Tasmania

I

Introduction

Tasmania, state in south-eastern Australia, consisting of the island of Tasmania some 240 km (150 mi) south of the mainland of continental Australia, many nearby small islands, and the uninhabited, subarctic volcanic island of Macquarie. Tasmania is bounded on the south and west by the southern Indian Ocean, on the east by the Tasman Sea, and on the north by the Bass Strait separating it from the mainland. It was the second British colony established in Australia and is the only island state. Tasmania has a total area, including the smaller islands incorporated within its official boundaries, of 68,331 sq km (26,383 sq mi), equivalent to just under 1 per cent of the total area of Australia. The capital of Tasmania is Hobart. The emblem of Tasmania is the Tasmanian blue gum.

II

Land and Resources

Tasmania was part of the mainland of continental Australia until only about 13,500 to 8,000 years ago, when rising sea levels created the shallow Bass Strait. Its topography, the most mountainous of all the states, reflects the fact that it is geologically part of the Great Dividing Range. Eight mountains exceed 1,500 m (4,920 ft), 28 are higher than 1,220 m (4,000 ft), and the central plateau is mostly above 900 m (2,952 ft). Mount Ossa (1,617 m/5,305 ft), Tasmania's highest peak, rises from the central plateau. A network of lakes and rivers laces the surface of the mountainous terrain. Tasmania's coastline is generally ragged and (excluding the islands) is some 3,225 km (2,000 miles) long. Substantial coastal plains are found only in the north-west and north-east. The longest river in the state is the South Esk, which runs for 214 km (133 mi).

This island's fast-flowing rivers and heavy rainfall (2,500 mm/98 in a year in the west) provide ideal conditions for hydroelectric power plants, and many have been built, though not without conservationist controversy. Timber and zinc, especially the former, are other important resources, as is tourism. The island contains many species of plants unique to Australia; national parks cover more than one-fifth of the land area. The largest, Southwest National Park, is a World Heritage site, covering 618,000 hectares (1.5 million acres). The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, which covers 1.3 million hectares (3.2 million acres), was originally inscribed in 1982 and extended in 1989.

Tasmania has two species of mammals listed in the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995. They are the Tasmanian wolf or thylacine, which is probably extinct, and the New Holland mouse, which is listed as rare. Twenty-five species of birds are noted as threatened, including the orange-bellied parrot and the wandering albatross. The King Island emu is extinct, along with three subspecies—the Tasmanian emu, the Macquarie Island buff-banded rail, and the Macquarie Island parakeet. Tasmania is also the home of Australia's most endangered fish, the threatened Pedder galaxias, along with six other fish species.

Tasmania lies at the edge of the “Roaring Forties” wind belt, and the nearest land mass to the west is South America. As a result, strong winds and heavy rain occur in the south and west of the island. In general, however, the island's climate is equable, mild, and moist.

III

Population

Tasmania's population, estimated at 471,900 in 1998, is the smallest of the Australian states. Over 48 per cent of Tasmanians live in the Greater Hobart-Southern region. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population comprise 3.2 per cent of the Tasmanian population. The original population of Aborigines in Tasmania, estimated as having been about 5,000 before the incursion of the whites, was virtually wiped out by the effects of European settlement, including violent conflict and the transmission of disease. In the 1820s, the few remaining indigenous inhabitants were removed to Flinders Island, where they all perished. The census of 1847 showed that just over 50 per cent of the total Tasmanian population of 70,000 were or had been convicts.

IV

Major Cities

Hobart (population, 1998, 195,000) is Tasmania's main port as well as its capital city. It is an attractive city spread out over the lower slopes of Mount Wellington, and overlooking the broad Derwent estuary. Founded in 1804, Hobart is Australia's second oldest city and is distinguished by fine colonial architecture and picturesque wharves and warehouses. Launceston (95,400), the key city of northern Tasmania, is located on the 65 km tidal estuary of the river Tamar and is the state's major freight centre. Devonport (24,667); Burnie (19,665); and Ulverstone are other important towns.