Prehistoric man in the inland valley karsts of Western Tasmania.

Al though the presence of Aborigines along Tasmania's western coastline has long been known, and the Beginners Luck cave site in the Florentine Valley shows human occupation in south central Tasmania during the Pleistocene, these two localities are separated by the often densely forested wilderness of central western and southwestern Tasmania. This region consists of a series of parallel valleys which extend from near the south coast northwards towards the dolerite mountains which lie east of the Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park. Much of the area has been incorporated within the new Wild Rivers National Park, but hydro-electric dams are proposed within it.