''Tasmania's Wilderness Battles: A History'' is a 2008 book by

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

Greg Buckman, who has "spent is lifefighting Tasmanian environmental battles." The book looks at the wilderness areas of

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

which have been the focus of extensive conflict over environmental issues. Buckman presents a record of some of the significant events in that conflict, primarily from the viewpoint of an environmentalist.Tasmania's Wilderness Battles
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Overview

The book has several primary themes, including: *

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 ...

, about the issues of the

Franklin Dam The Franklin Dam or Gordon-below-Franklin Dam project was a proposed dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, Australia, that was never constructed. The movement that eventually led to the project's cancellation became one of the most significant e ...

and

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 ...

* Forestry, with the final section focusing on

Gunns Gunns Limited was a major forestry enterprise located in Tasmania, Australia. It had operations in forest management, woodchipping, sawmilling and veneer production. The company was placed into liquidation in March 2013. History Founded in 187 ...

* Mining, focusing on Mount Lyell * National Parks The black and white photographs included capture the iconic characters of the major environmental battles of the era being examined, and include images of

Eric Reece Eric Elliott Reece, AC (6 July 190923 October 1999) was Premier of Tasmania on two occasions: from 26 August 1958 to 26 May 1969, and from 3 May 1972 to 31 March 1975. His 13 years as premier remains the second longest in Tasmania's history, On ...

Olegas Truchanas Olegas Truchanas (22 September 1923 – 6 January 1972) was a Lithuanian- Australian conservationist and nature photographer. He was a key figure in the attempt to stop the damming of the ecologically sensitive Lake Pedder in South West Tasm ...

, Doug Lowe, and

Bob Brown Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate on the Tasman ...

. ''Tasmania's Wilderness Battles'' is one of a number of books that were published in connection with the 25th anniversary of the halting of the

project, one of the campaigns which is described in the book,Moore, Matthew
"The day the tide turned"
''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

'' (June 28, 2008) and in which Buckman was active. He has also been involved in campaigns to save Tasmania's forests. Since the early 1990s he has been associated with the Tasmanian and

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, are a confederation of Green state and territory political parties in Australia. As of the 2022 federal election, the Greens are the third largest political party in Australia by vote and th ...

. The book was launched in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

on 12 June 2008 by a Green senator, Christine Milne, outside the Tasmanian State Parliament. The book was longlisted for the 2009 John Button Prize.

Critical reception

Stephenie Cahalan, reviewing and contrasting ''Tasmania’s Wilderness Battles'' and Geoff Law's ''The River Runs Free'', notes that environmental issues and the places over which the legal and political battles were fought "have played a huge part in shaping the Tasmanian parliament either by prompting the election of Green party candidates or featuring strongly in policy and debate." By including excerpts from the 1998 Labor Green Accord, ''Tasmania’s Wilderness Battles'', Cahalan writes, "helps to detail an important feature of Tasmanian political history which is frequently referred to but seldom explained." Buckman "studies Tasmania’s three big industries — hydro-electricity, mining and forestry — and provides surprisingly easy reading for what is essentially a meticulous reference book." She praises its index and detailed timeline, thorough assemblage of facts and figures, combined with a light tone. Susan Austin, writing in ''

GreenLeft GroenLinks (, ) is a green political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four left-wing parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, the Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and t ...

'', describes Buckman's section on national parks as "a little dry and detailed" but approves the way that, throughout the book, "time and time again Buckman exposes the 'development at all costs' attitudes of present and past state and federal governments".

Use in education

The book is used for teaching Environmental Studies in

Victoria, Australia Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...

, and in

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

's history program.Washington State University, Vancouver
Retrieved 6 June 2012.

References

Notes Bibliography * Buckman, Greg (2008
''Tasmania's Wilderness Battles: A History''
Sydney:

Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It went on to become one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and to establish an ...

. {{SouthWestTasmania , state=autocollapse 2008 non-fiction books 2008 in the environment Australian non-fiction books Books about environmentalism Environmental non-fiction books South West Tasmania Books about Tasmania Books about Australian natural history Environmentalism in Australia

Overview

Critical reception

Use in education

See also

References