Queenstown, Tasmania
Queenstown
A mountain town shaped by the rise and fall of copper mining, with bare, multicoloured 'moonscape' hillsides and historic main-street buildings that tell the story of the West Coast's mining past.
Queenstown grew rapidly in the late 19th century around the Mount Lyell copper mine. Smelter fumes and clearing of the forest left the surrounding slopes barren, creating a strange landscape of orange, purple and grey. The town keeps historic buildings such as old hotels and the Mining Exchange, along with the famous gravel football oval. You can visit the Iron Blow lookout to look down over the old open-cut mine, and the Spion Kop lookout for views of the town. This is also the starting point of the West Coast Wilderness Railway, and it is about 1.5-2 hours' drive from Cradle Mountain.
Opening hours
All day
Nearby sights
- West Coast Wilderness Railway
- Horsetail Falls
- Lake Burbury
- Nelson Falls
- Hogarth Falls
- Strahan & Gordon River Cruise
- The Ship That Never Was
- Henty Dunes