Crotty Dam and Darwin Dam impound Lake Burbury on Tasmania's West Coast. The storage supplies John Butters Power Station through a tunnel beneath Mount Jukes, linking major hydro engineering with a lake now used for boating, paddling and trout fishing.
The King scheme reshaped the valley
Hydro Tasmania began the scheme in the 1980s and commissioned John Butters Power Station in 1992. Water drops about 200 metres over a seven-kilometre underground journey to the station.
The lake inundated the former town of Crotty and parts of the King River landscape. Low water may expose traces, but visitors must not enter operational areas, climb structures or remove historic material.
View the dam from public areas only
Use signed roads, lookouts and recreation sites. Crotty Dam's spillway and outlet are operating infrastructure, and water levels or releases can change. Gates and exclusion signs override old visitor directions.
Prepare for large, cold water
Hydro Tasmania works with MAST and the Inland Fisheries Service around three public boat ramps. Conditions can deteriorate quickly, and submerged timber or changing lake levels add hazards. Check ramp status, marine weather, inland-fishing rules and required safety equipment.
Queenstown is the main service base. The West Coast guide covers highway conditions, and Tasmania’s lakes explains how hydro storages differ from natural lakes.