Risdon Cove is acove located on the east bank of theDerwent River, approximately 7 kilometres (4 mi) north ofHobart,Tasmania. It was the site of the firstBritish settlement inVan Diemen's Land, nowTasmania, the island state of Australia. The cove was named byJohn Hayes,[1] who mapped the river in the shipDuke of Clarence in 1794, after his second officer William Bellamy Risdon.
In 1803 LieutenantJohn Bowen was sent to establish a settlement in Van Diemen's Land. On the advice of the explorerGeorge Bass he had chosen Risdon Cove. While the site was a good one from a defensive point of view, the soil was poor and water scarce.Lady Nelson anchored at Risdon on the eastern shore of theDerwent River on Wednesday 8 September 1803, five days before the whalerAlbion arrived with Lt. Bowen on board.The 49 people aboard theLady Nelson andAlbion made a curious party of soldiers, sailors, settlers and convicts.
In 1804 Lieutenant ColonelDavid Collins arrived in the Derwent fromPort Phillip onOcean. Within a few days he rejected Risdon Cove as a suitable settlement site, for its inadequate source of fresh water, and moved his party across the river toSullivans Cove. The military and convicts disembarked fromOcean nearHunter Island on 20–21 February 1804 and thus beginning what is nowHobart.Lady Nelson landed the free settlers at New Town Bay on 22 February.
One of the first land grants at Risdon Cove was made to Dr William F A I'Anson, the chief surgeon who arrived with Lieutenant-Governor Collins in 1804.[2]
On 3 May 1804 a number of aboriginal Tasmanians were killed by guards of the fledgling British settlement. The events occurred in mysterious circumstances, perhaps as the result of a misunderstanding. The original records show that a large group of Aboriginals walked into the fledgling settlement. The settlement's guards mistakenly thought they were under attack and killed some of the intruders.
The site at Risdon Cove was farmed until 1946. By the 150th anniversary celebrations (September 1954) land had been acquired by the State Government to add to the reserve.[3]Angela McGowan excavated the site in 1978-80.[4]
The hand-over of the Risdon Cove site, which includes the Bowen Memorial, was part of theAboriginal Lands Act 1995. The transfer occurred on 11 December 1995, and since then Aboriginal Tasmanians have maintained and developed the site as a cultural and an educational facility.[3]
42°49′23″S147°19′09″E / 42.82306°S 147.31917°E /-42.82306; 147.31917
