Get acquainted with Queenstown, from steam trains to surprising landscapes

A 2.5 hour drive south-west of Devonport, Queenstown is approached through a colourful, strangely fascinating ‘moonscape’, carved from the rugged, mountainous rainforest by 140 years of mining and logging. The gateway to the vast Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, this remote town has a wild history well worth exploring first.

After gold and copper were found in the area in the 1880s, Queenstown soon became the world’s richest mining town. Stroll around and admire the boom era’s built heritage, including the grand 1902 post office and the Pioneer Cemetery, which has more than 500 19^th century graves. The 1933 Paragon Theatre is more lively, with self-guided tours of its restored art-deco splendour, and movies during the warmer months.

The town’s heritage highlight is undoubtedly the West Coast Wilderness Railway, which toots and chugs between Queenstown and Strahan, 35 kilometres away on Macquarie Harbour. This route was laboriously pushed through the wilderness for the mining industry in the 1890s, but these days it’s all about enjoying nature and history in the comfort of restored carriages pulled by steam locomotives. If you’re into history, don’t miss the railway museum at the Queenstown terminus.

There are many more glimpses into the region’s past at the volunteer-run Eric Thomas Galley Museum, housed in the 1897 Imperial Hotel. Filling 30 rooms, the collection spans vintage wedding dresses to old mining photos. For a bigger picture of what the mining industry left behind, walk past rusting equipment along the steep walk to Spion Kop lookout, which offers views of Queenstown and the scarred mountains surrounding it. Or take a short drive to Iron Blow lookout, which reveals the grey-orange rock of an open-cut mine, now filled with emerald water.

The heritage-listed 1901 Empire Hotel is the only big heyday pub still operating in Queenstown. A highlight of the heritage streetscape, it also impresses inside, especially the Tasmanian blackwood staircase. Enjoy a pint and some hearty pub grub (or even stay the night) at the Grand Old Lady of the West. There’s refined refreshment at Penghana, built in 1898 as a mine manager’s impressive home. It’s now a National Trust property and B&B, where afternoon tea is served to the public April-November.

Less formal refreshments are available year-round at the Wilderness Railway’s Tracks Cafe, and music-memorabilia-filled Cafe Serenade, which offers popular fare like sandwiches and savoury pies. For something more substantial, check out Smelters Restaurant at Silver Hills Motel and Maloney's restaurant at Queenstown Motor Lodge. Unlike motels in big towns with plenty of dining options, these ones in remote Queenstown offer meals that are a generously portioned cut above. There’s also an IGA grocery for self-catering.

In a word: wilderness. Queenstown is surrounded by the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, and numerous conservation areas. Among the most accessible highlights are some of Tasmania’s biggest waterfalls, including Nelson and Montezuma, and Lake Burbury, which offers trout fishing and sweeping views of the surrounding Princess River Conservation Area.

If you want a local’s guidance, consider Queenstown-based RoamWild Tasmania, some of whose tours take in the area’s mining and hydroelectricity heritage. Also departing from Queenstown are King River Rafting’s tours, including the King for the Day rafting experience through spectacular temperate rainforest.

A 40-kilometre drive west of Queenstown, Strahan offers even more water-based tours. World Heritage Cruises and Gordon River Cruises let you explore the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area without raising a sweat, and some tours also visit Sarah Island’s convict ruins.

Information included in this blog is correct at the time of publishing. Please contact individual operators for further information.