Far more than just a place to stay, Wilder is a place to experience.

Wilder is a gathering place. It is a place where community and kinship were defined by a shared love of place, and it is deeply infused with the stories and songs of the people who occupied it. The past is deeply imbued in the present, and is reflected in the unique atmosphere that is Wilder.

Having grown up in a bucolic setting, strikingly different to the urban sprawl and bustle of Sydney, Matt knew years before his arrival in Tasmania the type of lifestyle he longed to return to. He was sure about the type of place he wanted for his family: days spent outdoors rather than inside, meals full of home-grown harvests, and nights without the cacophony of urban noise. 

When “The Old Black Stump” restaurant came up for sale in 2018, a vision of that very lifestyle started to take shape and soon afterwards, the concept of Wilder Tasmania was born.

It was at this point that Matt connected with both old and new friends with extensive experience in the Tasmanian tourism space - and Wilder Tasmania became a reality. The team members behind the Wilder concept were local business owners and friends: Matt Gower, Boris Petrack, Daniel Priest and Sam Lincoln. They brought the Domescapes concept and investment to the Gowrie Park site, assisting Matt Fell in his vision to turn “The Old Black Stump” into a tourism centrepiece for the North-West Region.

Matt Fell, Creative Director

Collaborating with local Tasmanian artists, craftsmen, businesses and some iconic Tasmanian characters, Wilder Tasmania began to take shape. 

“Everything we did had to be a little different, from the hand built lodge, the dome accommodation to the quirky experiences. We wanted it to reflect the deep history of the place, in its many facets.”

As a music producer, Matt has won 4 ARIA Awards and 14 Golden Guitar awards. He has also produced countless albums, EPs and singles, so of course music had to be at the heart of what Wilder Tasmania would be – a tranquil and endlessly inspiring environment for all guests, artists and musicians.

Matt and the team look forward to welcoming you soon.

A look back in time.

It all began, under the mountain. A wilder place steeped in rich history and countless tales.

The Tasmanian aboriginal people, the Palawa and Pakana, have a culture spanning more than 50,000 years. Their management of the land using fire stick farming is still visible in surrounding landscapes today.

One of Aboriginal Tasmania’s most significant sites is an ochre mine located just across the range at Toolumpunga, not far from Mole Creek. Early white colonists recorded seeing aboriginal camps in and around Tarinimari / Mount Roland. No doubt the Palawa dreamt of the treasured Ochre as they camped just across the range, here in Gowrie Park. The gathering and preparation of Ochre was primarily ‘women’s business’. For thousands of years the women had their babies around these mountains and elders today speak of the “women’s energy” coming the “mother’s mountains”

PIctured below: Mannarlargenna, respected leader and warrior here with his red ochre hair. No doubt the ochre was from Toolumpunga and was mixed with animal fats.

A Brief History of Wilder Times

  • This area was most probably first visited by white settlers in the 1820’s, during survey work by the Van Diemens Land Company.

  • Henry who grazed cattle near the Dasher River, about halfway between here and Sheffield. The Gowrie Settlement was about one kilometre north of the later Gowrie Park Village. The name Gowrie comes from Henry’s association with Gowrie in Scotland.

  • A school was established at Gowrie between 1926-1939. An evacuation camp was built in 1942, during the latter part of the 1939-1945 war, for use in the event of an attack on Devonport or coastal areas. This was later used as a scout camp.

  • 1963 as Gowrie Park Village, to be used as a housing and base area for the construction of The Mersey Forth Power Development. The village consisted of 474 pre-fabricated houses, hospital, school, retail store, butcher’s shop, barber shop, cafe, community hall, library, bank, church, police station (including a gaol), and recreation ground.

  • The present site was established by the Hydro-Electric Commission in August 1963 as Gowrie Park Village, to be used as a housing and base area for the construction of The Mersey Forth Power Development. The village consisted of 474 pre-fabricated houses, a hospital, school, retail store, butcher’s shop, barber shop, cafe, community hall, library, bank, church, police station (including a gaol), and recreation ground.

    There was also a single men’s camp which consisted of 904 huts, a mess, a canteen, recreation rooms, and ablution blocks. A bookmakers club was also situated in the camp area.

    Wilder Lodge and venue was part of the staff accommodation house, built to house 80 people.

    The workshop area contained a large plant depot for servicing the heavy construction equipment. There were also engineering and clerical offices, base storage, garage, electrical workshop, carpenter’s shop, fire station, concrete and soil testing laboratories.

    Outside the immediate village area, a fabrication factory was set up for the large steel pipelines. Water and sewerage treatment plants were also situated in this area.

  • Most of the houses and buildings used in this area were transported here from previous construction projects, including our three bedroom accommodation, which was originally built for the Tasmania film production company.

    A total work force of roughly 1,700 was employed at the peak construction period when the village population was about 1,500.

    Records in 1968 show that of the school children, 389 attended Gowrie Park School, 91 Sheffield Area School, and 123 Latrobe High School.

  • The construction program started to wind down on the completion of the last of the seven power stations in 1973, with the works office closing down on July 5th 1974.

    The houses were sold and most of the buildings moved to Tullah for the construction on the Pieman Power Scheme.

    Some of the workshops still remain as the maintenance base for the power stations operating in the Mersey Forth area.

    The remaining buildings in the village were sold by the H.E.C., and are now under the control of Kentish Council. Part of the engineers’ offices are now the accommodation units, the butcher’s shop, and cafe in the dining area. The concrete base of the retail store serves as a basketball area.

  • What is now Wilder Lodge, then became The Old Black Stump Restaurant and Function Room, a venue catering for evening meals, special occasions, weddings and corporate events. During this period it became a rustic countrified gem, famous for home-cooked style meals made with locally sourced produce.

  • Reborn in 2024 as Wilder Tasmania accommodation and lodge, and together with a cultural and live music destination that’s quickly becoming a sought-after venue for national and international touring artists and creators alike. Catering for concerts, retreats, artists, long weekends and weddings.