Strathgordon is a rural locality in the local government area (LGA) of Derwent Valley in the South-east LGA region of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. The locality is about west of the town of

New Norfolk New Norfolk is a town on the Derwent River (Tasmania), River Derwent, in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. At the Census in Australia#2011, 2011 census, New Norfolk had a population of 5,543. Situated north-west of Hobart on the Lyell Hi ...

. The 2016 census recorded a population of 15 for the state suburb of Southwest, which includes Strathgordon. It is on the road to the Gordon River dam the most south westerly road in the south west of Tasmania. It is a tourist destination for visitors wishing to visit the

Southwest National Park Southwest National Park is an Australian national park located in the south-west of Tasmania, bounded by the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park to the north and the Hartz Mountains National Park to the east. It is a part of a chain of ...

and World Heritage listed wilderness. It is remote by Tasmanian standards; however, fuel can be purchased at the Lake Pedder Wilderness Lodge which also provides accommodation and meals. The nearest basic services, otherwise, are away along a winding road from

Maydena Maydena is a locality in Tasmania, Australia, alongside the River Tyenna. Maydena is on the Gordon River Road, south west of New Norfolk, through the Bushy Park Hop Fields, turn left at Westerway, past Mount Field National Park and Russell Fa ...

. The road is maintained by Hydro Tasmania and has views of the South Western Wilderness.

History

Strathgordon was gazetted as a locality in 1968. The town was the 'company' town for construction by 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 ...

of the

hydro-electric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

structures that resulted in damming of

Lake Pedder Lake Pedder, once a glacial outwash lake, is a man-made impoundment and diversion lake located in the southwest of Tasmania, Australia. In addition to its natural catchment from the Frankland Range, the lake is formed by the 1972 damming of the ...

and

Lake Gordon Lake Gordon is a man-made reservoir created by the Gordon Dam, located on the upper reaches of the Gordon River in the south-west region of Tasmania, Australia. Features The reservoir was formed in the early 1970s as a result of the dam constr ...

. Its post office opened on 16 July 1969.

Geography

The locality is completely surrounded by the much larger locality of

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

Road infrastructure

Route B61 (

Gordon River Road The Gordon River Road, sometimes called the Strathgordon Road, (B61), is a road in the south western region of Tasmania, Australia. The road was built by the Hydro-Electric Commission of Tasmania with funding from the Australian Government ...

) runs through from south-east to south-west.

Climate

Strathgordon has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

( Cfb) with mild summers and cool winters with crisp nights. Rainfall is very heavy year round, some of the heaviest in all of Australia. Strathgordon as well as being very wet is also very cloudy for most of the year.

History

Geography

Road infrastructure

Climate

References

Further reading