About Queenstown
Queenstown is a town in the West Coast region
of the island of Tasmania. It is in a valley on the
western slopes of Mount Owen on the West
Coast Range.
At the 2011 census, Queenstown had a
population of 1,975 people.
Today, the town and district attracts significant
numbers of tourists, on either organised tours
or the hire car 'circuit' around Tasmania.
Some features continue to fascinate tourists,
either the mountains, the slag heap or the
gravel football ground.
There are significant opportunities to catch
glimpses of the town's past at the local
museum, and simply by driving up Orr Street,
the old main street now with closed pubs and
the dominant Post Office tower.
The mining operation at the original Mount
Lyell mine continues, with Copper Mines of
Tasmania operating between 1995 and 1999
independently, after which it became part of an
Indian company group - and its concentrates
are shipped to India for processing.
Exploration continues within the West Coast
region for further economic mineral deposits,
and due to the complexity of the geology, there
is always the possibility that new mines will
open: the Henty Gold Mine is a good example
as it commenced operation in the 1990s.
Queenstown is the terminus of the West Coast
Wilderness Railway, which travels southwards
alongside the Queen River, and then along
the northern slopes of the King River to the port
of Strahan in Macquarie Harbour.