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Office of the Coordinator-General

Cradle Mountain Projects

Cradle Mountain is one of Tasmania’s iconic visitor destinations. The Cradle Mountain Gateway Village Precinct is the area’s visitor hub, situated outside the boundary of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, and the gateway to the Cradle Mountain end of the Park and the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA).

About the Cradle Mountain Master Plan

The 2016 Cradle Mountain Visitor Experience Master Plan was developed as a Tasmanian Government/industry partnership between the Cradle Coast Authority (CCA), Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service (PWS), Kentish Council and the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania.

The Master Plan has considered current and emerging issues with the visitor experience and identifies priorities and opportunities that will ensure Cradle Mountain is the iconic visitor experience that visitors expect of a site of global significance. Management of existing and forecast visitor numbers into the Park and the TWWHA with a low environmental footprint is an important aspect of managing these significant sites.

The Master Plan was publicly launched in early April 2016 and focuses on three key areas of the visitor experience:

  • the Gateway, including a new Park visitor centre and Cradle Village precinct developed on the decommissioned airstrip just outside the national park
  • an alternate transport option to provide the primary visitor access from the Gateway to Dove Lake, with provision of a shuttle bus system until this is developed
  • improvements to the visitor experiences at Dove Lake, including a new viewing shelter blended into the landscape and viewing platform next to Glacier Rock.

The PWS have project managed construction of the new Visitor Centre at the Gateway which opened in 2020, the viewing platform next to Glacier Rock and the new Dove Lake viewing shelter, which opened in January 2023.

The Office of the Coordinator-General is progressing the delivery of the following projects identified in the Cradle Mountain Master Plan:

  • an alternative transport solution through Cradle Valley connecting the Gateway Village precinct and Dove Lake
  • development of the Gateway Village precinct centred around the new PWS visitor centre
  • additional staff accommodation for the Cradle Valley region.

Cradle Valley Transport Solution

Independent analysis has confirmed a cableway as the preferred transport solution for this iconic area.

The Office of the Coordinator General has worked with the assistance of external transportation experts over the past few years to design and analyse options and determine a concept that is technically possible with a low environmental and visual impact.

The Australian and Tasmanian Governments have each committed $30 million, for a total of $60 million to fund a cableway project, pending approval of the Business Case.

The proposed cableway would only be located within the formal Visitor Service Zone of the TWWHA.

The project is subject to all the standard approvals processes including referral under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC), Tasmanian Reserve Activity Assessment, Aboriginal cultural and heritage assessments, and Kentish Council planning approvals.

There will be significant community and stakeholder engagement on this project, including at each stage in the required Federal, State and Local government approvals.

A dedicated project website is currently being developed and will provide information and contacts for the project.

Other related projects

Gateway Village Precinct Development

After a formal REOI process, the Office of the Coordinator-General are continuing to work with a preferred bidder to develop the Gateway Village precinct.  The cableway plans and how it integrates with the precinct are key to the plans for the site.

This precinct is intended to include a new Iconic building at the southern end of the site next to the PWS Visitors Centre with uninterrupted views of Cradle Mountain.

Additional staff accommodation

The Office of the Coordinator-General are continuing to work on progressing the construction of additional staff accommodation in the Cradle Valley region given current and future forecast need.

Gateway trail

The opportunity to construct a shared walkway/bikeway between the Gateway and Pencil Pine Creek is also being assessed by the Office of the Coordinator General in conjunction with Kentish Council and the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service.

Water and Sewerage Strategy

Recognising the need for adequate supporting services in the Cradle Valley region, the Office of the Coordinator-General and the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Service are working with TasWater to investigate long-term water availability, potential sewage generation, and how to maximise future reuse of sewage effluent in this environmentally sensitive area.  The strategy is taking into consideration the expected increase in visitors to the area as it continues to develop due to the Gateway Village Precinct, cableway, and other known private sector developments on current vacant land in the region.