The Central Highlands Council is a Local Government Area

Local Government Areas of Tasmania

- Local Government Areas of Tasmania, Australia :This article also includes lists of towns, suburbs and localities of Tasmania.-Brighton Council:*Hobart suburbs:**Bridgewater - Gagebrook - Old Beach*Brighton*Pontville*Tea Tree-City of Clarence:...

 in the central highland region

Central Highlands (Tasmania)

Central Highlands is a region in Tasmania where geographical and administrative boundaries closely coincide. It is also known as The Lake Country of Tasmania -Geographical region:...

 of Tasmania

Tasmania

Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

. It is the second largest Local Government Area of Tasmania, after the West Coast

West Coast Council

The West Coast Council is a Local Government Area of Tasmania. It covers much of the west of Tasmania. It is the largest Local Government Area of Tasmania by area, and the second least densely populated, after the Central Highlands. It takes in the West Coast Range as well as portions of World...

, and the least densely populated, with only 0.3 people per square kilometre.

Parks and reserves

It covers most of the mountainous centre of the state, also known as the Central Plateau which contains the Central Plateau Conservation Area

Central Plateau Conservation Area

The Central Plateau conservation area is an animal & plant conservation area in Tasmania, Australia.The Central Plateau of Tasmania is the largest area of high ground in Tasmania...

 including sections of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area

Tasmanian Wilderness

The Tasmanian Wilderness is a term that is used for a range of areas in Tasmania, Australia.The World Heritage Areas in South West, Western and Central are the most well known. However, there are also other areas in Tasmania that have the elements of being known as wilderness areas, the Tarkine...

, as well as the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park

Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park

Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park is located in the Central Highlands area of Tasmania , 165 km northwest of Hobart. The park contains many walking trails, and is where hikes along the well-known Overland Track usually begins...

, and Walls of Jerusalem National Park

Walls of Jerusalem National Park

Walls Of Jerusalem is a national park in Tasmania, Australia, 144 km northwest of Hobart. It forms part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area....

. Other smaller reserves of different status occur in the region as well.

Towns

The population of the area is small and quite decentralised, resulting in a large number of small towns. Some of these towns were founded as support sites for workers on the hydro-electric dams scattered along the upper Derwent River. Main towns are considered Hamilton (council headquarters) and Bothwell, but the largest town is Tarraleah.

The towns (with population as of 2006):

• Bothwell
  Bothwell, Tasmania
  Bothwell, Tasmania is a small town with a population at the 2006 census of 376. Situated in central Tasmania on the River Clyde, it is notable for hunting and being a lake district. It is part of the municipality of Central Highlands Council...
  
   (376)
• Bronte Park
  Bronte Park, Tasmania
  Bronte Park is a locality on the Marlborough Highway at the southern edge of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park in Tasmania. It is approximately halfway in between Hobart and Queenstown, and is also almost exactly in the geographic dead centre of the island...
  
   (16)
• Derwent Bridge
  Derwent Bridge, Tasmania
  Derwent Bridge is a locality on the Lyell Highway at the southern edge of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.It is just south of Lake St Clair and the Lake St Clair visitor centre; and it is north of Lake King William and the Butlers Gorge Power Station.It is also the last inhabited...
  
   (?)
• Hamilton
  Hamilton, Tasmania
  Hamilton is a small rural town north west of Hobart in Tasmania on the Lyell Highway. At the 2006 census, the town and surrounding area had a population of 300....
  
   (300)
• Liawenee (?)
• Miena
  Miena, Tasmania
  Miena is a small town by the Great Lake in the Central Highlands of Tasmania, Australia. At the 2006 census, Miena and the surrounding area had a population of 104.- Climate :...
  
   (104)
• Ouse
  Ouse, Tasmania
  Ouse is a small town in the Central Highlands Council local government area in Tasmania along Lyell Highway. At the 2006 census, Ouse had a population of 137....
  
   (137)
• Tarraleah
  Tarraleah, Tasmania
  Tarraleah is a small town located in the rugged wilderness of the Central Highlands of Tasmania, north-west of the state capital Hobart, and slightly closer to Queenstown....
  
   (500)

Townships

The municipality is subdivided into eight townships:

1. Hamilton Township
2. Ouse Township
3. Gretna Township
4. Ellendale Township
5. Fentonbury Township
6. Westerway Township
7. Wayatinah Township
8. Bothwell Township

Population

Central Highlands Council have the second highest birth rate in all of Tasmania and one of the highest birth rates for all of Australia. The TFR

Total Fertility Rate

The total fertility rate of a population is the average number of children that would be born to a woman over her lifetime if she were to experience the exact current age-specific fertility rates through her lifetime, and she...

 was estimated at 3.20 in 2006. Source. Only George Town with a TFR of 3.75 had a higher birth rate than Central Highlands. http://www.news.com.au/mercury/story/0,22884,20600554-5007221,00.html. TFR was reported at 3.46 in 2007. http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3301.02007?OpenDocument

Region

Some tourism materials combine the LGA area with that of the Derwent Valley to call it Derwent Valley and Highlands region

Further reading

• Jetson, Tim.(1989) The roof of Tasmania: a history of the Central Plateau Launceston, Tas.: Pelion Press. ISBN 0731672143