Escape to the country: Australia's very own Queenstown, where it's also cool and naturally beautiful

Queenstown in Tasmania is a popular escape destination and not just for those who like the peace and quiet.

The people there love the cool climate – the median temperature only rises above 20 degrees in January and February and the annual rainfall is just a tick over 2400 millimetres.

“Queenie” is home to a close-knit community where most locals enjoy getting among the beauty of nature.

With its surrounding hills and mountains, the town has an abundance of hiking paths, national parks, mountain bike tracks and four-wheel driving trails. It’s known as the gateway to Tassie’s west coast, celebrated for its isolation and rugged terrain.

Queenstown was originally home to the Peerapper and Tommeginne Aboriginals. Macquarie Harbour to the south was a fruitful hunting area for Indigenous tribes with plentiful shellfish and seals, as well as the game they hunted inland using grassland fires to clear the bush.

Evidence of Aboriginal culture still exists along the west coast including shelter sites and middens.

Ever since gold was first discovered in 1881, Queenstown has been known as a mining town. However a tragedy involving the deaths of three local miners at the Mount Lyell copper mine in 2014 came as a huge blow to the community.

The mine was put into caretaker mode, resulting in 200 job losses. Resourceful locals turned to the town’s tourism industry, including its popular arts festival The Unconformity.

Like all small towns, Queenstown enjoys its quirks. Its infamous footy oval is made of gravel, yes gravel, owing to the fact that grass was once difficult to cultivate when the mining smelters were in action.

Luckily this tough surface is an advantage for the Queenstown Crows, who rarely lose a game on their home ground. This year, “The Gravel” was named Tasmania’s favourite football oval after a social media survey by AFL Tasmania.

And for AC/DC fans, the song A Whole Lotta Rosie was inspired after the band performed in Queenstown in 1976. Legend has it Bon Scott had an amorous encounter with an obese local woman called Rosie.

Population: 1755, as of the 2016 census

Who lives there?

Vikky Yabsley and her husband swapped the Queensland sun for the colder climes of Queenstown in 2017. The couple purchased the Silver Hills Motel and Restaurant, the first motel they have owned after spending 10 years in relief motel management.

“When we came to inspect Queenstown, we just fell in love with the west coast,” said Yabsley.

“It’s beautiful and it’s unique with all its mountains, the views and lots of national parks. It just had a nice vibe for us and very friendly people, we came to have a look and once we’d seen Queenstown, we decided it was where we wanted to be.”

After just a short time managing the hotel, they quickly discovered not to mess with one popular dish on the menu.

“The BOB, or the best of both worlds, is the most popular item and it’s a bit of steak and pork ribs,” Yabsley said.

“We actually tried changing it and doing different things because we’ve gone through a few different chefs who had different ideas. But we have decided, the locals have spoken – we have to always have the BOB!”

What happens there?

In summer, Queenstown is packed with tourists and their number one destination is the West Coast Wilderness Railway. The railway traverses 35 kilometres between Strahan and Queenstown, journeying through scenic rainforest territory.

The railway, which opened in 1897, was originally built to haul loads for the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company. It fell into disrepair and closed in 1963, but with government funding and restored trains, it reopened as a tourist attraction in 2003.

Although most people visit in summer, Rebecca Lay, the railway’s social media officer, says winter provides an even better viewing experience.

“The summer season is our busy season and obviously we’re swamped with full trains and tourists everywhere,” she said.

“The train heads out in the rainforest so in the winter, in the rain, is the best time to see it. People will purposely plan a trip here to see things like the big waterfalls.”

Lay has lived in Queenstown her whole life and enjoys the small, friendly community.

“What’s kept me here is the fact that it’s so small,” she said.

“I have four children and I feel they’re safe – people know who they are, we know them and everybody knows everybody so it’s safer for them.

“And the community is always willing to help. What springs to mind is there’s been people moving here and others will help them out to find accommodation, furniture and things like that. My family’s involved with the playgroup, so if new families come to town we can show them what’s available and go along with them.”

What’s life like?

Part of Queenstown’s appeal is the affordable real estate. Harcourts agent Rodney Triffit said the price of houses in the town had proved a real drawcard for people from the mainland wanting to ditch big mortgages.

“The median price for a three-bedroom house is $94,000 and when I first started in 2017 I think the median price was around $60,000 to $70,000, which just goes to show how much the market has changed in that time,” he said.

“Something I hear all the time is people who are on the brink of retirement saying they are looking to get away from the heat. They may sell up from the mainland, get a really good price over there and then they can buy the same type of property for a quarter of the price down this way.”

What jobs are there?

The mothballing of the Mount Lyell mine has impacted the town and driven many locals to seek work at mines in the nearby towns of Rosebery and Henty.

Many Queenstown locals are employed by tourism and accommodation operators in town or in surrounding areas, including the cruise boats in Strahan.

Census data revealed unemployment was high in 2016, at 16.6 per cent, although this was measured not long after the Mount Lyell mine closure. Back then, accommodation was the number one employment source at 9.4 per cent, followed by supermarkets and grocery stores at 6.7 per cent.

Why should you move there?

If you love nature and a temperate climate, Queenstown is a great choice. Locals say there’s no better place to watch a sunset than atop Mount Owen, which has an elevation of 1146 metres.

In further good news for outdoorsy folk, the Tasmanian government has committed $20 million for the next iconic walk in the Tyndall Range, north of Queenstown. The multi-day trek is loved by tourists and Tasmanians alike.

Queenstown’s beauty is quintessentially Tasmanian. But if the isolation ever gets to be too much, Burnie is a two-hour drive away and Devonport 2.5 hours.