On 23 March 1972, the United Tasmania Group (UTG) – a pre-cursor to the Australian Greens – was formed in a Hobart Town Hall love-in to block the then bi-partisan proposal (at State level) to develop future hydro-electricity and water security at Lake Pedder.
The UTG is widely regarded as the world's first Green party to contest elections and came within 200 votes of winning a seat in its first electoral outing – the April 1972 Tasmanian state election, which then Labor opposition leader, "Electric Eric" Reece, won in a landslide.
Despite the green opposition, newly-elected Labor Premier Reece proceeded with the major Lake Pedder infrastructure project to provide cheap, reliable renewable energy and precious water for an enhanced economic future.
Over the next two decades, the UTG morphed into the (Tasmanian and) Australian Greens – the latter being a confederation of the eight state and territorial parties that had nucleated by the early 1990s.
