Fagus on the shores of Lake Fenton April 2016
Fagus (deciduous beech) providing a golden backdrop to the weekend
The 100th Anniversary of Mt Field National Park was celebrated over the Anzac Day weekend with a huge turn out of visitors and locals. The fagus was in its full Autumn colours, and the weather was calm, warm and sunny – absolutely beautiful. Thousands of visitors turned out to enjoy the Park, and the entertainment on offer. Shuttle buses to Lake Dobson and Lake Fenton were fully booked, the car parks were filled to overflowing, and the food van queues were impressive (until the vans ran out of food!)
The Southern Tasmanian Ski Association displays attracted numerous visitors, and showcased the history of skiing from the construction of the Twilight Tarn Hut in 1926 through to the present day. There was a great deal of interest in the skiing memorabilia on display, and many visitors were surprised to learn of the amount of snow received at Mt Mawson, and the ongoing operation of tows for downhill skiing and snowboarding. There were also numerous questions about the visitor facilities on the mountain, with the most common one being “When will the new day shelter be built at Mt Mawson?”
STSA display tents at the Mt Field Fagus Festival
PWS Ranger-in Charge Brendan Moodie chats with STSA Volunteers
Mt Mawson Ski Patrollers Paul Vince and Liz Caldwell-Koolhof
The Fagus Festival and Mt Field Centenary was a wonderful event to showcase the Mt Mawson Ski Field and Mt Field National Park, and a big thanks must go to the STSA Volunteers who put the displays together and manned the display over the weekend:
Andrew Briggs, Liz Caldwell-Koolhof, Karen Davis, Peter Davis, Antal Hanke, Fred Koolhof, Craig Larsson, Marion Murri, Charlotte Sainsbury, Leigh Tesch, Paul Vince, Michael Wadsley, Penny Wadsley. Particular thanks must go to Michael and Penny who provided the gazebos and much of the historical display material. There will be a further opportunity to learn about the history of skiing at Mt Field at the Australian Alpine Snow Sports History Association Conference, to be held at Mt Field this coming weekend.
