| Van Diemen's Land | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Crown Colony | |||||||||
| 1825–1856 | |||||||||
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.jpg) 1828 map | |||||||||
| Anthem | |||||||||
| God Save the King/Queen | |||||||||
| Capital | Hobart | ||||||||
| Demonym | Van Diemonian (usually spelt Vandemonian) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1851 | 70,130 | ||||||||
| Government | |||||||||
| • Type | Self-governing colony | ||||||||
| Monarch | |||||||||
• 1825–1830 | George IV | ||||||||
• 1830–1837 | William IV | ||||||||
• 1837–1856 | Victoria | ||||||||
| Lieutenant-Governor | |||||||||
• 1825–1836 | Sir George Arthurfirst | ||||||||
• 1855–1856 | Sir Henry Younglast | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Independence from theColony of New South Wales | 3 December 1825 | ||||||||
• Name changed toTasmania and self-rule | 1856 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Australia | ||||||||
 1852 map of Van Diemen's Land | |
 Interactive map of Van Diemen's Land | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Southern Ocean |
| Coordinates | 42°00′S147°00′E / 42.000°S 147.000°E /-42.000; 147.000 |
| Area | 68,401 km2 (26,410 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 1,614 m (5295 ft) |
| Highest point | Mount Ossa |
| Administration | |
Australia | |
| Largest settlement | Hobart Town |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 70,130 (1851) |
| Pop. density | 1.03/km2 (2.67/sq mi) |
| Ethnic groups | European Australians,Aboriginal Tasmanians |
Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island ofTasmania during theEuropean exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. TheAboriginal-inhabited island was first visited by the Dutch ship captained byAbel Tasman in 1642, working under the sponsorship ofAnthony van Diemen, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. The British retained the name when they established a settlement in 1803 before it became a separate colony in 1825. Itspenal colonies became notorious destinations for thetransportation of convicts due to the harsh environment, isolation and reputation for being escape-proof.
The name was changed to Tasmania on 1 January 1856 to dissociate the island from its convict past and to honour its European discoverer, Abel Tasman. The old name had become a byword for horror in England because of the severity of its convict settlements such asMacquarie Harbour andPort Arthur. When the island became a self-governing colony in 1855, one of the first acts of the new legislature was to change its name.[1]
With the passing of theAustralian Constitutions Act 1850, Van Diemen's Land (along withNew South Wales,Queensland,South Australia,Victoria, andWestern Australia) was grantedresponsible self-government with its own elected representative and parliament. The last penal settlement in Tasmania was closed in 1877.
The island was named by Abel Tasman in honour ofAnthony van Diemen,Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies who had sent the Dutch explorerAbel Tasman on his voyage of discovery in the 1640s. In 1642 Tasman became the first known European to land on the shores of Tasmania. After landing atBlackman Bay and later raising the Dutch flag at North Bay, Tasman named the islandAnthoonij van Diemenslandt (Anthony Van Diemen's land) in his patron's honour.
Thedemonym for inhabitants of Van Diemen's Land was "Van Diemonian", though contemporaries used the spelling "Vandemonian".[2]Anthony Trollope used the latter term; "They are (the Vandemonians) united in their declaration that the cessation of the coming of convicts has been their ruin."[3]
In 1856, Van Diemen's Land was renamedTasmania, removing the unsavoury link the name Van Diemen's Land had with its penal settlements (and the "demon" connotation). Tasmania was chosen as it honoured the explorer Abel Tasman, the first European to visit the island. Within 21 years the last penal settlement in Tasmania atPort Arthur was permanently closed in 1877.[4]
In 1642, Abel Tasman discovered the western side of the island and named it on behalf of the Dutch. He sailed around the south to the east, landing at Blackman Bay and assumed it was part of the Australian mainland.
Between 1772 and 1798, recorded European visits were only to the southeastern portion of the island and it was not known to be an island untilMatthew Flinders andGeorge Bass circumnavigated it in the sloopNorfolk in 1798–1799.
In 1773,Tobias Furneaux inHMS Adventure, explored a great part of the south and east coasts of Van Diemen's Land and made the earliest British chart of the island.[5] He discovered the opening toD'Entrecasteaux Channel and, atBruny Island, namedAdventure Bay for his ship.[6][7]
In 1777,James Cook took on water and wood in Tasmania and became cursorily acquainted with some indigenous peoples on his third voyage of discovery. Cook named theFurneaux Group of islands at the eastern entrance toBass Strait and the group now known as theLow Archipelago.[8][9]
From at least the settlement ofNew South Wales, sealers and whalers operated in the surrounding waters and explored parts.
In January 1793, a French expedition under the command ofAntoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux anchored inRecherche Bay and a period of five weeks was spent in that area, carrying out explorations into bothnatural history andgeography. A few months later, British East India Company Captain John Hayes, with the shipsDuke of Clarence andDuchess, resupplied with wood and water atAdventure Bay and explored and named the Derwent River and many surrounding features.[10]
In 1802 and 1803, the French expedition commanded byNicolas Baudin exploredD'Entrecasteaux Channel andMaria Island and carried out charting ofBass Strait. Baudin had been associated, like Peyroux, with the resettlement of theAcadians from French Canada -- mostly from what is now called the New Brunswick–Nova Scotia area -- to Louisiana.
Around 1784–1785,Henri Peyroux de la Coudrenière, a serial entrepreneur in colonial schemes, wrote a "memoir on the advantages to be gained for the Spanish crown by the settlement of Van Diemen's Land".[11] After receiving no response from the Spanish government, Peyroux proposed it to the French government, as "Mémoire sur les avantages qui résulteraient d'une colonie puissante à la terre de Diémen" but nothing came of his scheme.[12]
Sealers and whalers based themselves on the Tasmanian islands from 1798.
In August 1803,New South Wales GovernorPhilip King sent LieutenantJohn Bowen to establish a small military outposton the eastern shore of theDerwent River to forestall any claims to the island arising from the activities of the French explorers.
From 24 September 1804 until 4 February 1813, there were two administrative divisions in Van Diemen's Land,Cornwall County in the north andBuckingham County in the south. The border between the counties was defined as the42nd parallel (now betweenTrial Harbour andFriendly Beaches). Cornwall County was administered byWilliam Paterson while Buckingham County was administered byDavid Collins.[13][14]
Major-GeneralRalph Darling was appointed Governor of New South Wales in 1825. In the same year he visitedHobart Town. On 3 December of 1825, he proclaimed the establishment of the independent colony, of which he became governor for three days.[15]
In 1836, the new governor,Sir John Franklin, sailed to Van Diemen's Land, together withWilliam Hutchins (1792-1841), who was to become the colony's first Archdeacon.[16]
In 1856, the colony was grantedresponsible self-government with its representative parliament, and the name of the island and colony was officially changed to Tasmania on 1 January 1856.[17][18]
From the early 1800s to the 1853 abolition ofpenal transportation (known simply as "transportation"), Van Diemen's Land was the primary penal colony in Australia. Following the suspension of transportation to New South Wales, all transported convicts were sent to Van Diemen's Land. In total, some 73,000 convicts were transported to Van Diemen's Land or about 40% of all convicts sent to Australia.[19]
Male convicts served their sentences as assigned labour to free settlers or in gangs assigned to public works. Only the most difficult convicts (mostly re-offenders) were sent to theTasman Peninsula prison known asPort Arthur. Female convicts were assigned as servants in free settler households or sent to afemale factory (women's workhouse prison). There were five female factories in Van Diemen's Land.
Convicts completing their sentences or earning theirticket-of-leave often promptly left Van Diemen's Land. Many settled in the new free colony ofVictoria, to the dismay of the free settlers in towns such asMelbourne.
On 6 August 1829, thebrigCyprus, a government-owned vessel used to transport goods, people, and convicts, set sail from Hobart Town for Macquarie Harbour Penal Station on a routine voyage carrying supplies and convicts. While the ship was becalmed inRecherche Bay, convicts allowed on deckattacked their guards and took control of the brig. The mutineers marooned officers, soldiers, and convicts who did not join the mutiny without supplies. The convicts then sailed theCyprus toCanton, China, where they scuttled her and claimed to be castaways from another vessel. On the way,Cyprus visited Japan during the height of the period ofsevere Japanese restrictions on the entry of foreigners, the first Australian ship to do so.
Tensions sometimes ran high between the settlers and the "Vandemonians" as they were termed, particularly during theVictorian gold rush when a flood of settlers from Van Diemen's Land rushed to the Victorian goldfields.
Complaints from Victorians about recently released convicts from Van Diemen's Land re-offending in Victoria was one of the contributing reasons for the eventual abolition of transportation to Van Diemen's Land in 1853.[20]
According to the 1851 Census of Van Diemen's Land, there was a total population of 70,130 individuals, with 62.85% being males and 37.14% being females. Non-convicts, i.e.free people, comprised 75.6% of the population andconvicts, 24.3%, which was an increase since the 1848 Census. Of the males who were not a part of the Military, or convicts on public works, 71% were free and 28.57% were bond. Of the females who were not part of the Military, or convicts on public works, 84.15% were free and 15.84% were bond.
| Males | Females | |
|---|---|---|
| Emigrants | 24.8% | 32.5% |
| Born in the Colony | 34.7% | 51% |
| Have been Prisoners | 40.3% | 16.5% |
| Males | Females | |
|---|---|---|
| HoldingTickets-of-Leave | 58% | 31% |
| In Government employment | 13.7% | 32.5% |
| In private Assignment | 14.5% | 14.9% |
| In private employment | 13.28% | 21.5% |
| Religion | Persons | Percentages |
|---|---|---|
| Church of England | 46,068 | 65.69% |
| Church of Scotland | 4,572 | 6.52% |
| Wesleyans | 3,850 | 5.49% |
| Other ProtestantDissenters | 2,426 | 3.46% |
| Roman Catholics | 12,693 | 18.10% |
| Jews | 441 | 0.63% |
Media related toVan Diemen's Land at Wikimedia Commons
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