From its headwaters in the alpine lakes of the Cheyne Range to its confluence with the Gordon River some 130 km later, the Franklin flows through one of the world’s great wilderness reserves — part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA). You will see no dams, buildings or roads; in fact, there is no permanent human habitation in the entire catchment. The banks are lined with temperate rainforest, broken by quartzite ridgelines and small beaches, and the air here is among the cleanest on the planet.
The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA)
The TWWHA is recognised by UNESCO for both its natural and cultural significance, covering over 1.5 million hectares — nearly a quarter of Tasmania. Remarkably, it was the first site in the world to meet seven of the ten possible World Heritage criteria, and remains one of only two properties globally to do so. These include:
- Cultural Criteria:
- (iii) Exceptional evidence of Ice Age human occupation, including ancient cave sites and cultural deposits dating back over 40,000 years.
- (iv) A cultural landscape shaped by millennia of Aboriginal land management and occupation.
- (vi) Rock markings and symbolic sites reflecting the beliefs of the southernmost humans during the Pleistocene.
- Natural Criteria:
- (vii) Landscapes of outstanding natural beauty — from glacial valleys to remote coastlines and wild rivers.
- (viii) Globally significant geological features and processes, including karst systems and ancient landforms shaped by glaciation.
- (ix) Large-scale ecological processes, with diverse habitats supporting evolution and natural succession.
- (x) A refuge for rare and ancient species, many of which are found nowhere else on Earth.
The World Heritage listing was hard-won. In 1974, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam signed Australia onto the World Heritage Convention, setting the legal foundation for future protection. Despite strong political headwinds, Tasmanian Premier Doug Lowe and Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser later nominated the Tasmanian Wilderness for World Heritage status — both crossing party lines and defying their respective governments in doing so. Their leadership paved the way for the area’s eventual inscription in 1982.
That decision gained even more urgency during the famous Franklin Dam campaign, when a grassroots environmental movement — supported by national and international pressure — successfully halted plans to dam the river. The campaign became a defining moment in Australian conservation history and reaffirmed the importance of protecting places of such rare and irreplaceable value.
To journey down the Franklin River is to travel through a living, protected legacy — a place of deep time, ecological wonder and cultural significance, recognised on the world stage.
Read more about the Franklin River Dam controversy