Mount Read is a mountain located in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia, and is at the north west edge of the West Coast Range.
With an elevation of above sea level, Mount Read has had as colourful a history, similar to that of Mount Lyell, with mines, settlements and other activities on its slopes for over a hundred years.
Geology
The main copper and gold ore bearing deposits in the West Coast Range are known to occur in the Mount Read Volcanics relating to the complex geology of the area.
Mineralisation and deposits were being identified well beyond the life of the original mines utilised on Mount Read.
To the south east of Mount Read are many features of glaciation
Hercules Haulage
The Hercules Mine on Mount Read was connected by a haulage incline to Williamsford and then to the North East Dundas Tramway. The haulage was self-acting and long and high with a maximum gradient of 1 in 5.
[ Has the gradient average as 1 in 3.2, and a maximum of 1.5 with operating speed of 14 mph.]
The mine was in production in the late nineteenth century.
The Hercules Gold and Silver Mining Company was an operating company that ceased in 1916.
Mount Read township
The community, mainly known in early sources as the Mount Read township surrounding the Hercules minesite had various struggles for services and facilities.
The hotel is mentioned as early as 1898
[
]
Situated at 1000 metres Mount Read (township) was the most elevated town which has existed in Tasmania[page 148, photo caption for image number 73, titled Mount Read township, circa 1897. noting photos of the township also at images 68, Mount Read township in 1898, and 67 A snowy day at Mount Read, 1896 the last from the Zeehan and Dundas Herald, 25th December 1896]
Huon pine
Despite extensive historic mining and human activity on its slopes, Mount Read has unique and significant stands of
Huon pine forests on its slopes.
The southern slopes of Mount Read have been identified as a special habitat
enclosed in the Lake Johnston Nature Reserve.
Climate
Mount Read has a subpolar oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification:
Cfc), bordering on a
tundra climate (Köppen climate classification:
ET), heavily influenced by the
Roaring Forties. It currently has a Bureau of Meteorology automatic weather station in place, and it scores well in extreme weather conditions. Its extreme rainfall records for Autumn 2006 put it on a par with the Lake Margaret rainfall – which was still apparently recorded till 30 June 2006 by Hydro employees, but not appearing on the BOM website. It has one of the highest annual rain day amount in the world at 282 days; topping
Cherrapunji in India, but falling behind
Mount Waialeale in Hawaii and López de Micay in Colombia, which have 335 and 315 rainy days respectively; and is especially concentrated in the winter months, with July featuring 27 days on which rain or snow falls.
Its monthly mean temperatures are comparable to those of Reykjavík in Iceland. Snowfalls are highly frequent and often very heavy, occurring at all times of the year. The mean afternoon relative humidity is the greatest anywhere in Australia, particularly in the cooler months.
See also
-
List of highest mountains of Tasmania
-
North East Dundas Tramway
-
Montezuma Falls
-
West Coast Tasmania Mines
-
List of oldest trees
Further reading
-
-
Pink, Kerry. The west coast story : a history of Western Tasmania and its mining fields Rev. ed. Zeehan, Tasmania : West Coast Pioneers' Memorial Museum, 1984.
-
-
External links
