Hells Gates (Tasmania)

Hells Gates is the name of the mouth of Macquarie Harbour on the West Coast of Tasmania, Australia.[1]

It is a notoriously shallow and dangerous channel entrance to the harbour. The actual channel is between Macquarie Heads on the west and Entrance Island on the east (the main length of the harbour runs southeast of Hells Gates). There is a wider area of water between Entrance Island and the eastern shore, but it is too shallow to get a boat over.

Hells Gates, viewed from the ocean side of the entrance. Entrance Island is on the left. Bonnet Island lighthouse is visible in the distance.

Braddon Point is the name of the feature on the eastern shore, while the shallow water south of the point is named Fraser Flats, and the channel adjacent to the breakwater is known as Kelly Channel.

  1. ^ Geoscience Australia ("Place Names of Australia Search - Geoscience Australia". Archived from the original on 1 April 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2011. ) has three other locations in Tasmania using the same name – the Macquarie harbour entrance is the only official usage:
    • Hells Gates Unofficial Lat -42 22 Long 146 50
    • Hells Gates Unofficial Lat -42 12 Long 145 28
    • Hells Gates Unofficial Lat -41 37 Long 145 3