Regatta Point - TAS

Regatta Point is at the entrance to Strahan Harbour and approximately south or the main wharf area. It was the terminal of the Queenstown to Strahan railway, the completion of which brought the shipping of ore from the inland mines to Strahan and provided Queenstown residents with an easier way of reaching Macquarie Harbour.

So Strahan probably first became a tourist destination when the railway arrived in 1899 . The railway ceased operation in 1963 for economic reasons due to rising maintenance costs and the completion of a road link to Hobart.

In 2002 the railway, with permanent way and bridges largely rebuilt and passenger carriages renovated, the West Coast Wilderness Railway was commissioned. It now provides tourist journeys from both Queenstown and Strahan for all or part of its length. The railway is of particular interest to railway buffs because of the rack system used to maintain traction on sections of the track that are too steep for the friction of iron wheels on iron rails to maintain, or I guess break, forward motion.