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The first inhabitants of the city area were members of the Aboriginal Mouheneer
tribe, who lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle. Tasmania's Aboriginal people were
wiped out so quickly that almost nothing of their history, culture or language
was recorded. During Tasmania's Black War, Aboriginal people, fighting to retain
their land, speared shepherds and stock and, in turn, were hunted and shot. In
1828 martial law was proclaimed by Governor Arthur, giving soldiers the right to
arrest or shoot on sight any Aboriginal found in an area of European settlement.
Between the 1820s and 1840s most remaining Aboriginals were rounded up and moved
to a camp on Bruny Island. Most of these died of despair, malnutrition or
respiratory disease and by 1876 Tasmania's last full-blooded Aborigine was dead.
The city of Hobart was established in 1804 at the mouth of the Derwent River,
one year after Tasmania's first settlement was secured at nearby Risdon Cove. It
began as a collection of tents and huts, with a population of 178 convicts, 25
marines, 15 women, 21 children, 13 free settlers and 10 civil officers. The
colony's location on the Derwent River - one of the world's finest deep-water
harbours - was a key to its successful development, and Hobart Town (as it was
known until 1881) was proclaimed a city in 1842.
Tasmania, or Van Diemen's Land as it was originally known, was best-known as a
penal colony in its early days, with prisons for recurring offenders established
on Sarah Island, Maria Island and Port Arthur. Free settlers, however, were
often opposed to the idea of living with criminals, and in 1856 transportation
to the island was abandoned. Parliamentary elections took place the same year
and the island renamed itself Tasmania. Hobart's merchants took advantage of the
city's excellent harbour and many made their fortunes from the whaling trade,
ship-building and the export of products like corn and merino wool.
Although it was one of Australia\'s earliest settlements, Hobart's role in the
20th century reflected the scarcity of opportunities that affected the entire
state. As a result, state and local governments have consistently been avid
proponents of industry and development. In 1973, Hobart's venerable old dame of
hotels, the Wrest Point Riviera, was granted the country's first casino license.
It was during this decade, too, that plans were drawn up to build enormous
hydroelectric power-stations in the hope that the state could become a net
exporter of electrical power.
Tasmania is renowned world wide for its pristine wilderness areas, and from the
1960s through to the 80s, Hobart became the organisational headquarters of a
wide coalition of community groups determined to prevent the damming of areas of
the state considered to be of global heritage and environmental value. The
conservation movement organised significant and lengthy protests for the
preservation of Lake Pedder and the Franklin and Gordon Rivers. In the 1989
state elections, Tasmania's Green Independents gained 18% of the vote and held
the balance of power in parliament.
The political dominance of the Greens - unique among Australian legislatures -
came to an end in 1998, when the state's electoral boundaries were
redistributed. The long-overdue overturning of repressive laws against
homosexuality in the late 1990s indicates that there remained a well-developed
politically progressive community in the state to counteract the deep
conservatism that often predominates.
In recent years, Hobart has participated in the property boom that has affected
the rest of the country's big cities, although that trend has begun to slow in
recent times. The city continues to attract a strong progressive community,
including a vocal community of environmental activists and supporters who are
hoping to make a difference in the state's current hot-button issue, the logging
of old-growth forests.
Hobart is a magical city to spend a holiday at. Nestled under Mt Wellington on
the Derwent River Hobart is renowned for its heritage buildings, beautiful
parks, fine restaurants, the Salamanca Markets and its Festivals. Hobart is the
gateway to the best quality food and boutique wines and the famous Tasmanian
salmon, crayfish and cheeses, raspberries and strawberries, beer and chocolates.
This unique setting provides for an ambience that you will not find in another
city anywhere in the world
It is a city rich in maritime history, and is shaped and defined by water. A
diverse range of craft including Antarctic supply vessels, sailing dinghies,
catamarans, kayaks, ocean racing yachts, fishing boats and square riggers ply
the waters of the Derwent. Beyond is Storm Bay and the vast Southern Ocean.
The Port is a central focus for the City providing both a busy commercial hub
and also a place where residents and visitors like to spend time strolling along
the docks talking with the local fishermen, watching the large cargo vessels
load and unload or sampling some fine Tasmanian produce at one of the many cafes
and restaurants located around the cove. With its beautiful climate, laid-back
lifestyle and friendly people, you can't go wrong. Hobart is an ideal home base
to make, if you are planning to visit some of Tasmania's other spectacular
tourist destinations.
Being a modern cosmopolitan city, Hobart has all sorts of different restaurants
to have a wonderful meal at. There is also plenty to do in and around Hobart city.
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