Mountain a case against more charges to enjoy Tasmania's national parks

Sadly, the last line of Gustav Weindorfer's prophecy must have been lost in the 113 years since he climbed Cradle Mountain with wife Kate dressed in long skirt and bone-necked blouse and neighbour Ronnie Smith (outfit unknown).

Fortunately, the Tasmanian Government are on hand not only to resurrect this lost line but vigorously enforce it.

As Gustav descended the iconic peak on January 4, 1910, apparently unconcerned by his wife's inappropriate attire, he must have gazed proudly at the far end of Dove Lake and pictured a monstrous visitor centre frequented by busloads of tourists grumpily disembarking $15 worse off.

He would also have needed to spend much of his remaining 22 years of existence dreaming up the spin required to justify such lame misgovernance.

If so, he would have been justifiably proud of the resulting: "Visitor access to the iconic gateway to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area will be placed on a more sustainable footing with a cost recovery strategy being introduced for the Cradle Mountain shuttle bus service."

This was the message posted on the Parks and Wildlife Service Facebook page which prompted online outrage among Tasmania's bushwalking fraternity - a deceptively fit and active section of society not to be messed with.

After attracting more than 100 comments within a day, the besieged department added the follow-up: "Thanks for all your comments. We've closed comments on this post as the moderator is no longer available." This in turn prompted considerable emoji reaction, mostly angry faces but also plenty laughing and even one crying.

Regular visitors to Cradle Mountain were not happy about the imposition of a $15 fee for a shuttle bus service which had been free since introduced 20 years ago when the access road was closed to the public. The fee will be additional to a mandatory national parks pass.

Calling the move a "disgrace", many questioned whether it was to recoup the cost of the massive new visitor centre recently completed at Dove Lake. Others suggested it was to justify a proposed cable car access or even some big new stadium in Hobart.

"So we are recouping the cost of the building we didn't need at the lake? Disgusting!" said one respondent.

Another said: "The $27 million spent on "park upgrades", including the horrible Dove Lake viewing shelter, could have paid for 1.8 million shuttle bus trips, and would have been a much better use of money."

However, the response to the P&W Facebook post was a mere entree to the subsequent chat on the Bushwalking Tasmania Social Group which variously described the new visitor centre as everything from an "eyesore which nobody asked for" to a "nuclear fallout bunker".

Some questioned the announcement's maths that more than 300,000 people visit the park each year and the free shuttle service costs $3 million. They said that if each of those 300,000 people paid $15, this would raise $4.5 million - 50 per cent more than the service cost.

Many pointed out that the fundamental problem was caused by chronic under-funding of P&W going back decades.

The free shuttle service was introduced after a serious bus accident demonstrated how inadequate the access road was if left uncontrolled. The system made sense, as would something similar on Mount Wellington, simply because the access roads at both locations are not up to taking large volumes of traffic.

Cable car proposals at both sites are not popular, but clearly something needs to be done to enable access without the need for major highways destroying the very scenery that makes them so attractive.

The free shuttle bus service at Cradle Mountain has worked superbly. I have used it many times, whether to enjoy day walks in the vicinity of Dove Lake or longer overnight adventures further down the Overland Track.

Introducing a fee will deter visitors and go against everything Weindorfer envisaged when he declared such beauty needed to be enjoyed by the masses and established the concept of a national park for Cradle Mountain 102 years ago.

The sound of an Austrian migrant amateur botanist turning in his grave can currently be heard from Waldheim Chalet to Lake Wilks.

And for the benefit of decision-making bean-counters who never leave their Hobart offices, Waldheim Chalet and Lake Wilks are locations on the way to Cradle Mountain.