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.

Protecting Lake Pedder

Early Efforts in 1967

Before the Lake Pedder Action Committee, there was a group called the Save Lake Pedder National Park Committee in 1967. This shows that people were worried about the lake even then.

In the early 1970s, the government of Tasmania, led by Eric Reece, and its power company, the Hydro-Electric Commission, planned a big project. They wanted to build a dam on the upper Gordon River. This dam would flood and make Lake Pedder much larger. The Lake Pedder Action Committee published many materials to argue for keeping Lake Pedder safe and natural.

The Pedder Pilgrimage of 1971

The Pedder Pilgrimage committee started in 1971. The Lake Pedder Action Committee was 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 special visit became known as the Pedder Pilgrimage.

The United Tasmania Group, which was a political party focused on the environment, began from a meeting of the Lake Pedder Action Committee. It also came from another group called the South West Tasmania Action Committee.

Protests and Collaboration in 1972

Many famous Tasmanians spoke out against the flooding of Lake Pedder. One of them was Brenda Hean. She was flying to Canberra in 1972 to protest the dam when something went wrong with her plane.

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

From Action to Wilderness Society in 1976

In 1976, the people and groups from the South West Tasmania Action Committee formed a new organization. This new group became known as the Tasmanian Wilderness Society.

The Tasmanian Wilderness Society played a key role in stopping another dam project later on. This was the Franklin Dam proposal in the early 1980s, which they successfully challenged.

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 older members of the LPRC were also active in the original Lake Pedder Action Committee.

Since the mid-1990s, many books and documentaries have been made about the flooding of Lake Pedder. These works look back at the arguments for and against the dam.

See also

• Franklin Dam controversy
• South West Tasmania Action Committee