Regatta Point is the location of a port and rail terminus on

Macquarie Harbour Macquarie Harbour is a shallow fjord in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. It is approximately , and has an average depth of , with deeper places up to . It is navigable by shallow-draft vessels. The main channel is kept clear by th ...

(

West Coast, Tasmania The West Coast of Tasmania is mainly isolated rough country, associated with wilderness, mining and tourism. It served as the location of an early convict settlement in the early history of Van Diemen's Land, and contrasts sharply with the mor ...

Port

Regatta Point is often assumed into the name of the locality across the bay in Macquarie Harbour,

Strahan, Tasmania Strahan (pronounced "straw-n"), is a small town and former port on the west coast of Tasmania. It is now a significant locality for tourism in the region. Strahan Harbour and Risby Cove form part of the north-east end of Long Bay on the northe ...

. The other ports in Macquarie Harbour were Strahan, and Pillinger at the southern end of the harbour. Most shipping through the notorious Hells Gates is now the fishing fleet. The last sea-based delivery of explosives for the Mount Lyell company occurred as late as 1976.

Railway terminus

It was the port and terminus of the

Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company was a Tasmanian mining company formed on 29 March 1893, most commonly referred to as ''Mount Lyell''. Mount Lyell was the dominant copper mining company of the West Coast from 1893 to 1994, and was based in ...

railway line from

Queenstown Queenstown is the name of several human settlements around the world, nearly all in countries that are part of the Commonwealth of Nations. Queenstown may refer to: Places currently named Queenstown *Queenstown, Alberta, a hamlet in Canada * Quee ...

. When fully operational prior to closure in the 1960s, it was the location of the transfer of Mount Lyell materials to ships. Regatta Point was the location of the connection between the Mount Lyell private railway and the government railway line which passed through Strahan on the way to

Zeehan Zeehan is a town on the west coast of Tasmania, Australia south-west of Burnie. It is part of the West Coast Council, along with the seaport Strahan, and neighbouring mining towns of Dundas, Rosebery and Queenstown. History The greate ...

, when that line was operational. It was possible to utilise passenger services from Queenstown to

Burnie Burnie is a port city on the north-west coast of Tasmania, Australia. When founded in 1827, it was named Emu Bay, being renamed after William Burnie, a director of the Van Diemen's Land Company, in the early 1840s. , Burnie had an urban pop ...

, using the Mount Lyell Line, the government line to Zeehan, and the

Emu Bay Railway The Emu Bay Railway was a Tasmania, Australian railway company. The railway was significant during full operation, in that it linked the Tasmanian Government Railways system at Burnie with that at Zeehan that further linked to the Mount L ...

line to Burnie.

Railway building

An earlier building at the station location was burnt down in 1900. It currently the terminus for the rebuilt

West Coast Wilderness Railway The West Coast Wilderness Railway is a reconstruction of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company Mount Lyell railway in Western Tasmania between Queenstown and Regatta Point, Strahan. The railway is significant because of its Abt rack sys ...

. The remaining station building at Regatta Point has been restored for the new service, having lain at risk from the 1960s to the 1990s.

Railway stations sequence

From Regatta Point to Queenstown: *

Teepookana Teepookana was a short lived port, community and railway stopping place on the southern bank of the King River, in Western Tasmania. Port and railway station It was important as a port during the construction of the railway between Regatta Poin ...

* Dubbil Barril * Rinadeena * Lynchford *

Queenstown (Tasmania) railway station Queenstown in Western Tasmania has had two railway stations. The original was built for the railway built for the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company, and lasted until the closing of the railway line in 1962. The newer station was built ...

Nearest ports

Outside of Macquarie Harbour – on the north coast of Tasmania – Burnie or the south east Hobart – smaller anchorages exist in between – but are either facility free

Port Davey Port Davey is an oceanic inlet located in the south west region of Tasmania, Australia. Port Davey was named in honour of Thomas Davey, a former Governor of Tasmania. Port Davey is contained within the Port Davey/Bathurst Harbour Marine Natur ...

or dangerous

Trial Harbour Trial Harbour is a rural locality in the local government area (LGA) of West Coast in the North-west and west LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about south-west of the town of Zeehan. The 2016 census has a population of 24 for the state s ...

Notes

References

* * * {{Coord, -42.1605, 145.3264, display=title Localities of West Coast Council Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company Macquarie Harbour Railway stations in Western Tasmania West Coast Wilderness Railway