Thehistory of Tasmania begins at the end of theLast Glacial Period (approximately 12,000 years ago) when it is believed that the island was joined to the Australian mainland. Little is known of the human history of the island until theBritish colonisation of Tasmania in the 19th century.
Tasmania was inhabited by anIndigenous population, theAboriginal Tasmanians, and evidence indicates their presence in the territory, later to become an island, at least 35,000 years ago.[citation needed] At the time of the British occupation and colonisation in 1803 the Indigenous population was estimated at between 3000 and 10,000. HistorianLyndall Ryan's analysis of population studies led her to conclude that there were about 7000 spread throughout the island's nine nations;[1] Nicholas Clements, citing research byN.J.B. Plomley andRhys Jones, settled on a figure of 3000 to 4000.[2]
The combination of the so-calledBlack War, internecine conflict and, from the late 1820s, the spread ofinfectious diseases to which they had no immunity,[3] reduced the population to about 300 by 1833. Almost all of the Indigenous population was relocated toFlinders Island byGeorge Augustus Robinson. Until the 1970s, most people thought that the last surviving Tasmanian Aboriginal person wasTruganini,[4] who died in 1876. However, this "extinction" was a myth, as documented by Lyndall Ryan in 1991.[5]
Seventeenth century map of Tasmania, showing the parts seen by Tasman.Melchisedech Thevenot (1620?–1692): Map of New Holland 1644, based on a map by the Dutch cartographer Joan Blaeu.
The first reported sighting of Tasmania by a European was on 24 November 1642 by the Dutch explorerAbel Tasman, who named the island Anthoonij van Diemenslandt, after his sponsor, the Governor of the Dutch East Indies. The name was later shortened toVan Diemen's Land by the British. In 1772, a French expedition led byMarc-Joseph Marion du Fresne landed on the island. CaptainJames Cook also sighted the island in 1777, and numerous other European seafarers made landfalls, adding a colourful array to the names of topographical features.
The first settlement was by theBritish atRisdon Cove on the eastern bank of theDerwent estuary in 1803, by a small party sent from Sydney, under Lt.John Bowen. An alternative settlement was established by Capt.David Collins 5 km to the south in 1804 inSullivans Cove on the western side of the Derwent, where fresh water was more plentiful. The latter settlement became known as Hobart Town, later shortened to Hobart, after the British Colonial Secretary of the time,Lord Hobart. The settlement at Risdon was later abandoned.
The early settlers were mostly convicts and their military guards, with the task of developing agriculture and other industries. Numerous otherconvict settlements were made in Van Diemens Land, including secondary prisons, such as the particularly harsh penal colonies atPort Arthur in the south-east andMacquarie Harbour on the West Coast. The Aboriginal resistance to this invasion was so strong, that troops were deployed across much of Tasmania to drive the Aboriginal people into captivity on nearby islands.
1798: ExplorersGeorge Bass andMatthew Flinders visit Derwent as part of circumnavigation of Van Diemen's Land; Bass climbs at least part ofMount Wellington (then known as Table Mountain) on Christmas Day
1798:Adventure Bay became the site of a whaling station, then later on a Timber station.[6]
1802: French explorerNicolas Baudin surveys Derwent during month-long visit to South-East Tasmania, on which his party makes extensive notes on Aboriginal people, plants and animals.
1804: Lieutenant-ColonelDavid Collins' 262-member party lands at Sullivans Cove in February; the settlement, which becomes known as Hobart Town, grows to 433 with arrival in June of rest of hisPort Phillip party.
1807: LieutenantThomas Laycock leads five-man party on first overland journey from Launceston to Hobart, taking nine days, mainly to seek supplies for the northern settlement.
1809: DeposedNew South Wales GovernorWilliam Bligh arrives in Hobart and temporarily disrupts David Collins' authority as lieutenant-governor.
Hobart Townchain gangProclamation issued in 1816 to promote friendship between Aboriginal and white people, though it had little effect
1810: David Collins dies suddenly, Lieutenant Edward Lord takes over and first of three administrators pending appointment of second lieutenant-governor.
1810: First church, St David's, built
1810: Colony's firstflour mill built besideRivulet between Murray St and Elizabeth St, operated by Edward Lord and William Collins
1810: Administration launches colony's first newspaper, the Derwent Star and Van Diemen's Land Intelligencer
1814: ShipArgo disappears after seizure by convicts in Derwent
1815: Michael Howe's bushranging gang kills two settlers in New Norfolk raid
1815: Lieutenant-GovernorThomas Davey declares martial law against all bushrangers, mainly escaped convicts, with some military deserters; GovernorLachlan Macquarie later revokes order.
1815: Captain James Kelly circumnavigates island in whaleboat
1815: First Van Diemen's Land wheat shipment to Sydney.
1816: Firstemigrant ship arrives with free settlers from England
1817: Weekly mail service begins between Hobart and Launceston
1817: Work starts on new St David's Church, replacing earlier structure blown down in storm
1817: Firstconvict ships arrive directly from England
1817: New Government House occupied in Macquarie St, on site of present Town Hall, lower Elizabeth St and Franklin Square.
1818: Government opens flour mill in Hobart
1818: Soldiers and convict kill bushranger Michael Howe on banks of Shannon River
In 1820, Tasmanian roads were first macadamised andcarthorses began to replace bullocks. In the same year, the first substantial jail was completed on the corner of Macquarie Street and Murray Street; andmerino sheep arrived fromJohn Macarthur's stud in New South Wales. 1820 also saw the first Wesleyan (Methodist) meeting in the colony. The following year marked the arrival of the first Catholic clergyman, Father Phillip Conolly; and on his second visit, GovernorLachlan Macquarie chose sites forPerth,Campbell Town,Ross,Oatlands, Sorell andBrighton. In 1821, officials and convicts left Port Dalrymple to establishMacquarie Harbour penal settlement at Sarah Island.
1822 was the first year Van Diemen's Land Agricultural Society held a meeting in Hobart. In 1823 thePresbyterian Church's first official ministry in Australia occurred in Hobart and the first Tasmanian bank,Bank of Van Diemen's Land, was established.
The inauguration of theSupreme Court occurred in 1824, as did the opening ofCascade Brewery, Australia's longest continuously operating Brewery. ConvictAlexander Pearce was hanged after escaping twice from Macquarie Harbour and surviving by eating his companions. ConvictMatthew Brady began his bushranging career after escaping fromMacquarie Harbour.
On 3 December 1825, Van Diemen's Land becameindependent from New South Wales with an appointed Executive Council, its own judicial establishment, and Legislative Council. Also in that year, theRichmond Bridge, Australia's oldest existing bridge, was opened; and a party of soldiers and convicts establishedMaria Island penal settlement
In 1826, Van Diemen's Land Company launched the North-West pastoral and agricultural development atCircular Head; and theTasmanian Turf Club was established. SettlerJohn Batman, later one ofMelbourne's founders, helped capture bushrangerMatthew Brady near Launceston. Hobart experienced a disease epidemic which was blamed on rivulet pollution. Acourthouse was built on the corner of Macquarie Street and Murray Street; andstreet lighting with oil lamps was introduced. 1826 was also the year that the Legislative Council met formally for the first time.
1827 saw the firstregatta-style events on Derwent River; and Van Diemen's Land Company began settlement at Emu Bay (nowBurnie).
A proclamation made in 1828 by Lieutenant-GovernorGeorge Arthur excluded Aboriginal people from settled areas and was the year of theCape Grim massacre. In 1828, martial law was also declared against Aboriginal people in settled areas after Van Diemen's Land Company shepherds killed 30 Aboriginal people atCape Grim. Regular mail services to and from Sydney began. That year also saw widespread floods. The following year a jail for women convicts ("female factory") opened at Cascades; "Protector" George Augustus Robinson started an Aboriginal mission atBruny Island, convicts seized the brigCyprus at Recherche Bay and sailed to China; Van Diemen's Land Scientific Society was formed under patronage of Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur; and a Hobart-New Norfolk coach service began.
1830: George Augustus Robinson startsreconciliation efforts with Aboriginal people by visiting west coast
1830: Samuel Anderson, Pioneer Settler, arrives in Hobart aboard the Lang, employed as book keeper with Van Diemens Land Co. Will go on to establish the third permanent settlement in Victoria at Westernport.
1830: Administration launches "Black Line" military campaign across most of colony to round up Aboriginal people; in seven weeks two are shot and two are captured
1831: New land regulations discontinue freeland grants, replacing them with sales
1832:George Augustus Robinson arrives in Hobart with Aboriginal people fromOyster Bay and Big River tribes, the last Aboriginal people removed from European-settled areas;Wybalenna,Flinders Island, chosen for Aboriginal resettlement site.
1832: Ends of martial law against Aboriginal people
1843: BushrangerMartin Cash captured in Hobart, his death sentence was commuted and he was later pardoned
1844: First Catholic bishop, Robert Willson, arrives
1844: Formation ofRoyal Society of Tasmania, first branch outside Britain, as development of society founded in 1837 by Sir John Franklin; society branch takes over botanical gardens
1844:Norfolk Island, formerly administered by NSW, comes under Tasmanian control
1845: Emigrant shipCataraqui wrecked nearKing Island, 406 lives lost
1845: Hobart Savings Bank opens
1845: Jewish community consecrates Hobart Synagogue, Australia's oldest
1845: ArtistJohn Skinner Prout organises first known Australian exhibition of pictures in Hobart
1846: Absconding Act introduced to detain escaping convicts.[7]
1846: Foundation of the Hutchins School and LauncestonGrammar School
1846: Lieutenant-governorSir John Eardley-Wilmot dismissed, allegedly for failure to suppress convict homosexuality
1868: First royal visit, during whichPrince Alfred (Duke of Edinburgh) lays foundation stone for St David's Cathedral and turns first sod for Tasmania's first railway, Launceston-Deloraine line, built by a private company.
1868: With Education Act, Tasmania becomes first Australian colony to have compulsory state education system, administered by local school boards
1869: Death ofWilliam Lanne ("King Billy"), reputedly the last full blood Tasmanian Aboriginal man; whose remains were disrespected horribly after disagreement over who should have his remains.
1893: Government establishes Tasmanian Tourist Association
1894: Hobart international exhibition opens
1894: Government introduces flat-rate income tax system
1895: The premiers conference in Hobart discusses proposals for federal constitution and plebiscite.
1895: Launceston becomes first southern hemisphere city to get electric light after first Tasmanianhydro-electric station opens at Duck Reach onSouth Esk River
1896: Entrepreneur George Adams launchesTattersalls lottery venture in Hobart; first lottery held to dispose of assets of failed Bank of Van Diemen's Land
1909:Guy Fawkes Day (5 November) fire destroy Hobart market, City Hall later built on site
1909: First statewide use of Hare-Clark voting system elects first Labor government, led by John Earle; government lasts only one week, with return of conservatives
1933: Commonwealth Grants Commission appointed to inquire into affairs of claimant states, including Tasmania
1934:Holyman's Airways (a forerunner ofAnsett) launches Launceston–Melbourne service, within months, company planeMiss Hobart disappears over Bass Strait with loss of 12 people, including proprietor Victor Holyman
1934: Election of government led byAlbert Ogilvie starts 35 years of continuous Labor governments
1935: Five die when Holyman Airways planeLoina crashes off Flinders Island.
1935: Hobart gets first electric trolley buses
1935: Legislation for three-year state parliament terms
1936:SS Paringa sinks inBass Strait while towing tanker, 31 die
1940: German naval raidersPinguin andAtlantis lay mines off Hobart and other Australian areas. Hobart closed to shipping because of mine threat; Bass Strait closed after mine sinks British steamerCambridge.
1948: Margaret McIntyre wins Legislative Council seat in May, becoming the first woman member of Tasmanian Parliament; airliner crash in NSW in September kills her and 12 others.
1948: Robert Cosgrove resumes premiership after acquittal on corruption and bribery charges
1948: ABC forms Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra on permanent basis
1949: Government introduces compulsory X-rays in fight against tuberculosis
1949: Tasmanian politician Dame Enid Lyons, widow of former prime minister Joseph Lyons, becomes first woman to reach federal ministry rank, as Executive Council vice-president
1954: QueenElizabeth II becomes first reigning monarch to visit state, accompanied byPrince Philip. As part of 150th anniversary celebrations, she unveils monument to pioneer British settlers
1954: Hobart Rivulet area damaged as severe floods affect southern and eastern Tasmania
1954: Metropolitan Transport Trust formed
1954:Tattersalls Lotteries moves headquarters from Hobart to Melbourne
1954: Spouses of property owners get right to vote in Legislative Council elections
1955: First ingot poured at Bell Bay aluminium refinery
1955: Labor Party's federal conference in Hobart bringsAustralian Labor Party split over industrial groups to head, leading to formation of Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist), laterDemocratic Labor Party
1956: University of Tasmania Council dismisses Professor Sydney Orr, alleging improper conduct by him with female student; Orr launches unsuccessful court action against university for wrongful dismissal
1956: Tasmania gets first woman mayor,Dorothy Edwards of Launceston
1957: Water Act establishes Rivers and Water Supply Commission
1958: Hobart waterside works block two Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist) members, father Frank Hursey and son Denis, from working in dispute over their objection to paying union levy that would partly go to ALP; police guard Hurseys after court order; Supreme Court awards them damages
1971: First state Aboriginal conference held in Launceston
1972: Conservationists lose battle to prevent flooding ofLake Pedder in South-West for hydro-electric scheme
1972: Liberal-Centre Party coalition government collapses
1972: Tasmanian College of Advanced Education opens in Hobart
1972: FerryPrincess of Tasmania makes last Tasmanian voyage
1972: Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre opens at Tasmanian Aboriginal Information Centre
1973: Coastal freighterBlythe Star sinks with loss of three men, seven survivors spend eight days adrift in lifeboat before coming ashore on Forestier Peninsula
1973: SirStanley Burbury, formerly chief justice, becomes first Australian-born governor of Tasmania
1974: Three die when boiler explosion demolishes laundry at Mt St Canice Convent, Sandy Bay
1974: Tasmanian workers under state wages board awards get four weeks annual leave; woman awarded equal pay
1974: Hobart suburban rail services cease
1975: FreighterMV Lake Illawarra crashes into Tasman Bridge, causing 12 deaths and bringing down part of bridge; temporary Bailey bridge put across Derwent
1976: Freight equalisation scheme subsidises sea cargo to and from state
1977: Repaired Tasman Bridge reopens to traffic
1977: Royal visit, during which Aboriginal activistMichael Mansell presents the Queen with land rights claim
1977: Tasmanian Film Corporation launched
1978: Australian National Railways takes over Tasmanian rail system; Tasman Limited ceases operations, ending regular passenger train services in state
1978: Hydro-Electric Commission proposes power scheme involvingGordon,Franklin andKing rivers
1979: Tasmanian College of Advanced Education moves to Launceston
1981: Plebiscite on preferred newhydro-electric power development scheme shows 47% of voters favourGordon-below-Franklin development, 8% prefer Gordon-above-Olga, with 45% casting informal votes, including 'no dams' write-ins.
1982: Tasmanians elect Liberals as government in their own right for first time in state's history
1983: Federal regulations blockFranklin Dam construction; High Court rules in favour of federal sovereignty, ending the proposed Gordon-below-Franklin scheme
1983: Tasmanian Aboriginal Land Council established
1988: International fleet of about 200 sailing, cruise and naval ships from about 20 countries calls at Hobart as part of AustralianBicentennial celebrations; more than 150 leave on race to Sydney
1989: State election ends with Labor-Green accord involving five independents; their no-confidence vote inRobin Gray's minority Liberal government gives Labor'sMichael Field premiership
1992: State'sunemployment rate reaches 12.2% as jobs decline in public and private sectors; rallies of angry workers force temporary closure of House of Assembly
1993: State Government reduces total ofmunicipalities from 46 to 29, number of departments from 17 to 12
1994: End to 80 years of dam building as state's last power station, Tribute, opens nearTullah
1994: HMAS Huon naval base decommissioned
1995: All-day Saturday shop trading begins
1995: Government announces legislation to transfer 38 km2 of culturally significant land to Aboriginal community, includingRisdon Cove andOyster Cove
1995: States unemployment rate falls to 9.6% as number of Tasmanians in work sets record
1996 (28 April): GunmanMartin Bryant kills 35 people and injures 20 more inshooting rampage atPort Arthur historic site; Supreme Court sentences him to life imprisonment
1996: Former federal Liberal ministerPeter Nixon heads Commonwealth state inquiry into Tasmanian economy
1997: Tasmania becomes first state to formally apologise to Aboriginal community for past actions connected with the 'stolen generation'.
1999: Wild winds and heavy rain caused chaos across Tasmania, one casualty being the Ferris Wheel at the Royal Hobart Regatta which blew over onto the Gee Whizzer ride. 113 km/h winds in Hobart, 158 km/h winds onMount Wellington.
1999: Tasmanian cricketerDavid Boon announced his retirement from Sheffield Shield cricket
March 1999: Tasmania is almost booked out for the millennium New Year's Eve party—a once-in-1000-year event for Tasmania's key resorts, hotels, motels and restaurants
2002 (12 October): Tasmanian Tim Hawkins killed inBali bombing
2002: Deregulated shop trading hours begin
2003 (January): People urged by Tasmanian Fire Service to abandon their Australia Day long-weekend plans and prepare their homes for a potential firestorm as a number of fires pose the worst fire threat in 30 years
2003: Tasmania passed some of the most progressive relationship laws in the world including same-sex adoptions and registration of 'significant' relationships
Robson, L. L. (1983).A History of Tasmania. Volume I. Van Diemen's Land From the Earliest Times to 1855. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-554364-5.
Robson, L. L. (1991).A History of Tasmania. Volume II. Colony and State From 1856 to the 1980s. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.ISBN0-19-553031-4.
Fenton, James. A history of Tasmania from its discovery in 1642 to the present time. London: Macmillan and Co., 1884. (link)
