Kelly Basin Road was a road built on the formation of the former North Mount Lyell railway line in the King River Valley of

Western Tasmania The West Coast of Tasmania is one of the Regions of Tasmania, regions of Tasmania in Australia. It is mainly isolated rough country and is associated with wilderness, mining and tourism. It served as the location of an early convict settlement ...

. It ran to the east of the

West Coast Range The West Coast Range is a mountain range located in the West Coast, Tasmania, West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. The range lies to the west and north of the main parts of the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. The range has h ...

, from the Linda Valley, to

Kelly Basin Kelly Basin is a bay on the south eastern side of Macquarie Harbour on the West Coast, Tasmania, West Coast of Tasmania. It was named after James Kelly (Australian explorer), James Kelly an early explorer of the Tasmanian coastline. It was the l ...

. Following the cessation of rail services on the North Mount Lyell railway line, and removal of the track, the road's provision of access into otherwise difficult areas created anticipation of a number of uses for forestry and mining activity. It was an important location for both protestors and police during the No Dams blockade in the 1980s. Most of the formation now lies under the

Lake Burbury Lake Burbury is a man-made water reservoir created by the Crotty Dam inundating the upper King River valley that lies east of the West Coast Range. Discharge from the reservoir feeds the John Butters Hydroelectric Power Station, owned and ...

impoundment, a result of the

Hydro Tasmania Hydro Tasmania, formerly the Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC), is a Tasmanian Government business enterprise which is the main electricity generator in Tasmania, Australia. Originally oriented towards hydro-electricity, owing to Tasmania's dr ...

King River power development scheme. Portions of the road still exist south of the Darwin Dam, and the Bird River Bridge to Kelly Basin area is now a protected and adventure tourist location.

References

{{Western Tasmania Western Tasmania Roads in Tasmania Historic trails and roads in Australia