South Wellington

This is an area that was noted in the original track assessment done for Wellington Park Management Trust

A history of the actions taken by the FOWP in conjunction with the City of Hobart track team is at the bottom of this page.

Background

During the track assessment done for Wellington Park Management Trust in 2002 there was section of the South Wellington track between the summit and the junction with the Ice House track that was recommended to be hardened with local rock. The location is AGD94 55 518943 5249531.

In April 2017 I checked with City of Hobart if any works were planned and told none were in near future. Axel from WPMT indicated repair was desirable but a PAA will be required for the proposed work.

Anne McConnell from WPMT set out conditions.

Given the historical nature of the track and the heritage significance of the track, if work is deemed essential, then the work should be subject to a permit, and the permit should be conditioned to ensure minimal negative impact on the cultural heritage values. Conditions should include (taken in part from the conservation policy in the site datasheet) -

The works should be limited to stone pavement/paving and this should be kept to a minimum.
As it is unlikely that the exact original route is being used on all parts of the track, some minor alignment shift is permissible if this improves track condition and/or reduces the natural impacts, but this is to be kept to within c.2m either side of the current route.
Where needed, the paving should be designed to look semi-natural – ie, should be an irregular arrangement of spaced stepping stones of different sizes and shapes.
The track must not be edged, or surfaced, or infilled with stone rubble or other solid – semi-solid fill (as these treatments were not used historically).
A brief report of the works must be provided to the WPMT for the heritage site records. The report should include a map of where the works were undertaken, GPS points for the start and end, a brief description of who undertook the works, why, when and the nature of works, and should include paired before and after photographs of the works to show the nature of the works.

Site Inspection

After discussing with Greg Milne in November 2017, I finally went to have a closer look at the site. It remains in poor condition and is deteriorating due to walkers avoiding mud and thus damaging additional vegetation and soil. The vegetation includes pineapple grass, and this breaks down relatively easy with use and just simply widens the damage.

The track is well used but would be considered a little rough underfoot. The area impacted by mud and continuing braiding is a mere 32 in length and not all requires work as some existing rock is already naturally in the track. Actual work would be about 20 metres. There is ample rock on site.