This morning I am visiting The Cataract Gorge, Launceston's largest tourist attraction only 1.5km from the city centre and home to the longest single span chairlift in the world, stretching 308 metres (1,010 ft) across the gorge.
The First Basin on the southern side features a swimming pool, the aforementioned chairlift and two cafés. This Basin has been the subject of controversy about its depth: some locals say it is bottomless; a volcanic plug; or that a submersible robot sent in to find its bottom during the 1960s ran out of cable before accomplishing this feat. The basin was formed by erosion at the intersection of two faults - the Basin Road Fault and an un-named fault approximately at right angles which the South Esk is following. Where the two faults meet, the Dolerite rock was badly shattered and hence more easily eroded, giving rise to the formation of the basin. Measurements in 2016 found the maximum depth to be 20.5 metres (67 ft).
At the lower end of the gorge, the South Esk spills into the Tamar River under King's Bridge and Paterson Bridge (More about these bridges when I post about the Tamar Cruise that I took in the afternoon)
If you would like to see some aerial views of the First Basin and the confluence of the South Esk river with the Tamar River please view this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cataract_Gorge
Further upstream is the historic Duck Reach Power Station, now an "Interpretation Centre" exhibiting the history of the Power Station. The Launceston City Council originally commissioned the Power Station in 1893, making it the largest hydro-electric scheme of its day and by 1895 it was lighting the city, making it, as I mentioned in my previous post, one of the first places to be lit by Hydro-electric power in Australia. It was decommissioned in 1955 following the construction of the Trevallyn Dam and power station further up the South Esk River.
Perhaps unsurprisingly this section of river is a renowned for its whitewater and provides for world class kayaking. A annual race is scheduled in late January, thanks to Hydro Tasmania.
In the last decade there have been two serious floods in the Cataract Gorge, The first in 2016 and in August 2022. The following link to an Australian Broadcasting Corporation report dated Thursday 18th August 2022 illustrates the impact of the floods on the First Basin and at the confluence of the South Esk River and Tamar River beyond the King's Bridge. The two screenshots of the floods above are taken from this website.
A final notable structure where the South Esk River opens into the First Basin, is the Alexandra Suspension Bridge designed by St. John David and built by Salisbury Foundry Co.
Lady Edeline Strickland (The founder and president of the New South Wales division of the Australian Red Cross) opened the bridge to the public in 1904, naming it in honour of Queen Alexandra, the Danish wife of King Edward VII and famous for establishing the Queen Alexandra Nursing Core.
The bridge was destroyed by floods in 1929 and has been rebuilt twice, once in 1934 and again in 2004. The current refurbishment, begun in 2020, has included the erection of A-frame towers and additional anchor bolts.
The shaded northern side, referred to as the 'Cliff Grounds', is a Victorian era garden where peacocks roam proudly among ferns and exotic plants, which is contrasted with the southern side's cafe and public swimming pool, where locals can enjoy a swim from November to March and a sunbathe on the grassy banks, known to locals as Launceston's Beach.
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