Kelly Basin Road was a road built on the formation of the former North Lyell Railway in the King River Valley of

Western Tasmania The West Coast of Tasmania is mainly isolated rough country, associated with wilderness, mining and tourism. It served as the location of an early convict settlement in the early history of Van Diemen's Land, and contrasts sharply with the mor ...

. It ran to the east of the

West Coast Range The West Coast Range is a mountain range located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. The range lies to the west and north of the main parts of the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. The range has had a significant number ...

, from the Linda Valley, to

Kelly Basin Kelly Basin is a bay on the south eastern side of Macquarie Harbour on the West Coast of Tasmania. It was named after James Kelly an early explorer of the Tasmanian coastline. It was the location of the terminus of the North Mount Lyell Railw ...

. Following the cessation of rail services on the North Lyell railway, and removal of the track, the road's provision of access into otherwise difficult areas created anticipation of a number of uses for forestry and mining activity. It was an important location for both protestors and police during the No Dams blockade in the 1980s. Most of the formation now lies under the

Lake Burbury Lake Burbury is a man-made water reservoir created by the Crotty Dam inundating the upper King River valley that lies east of the West Coast Range. Discharge from the reservoir feeds the John Butters Hydroelectric Power Station, owned and op ...

impoundment, a result of the

Hydro Tasmania Hydro Tasmania, known for most of its history as the Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC) or The Hydro, is the trading name of the Hydro-Electric Corporation, a Tasmanian Government business enterprise which is the predominant electricity generator i ...

King River power development scheme. Portions of the road still exist south of the

Darwin Dam The Darwin Dam is an offstream earthfill embankment saddle dam without a spillway, located in Western Tasmania, Australia. The impounded reservoir, also formed by Crotty Dam, is called Lake Burbury. The dam was constructed in 1990 by the Hyd ...

, and the Bird River Bridge to Kelly Basin area is now a protected and adventure tourist location.

Notes

{{Western Tasmania Western Tasmania Roads in Tasmania Historic trails and roads in Australia