Tasmania Flag on Our Flagpole

Tasmania

The Legislative Council of Van Diemen’s Land drafted a new constitution which it passed in 1854. The following year the Privy Council approved the colony changing its name from “Van Diemen’s Land” to “Tasmania”, and in 1856 the newly elected bicameral parliament sat for the first time, establishing Tasmania as a self-governing colony of the British Empire.

Mount Wellington and Hobart 1834
Mount Wellington and Hobart 1834

The colony suffered from economic fluctuations, but for the most part was prosperous, experiencing steady growth. With few external threats and strong trade links with the Empire, Tasmania enjoyed many fruitful periods in the late 19th century, becoming a world-center of shipbuilding. It raised a local defense force that eventually played a significant role in the Second Boer War in South Africa, and Tasmanian soldiers in that conflict won the first two Victoria Crosses awarded to Australians.

In 1901 the Colony of Tasmania united with the five other Australian colonies to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Tasmanians voted in favor of federation with the largest majority of all the Australian colonies.

Recent History:

The state was badly affected by the 1967 Tasmanian fires, in which there was major loss of life and property. In the 1970s the state government announced plans to flood environmentally significant Lake Pedder. As a result of the eventual flooding of Lake Pedder, the world’s first greens party was established; the United Tasmania Group.

In 1975 the Tasman Bridge collapsed when the bridge was struck by the bulk ore carrier MV Lake Illawarra. It was the only bridge in Hobart, and made crossing the Derwent River by road at the city impossible. The nearest bridge was approximately 12 miles to the north, at Bridgewater.

Bridgewater Bridge
Bridgewater Bridge

National and international attention surrounded the campaign against the Franklin Dam in the early 1980s.

On 28 April 1996, in the incident now known as the Port Arthur massacre, lone gunman Martin Bryant shot and killed 35 people, including tourists and residents, and injured 21 others. The use of firearms was immediately reviewed, and new gun ownership laws were adopted nationwide, with Tasmania’s law one of the strictest in Australia.

In April 2006 the Beaconsfield Mine collapse was triggered by a small earthquake. One person was killed and two others were trapped underground for 14 days.

The Tasmanian community has for some time been divided over the issue of the proposed Bell Bay Pulp Mill to be built in the Tamar Valley. Proponents argue that jobs will be created, while opponents argue that pollution will damage both the Bass Strait fishing industry and local tourism. The company behind the proposal collapsed in 2012 and the pulp mill project officially ended in 2017 when the building permits lapsed.

In January 2011 philanthropist David Walsh opened the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart to international acclaim. Within 12 months, MONA became Tasmania’s top tourism attraction.

Geography:

Tasmania’s landmass of 26,410 square miles is located directly in the pathway of the notorious “Roaring Forties” wind that encircles the globe. To its north, it is separated from mainland Australia by Bass Strait. Tasmania is the only Australian state that is not located on the Australian mainland. About 1,600 miles south of Tasmania island lies Antarctica. Tasmania is in fact geographically closer to Antarctica than it is to parts of the northern Australian mainland.

Scroll to Top