1929 in meeting led ET Emmett the
Director of the Government Tourist Bureau.
 Its express purpose was to organise official walks and
engage in various outdoor activities around
Tasmania.
 It has a long history in conservation issues however
many of its members were also associated with the
Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC).
Tasmanian Government
 Tasmania was governed by Labor rule for 35 years
(from 1934 to 1969).
 During the Lake Pedder issue the government was
led by Labor Premier Eric Reece for two separate
terms: 1958 to 1969, and from 1972 to 1975.
 Between Reece’s premiership the Liberal Angus
Bethune became premier through a coalition
government (Liberal-Centre Party) with a one seat
majority (1969-1972).
Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC)
 Hydro-Electric Power and Metallurgical Company came
to being through working on the first hydro scheme in
Tasmania on the Great Lake in 1911.
 The Company was bought out by the Tasmanian
government for £140,750 and was renamed the HydroElectric Department.
 The Hydro-Electric Department was quite proactive in
gaining various supply agreements and acquisitions
including the Hobart Gas Company and the Electrolytic
Zinc works.
 Since 1914 the Hydro-Electric Department has adopted a
policy “encouraging large power consuming industries”
(Thompson).
Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC)
 In relation to electric power in Tasmania
consumption from people in urban areas amounted
to around less than 2,000 horsepower in 1916
(Thompson).
 Conversely power needed in the major industrial
industries like electro-chemical and metallurgical
was much greater than that.
 In one contract alone, according to the HydroElectric Departments own JH Butters in 1916, will
require “30,000 horsepower”. (Thompson)
HEC
 In describing the HEC Geoffrey Blainey says ‘more
powerful perhaps than any government
instrumentality that Australia had known in times of
peace’—and what it said should happen usually
happened.
 HEC was also described by many commentators as ‘a
State within a State’.
 Greg Buckman called the HEC the ‘electric Kremlin’.
Electric Eric
 Premier Reece was well-known for his support of
hydro-electric development to the point that he was
called “Electric Eric”.
 1967 the HEC proposed the flooding of Lake Pedder
in order to create a hydro-electric plant.
 Reece announced the Gordon River Power
Development Scheme or the Middle Gordon Scheme
 He soon introduced the legislation into Parliament.
There was no debate on saving Lake Pedder . . . the
Bill went through the Lower House in Hobart in
record time.
Electric Eric Quotes
 “There was a National Park out there, but I can't
remember exactly where it was . . . at least, it wasn't
of substantial significance in the scheme of things.”
 “We had to double the output of power in this state
in ten years in order [to] supply the demands of
industry and the community.”
 The scheme was “big, imaginative and nationally
significant”.
 Eric Reece described dams with glowing terms, ‘Our
engineers have changed contours, with the aesthetic
achievement of landscape gardeners’
HEC and the Public
 Tasmania was perpetually concerned that it was seen
as being economically backward. Subsequently
hydro-electric plants created an atmosphere of
progress and industrial advancement.
 According to the HEC hydro-electricity would
encourage greater industrial investment and would
mean more jobs for Tasmanians.
 Furthermore the Tasmanian southwest was
considered to be an isolated and an “empty quarter”
of the state.
HEC Road to Flooding
 In 1963, funds from the federal government were sought
to construct a road into the very heart of the South West.
 Two HEC roads were built in the region. One led to the
eventual site of the Gordon Dam beyond Strathgordon—a
small town created especially to house the construction
workers—and a second road branched southwards at
Frodsham Pass south of Maydena to the site of the Scott’s
Peak Dam.
 This road passes along the shores of the artificial Pedder
impoundment to within about ten kilometres of the
Western Arthur Range.
HEC and the Public
 The HEC employed many people in Tasmania and provided
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90 percent of the power to the state.
The scheme was successfully presented to the wider public as
an opportunity to create cheap electricity to the public and
industry currently and well into the future. Both parties and
most of the people of Tasmania supported the legislation.
Peter Hay observes "an overwhelming majority of Tasmanians
were right behind the Hydro-Electric Commission.“
The HEC had a long history of “direct interference in political
process” (Thompson).
The HEC was also well funded – between 1969-70 Tasmania
spent 54% of its loan fund on electricity compared to 18% in
most other states.
SWC and the Save Lake Pedder Campaign
 In 1967, the Save Lake Pedder National Park
Committee was formed.
 10,000 signatures were collected as a petition
against the flooding of Lake Pedder – the biggest in
Tasmania’s history.
 A Select Committee of Enquiry was formed by the
Upper House of the Tas. parliament to investigate
the viability and alternatives to the flooding of the
lake.
Select Committee of Enquiry
 Over 9 weeks the committee met with 44 witnesses
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and written evidence from 6 sources.
The Committee was presented with an alternative
plan however it would cost a further $11m – a large
sum at the time.
The Committee ended up supporting the HEC’s
plans.
The Hobart Mercury described the Committee as
“level-headed men” who reached the “inevitable”
decision.
Construction began almost immediately.
The Hydro-Electric Dam
 The plan that finally went ahead involved three dam
walls being built around Lake Pedder to trap the flows of
both the Serpentine River which flowed westward and
the Huon River which flowed to the east.
 The two flooded river systems would join above a low
dividing range near Scott’s Peak so creating a giant
Pedder Impoundment.
 The waters of the enlarged lake would only be used to top
up the nearby and larger Lake Gordon on which the
power station was situated.
 According to Brown and Toyne the scheme “produced
only 170 megawatts of electricity” less than the power
needed for the State’s Comalco aluminium plant.
Attitudes to the Environment
 In that era, belief in the value of conserving natural areas
was at the fringes of society's thinking (not considered
important).
 At the time, those who could see value in retaining places
of beauty were far too few and far too inexperienced to
project their views in a world of vastly more adroit
bureaucrats and politicians.
 To some extent Pedder was lost because of the decisions
of a group of older politicians whose thinking belonged to
a past era. They could not adjust to the changes in
environmental ideas that were at that time beginning to
surface (Rankin).
Save Lake Pedder – A National Campaign
 Conservationists refused to accept the Tasmanian
government’s decision and campaigned hard to save the
lake.
 Peter Sims organised a national campaign where he
argued, “If Lake Pedder goes, every Australian state is
going to suffer. It’s too big for Tasmania to handle. It’s an
Australian issue. The eyes of the world are on us.”
 Olegas Truchanas was also a part of the national
campaign. In the 1950s he had canoed the Gordon River
from Lake Pedder to Strahan.
 He had intimate knowledge of the area and his beautiful
photographs of the region were regularly used to present
the case to save the lake.
Save Lake Pedder – A National Campaign
 They called public meetings in the Hobart Town Hall
and showed capacity audiences what was about to
disappear forever. People were deeply moved
 In 1972, Olegas Truchanas drowned while
photographing the Gordon River. He became one of
the immortals of the conservation movement.
 According to Kevin Kiernan Lake Pedder became
“an issue about how Tasmania should progress in
future”.
Tasmania under the Libs
 In 1969, Labor lost government in Tasmania for the
first time since the depression of the 1930s.
 Liberals leader, Angus Bethune, had once called
Pedder "a scenic gem", but as Premier he aligned
himself with the powerful Hydro - and threatened
power shortages if the scheme did not go ahead.
 It did not matter which party was in power the HEC
was able to push on with its agenda regardless.
Save Lake Pedder
 The conservationists was able to successfully extend
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boundaries of Lake Pedder National Park in 1968 (revoked in
1969).
However construction of the hydro-electric scheme continued.
Protesters organised a Lake Pedder pilgrimage where 2,000
people visited the lake.
Peter Sims approached other conservationist organisations to
help in saving Lake Pedder – he was met with varying
response.
Very public support from akin organisations like Judith
Wright from the Wildlife Protection Society Queensland –
WPSQ who wrote letters to premier Reece and campaigned.
Ambiguous responses from more establishment/conservative
groups like the Australian Conservation Foundation.
Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF)
 The ACF was formed in 1965 by largely Canberra-based
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scientists who were deeply concerned with the
conservation of eco-systems.
According to Hutton and Connors the ACF was a product
of the “conservatism of the 1960s”.
The ACF was also unique in that it sought out political
and economic elites to make up the leadership group.
Early members included Sidney Myer, Sir Maurice
Mawby (chairman of the Australian Mining Industry
Council), Sir Garfield Barwick and later Prince Phillip.
Unsurprisingly during the 1960s and 70s the ACF was
the most well funded (privately and publicly)
environmental organisation in the country.
ACF and Politics
 The ACF was apprehensive about directly
confronting the political establishment in regards to
saving Lake Pedder.
 As many of its leading members were made up of
political and economic elites it did not support any
form of radical politics and preferred safer options
like creating policy recommendations, organising
meetings with political leaders and press conferences
where they would voice “concerns” but never
aggressively attack the government.
Sims and ACF
 Peter Sims attempted to get the board of the ACF to
support the campaign.
 ACF were sympathetic to the cause but did not
actively get involved.
 According to Lines, “they did not want to confront
the state government”.
 Furthermore Lines quotes ACF leader Francis
Ratcliffe calling Save Lake Pedder activists “hot
shots” and “small-time, emotional conservationists”.
Political Advancement
 Despite the lack of support from major
conservationist groups like the ACF Save Lake
Pedder activists were able to generate enough
momentum to turn the tide of public opinion in
Tasmania.
 In 1971 polling showed a majority of Tasmanians
were in favour of saving Lake Pedder.
 With this kind of support amongst the people yet not
in parliament led to the activists to form two
organisations.
Political Advancement
 The Lake Pedder Action Committee – LPAC (1971)
would be solely devoted to activism and public
awareness to save the lake. They even setup their
own store that shared photos, literature and
merchandise that celebrated/defended Lake
Pedder and environmentalism.
 In March 1972 the United Tasmanian Group
(UTG) would become a political party that would
campaign for a seat in the state parliament. The
first green party in the world.
UTG
 Founded on ecological principles and led by
biologist Dr Richard Jones, the UTG made the
environment the dominant issue.
 It 'was as much concerned with society and the
need for satisfying employment as it was with a
wholesome and stimulating environment'.
 'The New Ethic' of the UTG was based on the four
pillars of Ecology, Social Justice, Participatory
Democracy and Peace
UTG
 UTG ran 12 candidates (including Bob Brown) in four
electorates and the main political hope was to gain the
balance of power in the Tasmanian parliament.
 If successful they could block legislation until Lake
Pedder was saved.
 LPAC worked in tandem with the UTG running public
meetings, slide shows, pamphlet distribution and moneyraising for the election campaign.
 Support came from outside of Tasmania including the
Australian Union of Students and various actions in
Melbourne.
1972 Tasmanian State Election
 The HEC made a concerted effort to stop the advance of
the UTG.
 They funded a comprehensive media campaign (state
and national) against the new party using their abundant
government funds.
 The UTG was still able to present a formidable campaign
yet on election eve 21 April 1972 the HEC placed a
newspaper advertisement that warned that saving Lake
Pedder would result in “heavy increased costs” which
consumers would pay for through a tariff.
 As it was immediately before election day the UTG had
no time to counter this misleading threat.
1972 Tasmanian State Election
 On election day UTG polled more than 7% in two
electorates.
 Sir Alfred White a former ALP politician who had left
the party over the Pedder issue and joined UTG
narrowly lost his seat.
 Ron Brown (former president of the SWC) lost by
only 150 votes.
 The party immediately requested a royal commission
into the activities of the HEC (it was rejected).
Post-Election Activism
 Following the election the UTG and LPAC opened up an
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office right on the shoreline of Lake Pedder.
They promised a vigil against the rising waters.
In July 1972 the UTG presented Reece 17,500 signatures
in a petition to save Lake Pedder.
LPAC and the UTG also attempted to stop the flooding
through court action.
The case was that the flooding was contravening the
National Parks and Wildlife Act. In response, Premier
Reece pushed the Gordon River Doubts Removal Bill
through Parliament. This legalised the flooding
retrospectively.
1972
 Dec 1972 also saw the federal election of the
progressive Whitlam government who had raised
concerns over the flooding of Lake Pedder but were
not willing to openly attack a sitting Labor premier.
 The Whitlam government had galvanised the vote
from various protest movements. And following the
election had sought to bring national prominence to
the Lake Pedder issue.
 The Whitlam Government had signed a World
Heritage Treaty at the United Nations.
Lake Pedder Committee of Enquiry
 After the election, the new Environment Minister, Dr
Moss Cass, formed a Committee of Enquiry and flew
to Tasmania to see the situation for himself.
 June 1973 the committee reported that Lake Pedder
was too important to be flooded.
 It recommended a moratorium on the flooding, but
the Tas. Labor government refused.
 The report also recommended that the federal
government cover the cost of the moratorium and
any further costs that would be incurred in saving
Lake Pedder.
The Whitlam Govt and Lake Pedder
 The moratorium was rejected by cabinet but
overturned by the Labor caucus (Hutton and
Connors).
 This now meant that federal Labor was willing to
write a blank cheque to pay for the costs of stopping
the hydro-scheme even though Whitlam never
directly communicated this to Reece (Kiernan).
 This was most likely due to caucus supporting the
moratorium not federal cabinet led by Whitlam.
The Whitlam Govt and Lake Pedder
 Bob Walker: “The Federal Enquiry demonstrated
quite clearly that the flooding of Lake Pedder had
been a mistake, and, more importantly, it came up
with some options and offered a moratorium. So it
was very much a justification for all the work that so
many people had done for the last ten years.”
 The report gave much needed credibility to the UTG
and legitimacy to the environment movement in
general.
The Whitlam Govt and Lake Pedder
 The UTG and LPAC put much pressure on Moss and
Whitlam to intervene federally but Whitlam did not
want to confront a fellow Labor leader (Hutton and
Connors).
 Eric Reece remained as immovable as the HEC on
the issue. "I'm not entitled to be made a bloody goat
on this," he said," and I don't propose to be kicked all
over the footpath. As far as Lake Pedder is
concerned, the sooner they fill it up the better.“
Lake Pedder’s Flooding
 Reece stubbornly refused to seek negotiations over
funding a moratorium and alternatives to flooding
Lake Pedder.
 He was supported by the conservative Tasmanian
unions and the media who had already declared
Pedder “sunk”.
 The vigil at Lake Pedder remained until March 1973
when water was too high for them to remain any
longer.
 According to Kiernan, “the air seemed so full of
death”.