There's nowhere else quite like Tasmania's west.

There are lunar landscapes, wild World Heritage-listed forests, rugged mountains and isolated, tight-knit communities.

Mining, forestry and hydro-electric towns have experienced booms and busts, as industries like tourism have emerged.

A new exhibition at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) — West: Out on the Edge — attempts to take visitors through a journey out west, from ancient times to modern.

"I know some Tasmanians have never been west," curator Kristie Ross said.

"There are certain stereotypes that exist around the west, and this will inspire people to really think carefully about the west and to visit the west themselves.

"One of the key ideas behind this exhibition is to present the west as quite a complex and compelling and nuanced place."

A football match on Queenstown's gravel oval. ( Supplied: Jack Robert-Tissot )

The exhibition travels back millions of years to explore the unique geological features of the west, the timeless Indigenous presence, and the early exploration by enterprising settlers.

The current communities also play a starring role, with Ms Ross pointing out they are making history themselves.

"I thought it was really important to talk to the people living out there and hear their stories and experiences," she said.

Between March and August this year Queenstown had only 30 days without rain. ( ABC News: Mitchell Woolnough )

Where's west?

A self-described 'outsider', Ms Ross visited the west seven times while curating the exhibition.

"It's about living in the west and we couldn't do the exhibition without those people," she said.

"I was overwhelmed by the intensity of the loyalty to the place.

"Everybody is totally honest and upfront, nobody is pretending."

Over the years artists and filmmakers have used the west as inspiration. ( Supplied: Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery )

It's the first time TMAG has dedicated an exhibition to a geographical region.

As to where 'the west' exactly lies, that's being left to the visitor.

"They get to define their west as soon as they come into the gallery," Ms Ross said.

Visitors are asked to draw on a map of Tasmania where they think the west is.

They can also measure their height against the region's annual rainfall, though it's unlikely anyone will be able to match Lake Margaret's 2,500mm of annual rainfall.

A pipe made from King Billy pine used in the Lake Margaret hydro scheme in 1938. ( Supplied: Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery )

Hollywood stars, colonial figures and industrial history

The exhibition is made up of hundreds of objects, artefacts, specimens and photographs that tell the west's story.

In the mix is Lady Jane Franklin's palanquin, or carrying chair, she rode over to the west coast in 1842.

TMAG has borrowed jodhpurs worn by Hollywood star Louise Lovely in the 1925 silent film Jewelled Nights filmed at Savage River.

Part of the museum wall had to be cut open so a pipeline made of King Billy Pine from the Lake Margaret hydro scheme could be put on display for the first time.

And there are, of course, photos of the famous gravel oval in Queenstown to honour the region's long history of football.

Interviews with school children, local artists, and a Palawa woman telling a creation story also make up the exhibition.

West: Out on the Edge runs from December 6, 2019 until May 2020 at TMAG, before travelling to the west.