Dams always fascinate me. They are such giant structures that change the landscape so irrevocably, sometimes for the worst. Tasmania has had a fraught relationhip with dams, particularly the Franklin River dam proposal which threatened to totally ruin wilderness, and was stopped by a huge protest in the late '80's and early '90s.
The Mt Paris Dam is one of those quick side stops you should do if you're in the area. It's in the north east, near Derby, on the Mt Paris Road, and is built across the Cascade River using only wheelbarrows and shovels in 1937. So crazy was this that I had to take a photo of the board!
It was connected by an 11 Km water race with the Mt Paris tin mine, which close in 1970, so the dam wasn't used anymore. They blasted a few holes in it to release the water, which still trickles prettily through the gaps.
I'm a huge fan of this kind of architecture. It shows you what man is capable of, but it also shows you how we build our hopes and dreams on so little. Without maintenance, all you're left with is crumbling concrete.
I also like to imagine building a home around ruins like this. You could build them between the buttresses easy enough - the concrete is already there, you just need a roof, and windows and doors of course. What cool architecture that would be!
They did remind me of Aztec ruins. How much will be left of our civilisation in years to come is anyone's guess, and I wonder if future civilisations will marvel at engineering like this. OF course, this is very small scale compared to some dams, but did I say it was made by shovelling in wheelbarrows of concrete?
Being out of the way, we didn't see a single other soul. It gave us chance to marvel for a bit at it's beauty - because there is something beautiful about these grey lines rising out of the chaos of the green bush around it.
It would have been a wonderful place to stop for a while and take some interesting photos, but we were just passing through, so didn't really have time. Those angles are so photogenic, don't you think?
I love how abandoned places like this speak to you. Even better is when they aren't attached to a gift shop with hordes of tourists - just quiet, lonely, rotting places in the middle of nowhere, writing poetry all on their own.
With Love,
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