Corinna is a tiny historic mining town set in rainforest on the banks of the majestic Pieman River in Tasmania’s west.
You reach the town from a number of directions. The C249 Highway north from Zeehan is unsealed and when you reach the Pieman River you take the Fatman barge, which ferries vehicles across the River. It is the only cable driven vehicular barge in Tasmania. The barge operates in daylight hours all year round. You can reach Corinna from Waratah on the B23 linking to the unsealed C247 or from Marrawah on the unsealed C249 Highway.
Corinna sits at the southern end of the Tarkine protected area, the largest temperate rainforest in Australia, and is the northern most point where the famous Huon pine grows. The surrounding ancient unbroken tract of rainforest reveals a world beyond human memory and is a living link with the ancient super continent Gondwana.
The town is 60 kilometres (37 miles) north of Strahan, 70 kilometres (43 miles) west of Cradle Mountain and 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the wild west coast.
Today, you can stay at Corinna – a wilderness experience, in one of the restored miners’ cottage and take a guided tour on the Pieman River out to the Southern Ocean.
Corinna, was once called Royenrine, and is the Aboriginal name for a young Tasmanian tiger. In the rip roaring days of the 1880s goldrush, Corinna had two hotels.
In 1883, the largest nugget of gold ever discovered in Tasmania (7.5 kilos) was found at Rocky River, a small tributary of the Whyte River (a tributary of the Pieman) near Corinna. It aroused considerable excitement and attracted many men from other Tasmanian goldfields.
The town rapidly declined from 1900 when the Emu Bay railway to Zeehan opened, and today it is a peaceful place to stay to explore the Tarkine forests and the history of the west coast.
Remember you are on the west coast of Tasmania, which receives the winds of the Roaring Forties, so no matter when you visit be prepared with warm clothes and raingear.
