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It was hoped it could become the heart of tourism in a far-flung corner of Tasmania — instead it lies derelict, with promised funds for its resurrection yet to materialise.
Opened in 2004 by Forestry Tasmania, Dismal Swamp, near Togari in the state's far north-west, invited visitors to explore the largest sinkhole in the southern hemisphere.
It was fitted with a 110-metre slide and a boardwalk that weaved through the blackwood forest, and featured installations designed for the landscape by prominent local artists, including Bill Yaxley, Greg Duncan, and the late Ros Langford.
But despite high hopes for its success, Dismal Swamp shut in 2019 after years of troubled operation, and locals are "shocked" by its condition.
Site ‘left to rot’
Before it closed, visitors were greeted by two giant metal praying mantes, perched high on wooden poles — but Hazel Tapson, a former employee and local resident, said they had been cut down with a chainsaw.
"The praying mantis, one of them was crushed … and one of the legs broken off … and a lot of the pole missing and chopped up bits near it," Ms Tapson said.
All that remains of the other sculpture was a broken off leg, with the body nowhere to be seen.
"Who would do that to someone's art?" she said.
"I just can't fathom that."
Another installation, Bill Yaxley's Crayfish Craters, featured land crayfish sculptures sitting atop "chimneys" — a representation of the soil columns they create in the wild.
But Ms Tapson said some had been crushed by fallen trees, and others were "scattered through the forest".
Glass signs at the entrance have also been smashed.
"To see all of those things destroyed, just wilfully destroyed and just been left to rot … it's been really, really devastating," Ms Tapson said.
The Parks and Wildlife Service (PWS) removed a Huon Pine bowl created by Aboriginal artist Ros Langford, taken from a "place of cleansing and remembrance" for safekeeping.
It was lined with rocks collected from the Circular Head area, which Ms Tapson said were now missing.
Two Aboriginal ceremonies were held there, one a handover ceremony, and the other a ceremony for Hazel's daughter Claire, who died in a car accident in 2006.
The path leading to the bowl was called Claire's Walk.
"The demise of the whole [site] is a real stab in the heart," she said.
"That bowl, to me, should have stayed there in place but the whole site should have been guarded over."
Dismal Swamp was transferred from Forestry Tasmania to PWS in 2013.
In the process, details of how many artworks were commissioned and how much taxpayer money was spent have gone missing.
A PWS spokesperson said the organisation conducts "regular routine inspections of the site".
"The site is locked and closed, and has been since it ceased operation as an attraction," they said, adding they had found "extensive damage" and had reported it to Tasmania Police.
Promised funds yet to be seen, tourism group says
The Circular Head Tourism Association still has a grand vision to revamp Dismal Swamp into an adventure hub.
The plan includes building accommodation, an obstacle course, educational cinema, Aboriginal interpretation tours, eateries, and an off-road training academy, to encourage tourists to explore the region's trails safely and respectfully.
The association also hopes to show off the region's dramatic coastline by exploring the feasibility of the world's first "wave-breaker cave" — a glass-walled room that would back on to the coastline.
In the lead up to the 2022 federal election, the Labor government committed $12.5 million to get the project ready for private investment.
But Circular Head Tourism Association president Clint Walker told ABC Radio it was yet to "make its way from Canberra down to the far reaches of Circular Head and Dismal Swamp".
"I'm being told to be patient and these things take time, but I honestly cannot see how this bureaucratic process can possibly take so long," he said.
"We've been getting a little bit sick of being patient and being told 'yeah, it's coming, it's coming'."
In a statement, Tasmanian senator Anne Urquhart said the federal government was working to deliver the money to the state government but would not be drawn on when it would arrive.
"The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts received the Tasmanian Department of Premier and Cabinet's application for the adventure park in October 2023 and it is currently undergoing the required processes," she said.
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