Lake Pedder Action Committee facts for kids

The Lake Pedder Action Committee (also called the Lake Pedder Action Group) was an important environmental group in Tasmania, Australia. This group worked hard to protect a beautiful natural area called Lake Pedder from being flooded.

The Fight Begins: Early Efforts

In 1967, an earlier group called the Save Lake Pedder National Park Committee started the effort to protect the lake.

In the early 1970s, the government of Tasmania, led by Eric Reece, and its power company, the Hydro-Electric Commission, had a big plan. They wanted to build a dam on the upper Gordon River. This dam would flood and make Lake Pedder much bigger. The Lake Pedder Action Committee published many articles and worked to stop this plan and save the lake.

A Big Protest: The Pedder Pilgrimage

The Pedder Pilgrimage committee began in 1971. The Lake Pedder Action Committee was officially formed after a large public meeting. This meeting was called by the Hobart Walking Club. It happened after a weekend in March 1971 when about one thousand people visited Lake Pedder. This event became known as the Pedder Pilgrimage.

The idea for another important group, the United Tasmania Group, came from a meeting of the Lake Pedder Action Committee. It also came from the South West Tasmania Action Committee, which was also known as the South West Tasmania Action Group.

Standing Up for Lake Pedder

Many well-known Tasmanians were against the flooding of Lake Pedder. One of them was Brenda Hean. Sadly, she died in a mysterious plane crash in 1972. She was flying to Canberra to protest the dam.

In 1972, the Lake Pedder Action Committee worked with groups in other Australian states. They all argued against the damming of the lake. Activists also held peaceful protests at the lake itself and in other places to show their opposition to the flooding.

A New Chapter: The Wilderness Society

In 1976, the people and groups that formed the South West Tasmania Action Committee changed. They became what is now known as the Tasmanian Wilderness Society.

This new group played a key role in stopping another big dam project in the early 1980s. This was the successful challenge to the Franklin Dam proposal.

Since the early 1990s, a group called the Lake Pedder Restoration Committee (LPRC) has continued to work. They want to see Lake Pedder returned to its original, natural state. Many of the older members of this group were also active in the original Lake Pedder Action Committee.

Since the mid-1990s, several books and documentaries have been made about the flooding of Lake Pedder. They tell the stories of the people who fought for and against the dam.

See also

• Franklin Dam controversy
• South West Tasmania Action Committee