Coroner warns hikers against first-time ascent of Tasmania’s Federation Peak after Victorian bushwalker’s death
A Victorian man died after falling from Tasmania’s Federation Peak during a bucket-list climb that had already turned back with his companions, a coroner has
A Victorian man died after falling from Tasmania’s Federation Peak during a bucket-list climb that had already turned back with his companions, a coroner has found. The warning from officials is blunt: the mountain is no place for a first Tasmanian bushwalk.
Coroner Madeleine Wilson on Friday released her findings into the death of the 30-year-old, who fell in December 2024 while hiking the Eastern Arthur Range Traverse in Southwest National Park with his partner. The pair had prepared for 10 days in the wilderness. Federation Peak, she said, was a notoriously difficult choice.
‘Extremely dangerous’
Wilson’s report comes with a clear message for hikers eyeing the peak in Tasmania’s south-west. Federation Peak is “extremely dangerous,” a Tasmanian wilderness veteran said, and sits among Australia’s most challenging bushwalks.
The coroner said the man was a keen bushwalker who set out excitedly for what he hoped would be a bucket-list climb. He did not return.
Details in the report are distressing. The couple had turned back when the fall occurred, Wilson said, underlining how quickly conditions on the mountain can change and how unforgiving the terrain can be. Even experienced walkers can be caught out.
Not a first Tasmanian trek
Wilson warned hikers not to attempt Federation Peak as their first bushwalk in Tasmania. That caution matters well beyond the state. Across mountain ranges from New Zealand to the Canadian Rockies, rescue teams regularly warn that remote alpine routes demand more than enthusiasm and a map.
Federation Peak’s reputation is built on exposure, remoteness and difficulty, and those factors have long made it a test for seasoned walkers rather than casual adventurers. The coroner said the man and his partner were prepared for a long wilderness trip. Preparation, in this case, was not enough.
The report leaves hikers with a simple but hard-edged warning. Federation Peak is not a mountain to treat lightly. “Notoriously difficult,” Wilson said. “An ambitious choice” for a first Tasmanian bushwalk.
