Quick History of Tasmania

At the end of the last iceage, icebergs were melting and sea levels were rising which eventually separated Tasmania from the Australian mainland.

The first people to arrive in Tasmania 40,000+ years ago were Aboriginals on foot, as the could once walk across a land-bridge. The body of water that separates Tasmania from the Australian mainland today is known as the Bass Strait.

The Aboriginal People of Tasmania were alone for 500 generations (8000 years), knowing no other people in the world until European contact.

Destined to go 'extinct', the Palawa People (Aboriginal Tasmanians) lived only knowing their own way of life; derived from Ancestral knowledge, and those they had known before the sea surrounded them.

Palawa People

In 1803 there were an estimated 3,000 - 15,000 Palawa on the island of Tasmania. The populations suffered a dramatic drop in numbers within only 3 decades of European contact.

By 1835, only 400 full-blooded Palawa had survived; most of whom were incarcerated. The vast majority had been massacred or died from introduced diseases or had been forcibley removed from their land & Culture; struggling to survive.

By 1847, only 47 Palawa remained; those that escaped Government control.

Truganini (above) was perhaps the the last full-blooded Aboriginal Tasmanian, passing on in 1876.

Within one lifetime, a whole society & Culture was removed from the face of the Earth.

Van Diemen's Land

This was the name used by Europeans for Tasmania, before it was known that it was an island. The Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman, was the first person to visit & map parts of Australia in 1640.

European Colonisation

Captain James Cook was the first (documented) person to 'discover' Australia in 1770. A British convict settlement was established in Sydney, governed by Captain Arthur Phillip in 1788 with the arrival of the First Fleet. Europeans had not explored much of Australia at this point.

Between 1798 - 1799, explorers George Bass & Matthew Flinder sailed south from Sydney to Van Diemen's land (Tasmania). They circumnavigated and proved it was an island.

The Black War

This term describes the hostilities between the Palawa and British soldiers and settlers on Tasmanian land. The formation of a ‘human chain’ was put in place from one side of the state to the other to drive Tasmania Aboriginals to a manageable area. The conflict claimed the lives of approx. 1000 Indigenous Tasmanians.

'Tasmania'

In 1856, Van Dieman's Land was renamed 'Tasmania', chosen to honour dutch explorer Abel Tasman.

Tasmania Today

Tasmania is located off the south-east corner of the Australian mainland. It is Australia's smallest state in both geographical size & population. It is a major tourist attraction due to the diverse & spectacular scenery, unspoilt wilderness & heritage.

Tasmania is widely known for having the cleanest air on the planet.

Sir David Attenborough refers to Tasmania as 'the weirdest place in the world'.

You simply must visit.