Population 2,309 (2015 est) Region Central Highlands Central Highlands Council Southern Midlands Council seat Hamilton | Mayor Deirdre Flint State electorate(s) Lyons Area 7,976 km² Federal division Division of Lyons | |
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Website Central Highlands Council Points of interest The Wall, Narcissus Hut, Lake St Clair, Mount Rufus Track, Waddamana Power Station M Destinations Overland Track, Derwent Bridge, Tarraleah, Mount Field, National Park | ||
The Central Highlands Council is a local government area in the central highland region of Tasmania. It is the second largest Local Government Area of Tasmania, after the West Coast, and the least densely populated, with only 0.3 people per square kilometre.
Contents
Map of Central Highlands, TAS, Australia
Parks and reserves
It covers most of the mountainous centre of the state, also known as the Central Plateau which contains the Central Plateau Conservation Area including sections of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, as well as the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, and Walls of Jerusalem National Park. Other smaller reserves of different status occur in the region as well.
Towns
The population of the area is small and quite decentralised, resulting in a large number of small towns. Some of these towns were founded as support sites for workers on the hydro-electric dams scattered along the upper Derwent River. Main towns are considered Hamilton (council headquarters) and Bothwell.
The towns (with population as of 2006):
Townships
The municipality is subdivided into eight townships:
- Hamilton Township
- Ouse Township
- Gretna Township
- Ellendale Township
- Fentonbury Township
- Westerway Township
- Wayatinah Township
- Bothwell Township
Population
Central Highlands Council have the second highest birth rate in all of Tasmania and one of the highest birth rates for all of Australia. The TFR was estimated at 3.20 in 2006. Source. Only George Town with a TFR of 3.75 had a higher birth rate than Central Highlands. [1]. TFR was reported at 3.46 in 2007. [2]
Region
Some tourism materials combine the LGA area with that of the Derwent Valley to call it Derwent Valley and Highlands region