The Franklin River Campaign - Part 2 - The Franklin - ‘Part of the world’s cultural heritage’

Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of this landmark High Court decision, writes William J. Lines.

On July 1, we celebrate 25 years since the High Court decision that 'Let the Franklin run free'. In this Four Part series on the Franklin river campaign, Author William J. Lines charts the rise of Australia's conservation movement - and a famous win for the environment.

Go to PART 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Part 2 - The Franklin – ‘Part of the world’s cultural heritage’

Flotilla of rubber duckies. Photo: Bruce Fenton

Conflict garnered more attention for the Franklin. Australians everywhere became acquainted with southwest Tasmania’s unique life, landforms, and wilderness. Interest increased in early 1981 when Kiernan, now a respected geomorphologist, discovered an Aboriginal cave on the banks of the lower Franklin. The discovery made international news. Threatened by flooding, Kutikina Cave contained the remains of campfires, stone tools, and animal bones dating to 24,000 years BP (Before Present).
   
With the assistance of the ACF, Australian pre-historians John Mulvaney and Rhys Jones together with international colleagues took out a full-page advertisement in The Australian confirming the significance of Kutikina Cave. The Franklin area, they declared, was ‘part of the world’s cultural heritage’.
   
To break the impasse between Tasmania’s two houses of parliament the state government proposed a referendum to ask the people of Tasmania whether they preferred a dam on the Gordon above Olga or a dam on the Franklin. The referendum did not allow voters to choose no dams.

Outraged by the lack of choice - the first referendum in Australian history to exclude a ‘No’ option - the TWS and ACF ran a vigorous campaign urging voters to write ‘No Dams’ across their ballots. Designers produced a triangular, day-glow ‘No Dams’ sticker, which, TWS estimated, appeared on some 20,000 cars across the state. Volunteers Peter and Shirley Storey organised 100 other volunteers to canvas the entire island, knocking on doors and handling out pamphlets.

“No Dams” - Australia’s greatest ever act of electoral defiance

In November 1981 the results came in. Just eight percent of voters backed the Gordon above Olga scheme; 47 percent voted for the Franklin scheme; while 45 percent voted informal. And, in Australia’s greatest ever act of electoral defiance, 33 percent of the informal voters wrote No Dams across their ballots.
   
Meanwhile, turmoil engulfed the Labor Party. The pro-Franklin dam politician, Harry Holgate ousted Lowe as premier. Lowe resigned from the Labor Party to sit on the cross benches. Another House of Assembly Labor member, Mary Willey also resigned to join Lowe and so Premier Holgate lost control of the House. The two ex-Labor members joined Norm Sanders, previously elected to represent the seat of Denison for the Australian Democrats. In March 1982 Sanders moved a motion of no confidence in the government. It passed, the government fell, and elections were announced for May.

Premier Gray described the Franklin River as ‘nothing but a brown ditch, leech-ridden, unattractive to the majority of people’.

The TWS continued campaigning against the dam and backed candidate Bob Brown. Brown narrowly missed out on a seat but Sanders was re-elected and so was Lowe along with the strongly pro-dam Liberal Party under the leadership of Robin Gray. The new government quickly introduced legislation to dam the Franklin, which Premier Gray described as ‘nothing but a brown ditch, leech-ridden, unattractive to the majority of people’. All but three of Tasmania’s 54 politicians voted in favour of destruction. Legislative Council member Harry Braid predicted ‘No power on this earth will stop the dam now’. Workers moved onto the site readying it for bulldozers.

Go to Part 3 >> 'The Franklin River campaign goes national'