The accessible wavelength regime of a tunable passively modelocked erbium-doped fibre laser (EDFL) is extended by using an active filtering effect in erbium-doped fibre amplifiers. Femtosecond pulse generation beyond 1.6 mu m is reported for the first time from an EDFL. Pulses of 310 - 420fs duration are obtained over a wavelength range of 82nm (1528 - 1610nm).