Evelyn Temple Emmett OBE (1871–1970) was the first Director of the Tasmanian Government Tourist Bureau and a founder of the Hobart Walking Club He actively promoted skiing and bushwalking in the state and served on several National Park boards.
His grandfather, Henry James Emmett, brought his young family out to Van Diemen's Land from England, arriving on 10 December 1819,[2] only fifteen years after the establishment of Hobart Town.
On completing his education he worked at Scotch College, Launceston as a teacher for a brief period, before accepting the position of Junior Clerk with the Tasmanian Main Line Railway Company in 1888.
His obvious flair and ability for the position led to his appointment as first Director of the newly formed Tasmanian Government Tourist Bureau.
In 1921, Emmett, Clive Lord and Gustav Weindorfer drew up a landmark proposal for a new national park to be established, in the first instance, at Cradle Mountain.
Further discussion between the three men resulted in the now-historic proclamation of a Scenic Reserve on 16 May 1922 which extended south as far as Lake St Clair and enclosed, at that time, 158,000 acres (640 km2).
He returned with six pairs of skis and helped introduce the sport to southern Tasmania at Mount Field National Park in the winter of 1922.
Emmett helped organise and participated regularly in weekend ski trips by rail from Hobart to Mount Field which quickly became very popular.
Emmett's casual suggestion on the train returning from Mount Field was received with such enthusiasm that shortly afterwards a notice was placed in The Mercury calling for interested persons to attend a meeting at Hobart Town Hall.
Forty people, including the skiers from Mount Field, were present on Tuesday, 12 November 1929 when the Hobart Walking Club was formed.
Among the foundation members were Emmett and Jack Thwaites, Walter Taylor, Geoffrey Chapman (who later designed the club's badge) and Alfred White.
In December 1930 Emmett joined a party which made the first ascent of Mount Ida on the eastern shore of Lake St Clair.
In the early 1930s plans were put in place to build a vehicular road from The Springs to the summit of Mount Wellington, a proposal which met with considerable opposition.
The opening up of wilderness Tasmania to the bushwalking community had been an important part of that development, and from the beginning Emmett fought hard for the preservation of the state's natural regions at a time when the short-sighted plundering of these was often the primary consideration of business and government.