About this record

This card, produced by the Tasmanian Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC) in 1973, offers 'Season's greetings' and presents two photographic views: one is of two women on an elevated rocky area overlooking a grass-covered plain but with no water in the scene; the other view shows snow-capped mountains reflected in a stretch of water. The caption reads: 'Reflections on the new enlarged Lake Pedder. Two pictures of the Serpentine Valley – before and after flooding – which form part of the Gordon River Power Development'.

Educational value

• This Christmas card was produced with the intention of portraying the destruction of Lake Pedder as an improvement, not the great environmental disaster many considered it to be. Attempting to alter public perceptions in the face of mounting anger over the destruction of the lake, these two photographs, one of which shows an area adjacent to the lake that was later flooded, were used by the HEC in media releases and a brochure as part of a publicity campaign.
• The HEC's use of these photographs was 'an incredible confidence trick' designed to mislead the Australian public, according to the director of the Tasmanian Environment Centre, Dr Robert Walker. The head of the HEC, Sir Allan Knight, admitted that neither photograph showed the original lake.
• The original Lake Pedder was formed sometime between 10,000 and 1 million years ago when outwash from a glacier blocked the Serpentine River. The lake covered about 9 square kilometres and was noted for its extraordinary beauty and also for its unique beach of pink quartzite, which was about 3 kilometres long and almost 1 kilometres wide. The new lake, still called Lake Pedder by the HEC and its successor, Hydro Tasmania, covers about 242 square kilometres.
• The campaign against the flooding of Lake Pedder attracted national attention, in part because of the photographs taken by Olegas Truchanas (1923-72), which demonstrated the striking and unique beauty of the original lake. That campaign is often credited with starting the modern conservation movement in Australia, and it led to the formation in 1972 of the United Tasmania Group, the world's first 'green' political party. This Christmas card appears to have been an attempt to counter the impact of the photographs used so effectively by the campaign.
• In 1995, the federal parliamentary Inquiry into the Proposal to Drain and Restore Lake Pedder concluded that the loss of the lake's role in Tasmania's electricity generation could be accommodated. However, this was not considered a priority at the time and would have been very costly. The report also noted that 'a much greater weight must be given to the preservation of biological and geological diversity when considering use of pristine areas'. Conservationists continue to campaign for its restoration.