Located at the town of Pillinger, Kelly Basin, Macquarie Harbour, West Coast Tasmania. Normally visitors would arrive by boat, but there is a road in from the north, and a short day-walk will have you in Pillinger and back.

History

Pillinger is now a ghost town, other than this lodge. It has two parts on the east and west side of Pillinger Basin.

The first town here was called Kelly Basin and the town name was changed to Pillinger on 15 July 1898 when the Post Office opened on the west side, to be added to with a hotel and other services. It was named after a Tasmanian family some of whom were politicians. The west side was the government village and the east was a commercial area. The Tasmanian Government have registered it as an historic place.

East Pillinger was built for James Crotty, to ship copper from his North Mount Lyell mine here by railway. Carriage and a lot of additional infrastructure are still visibile. On the east side there was a brickworks, three wharves, a saw mill and an ore crusher. The village closed in 1924.

Construction

Reindeer Lodge was built around an old railway carriage and the main door slides open as per a carriage. It includes a number of rooms, about 6 bunks, a cooking area and other spaces, all of them very rustic.

GPS: Latitude: S 42.3547. Longitude: E 145.5426.