101-706: Australian Transport Network (ATN) was a freight railway operator in Australia that commenced operating in November 1997. The company operated narrow gauge trains in Tasmania and standard gauge trains in New South Wales and Victoria . It was formed as a joint venture with Tranz Rail owning 67% and Wisconsin Central (owner of Canadian National Railway ) 33%. In February 2004, ATN was sold to Pacific National . In August 1997, ATN
202-685: A European was on 24 November 1642 by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman , who landed at today's Blackman Bay . More than a century later, in 1772, a French expedition led by Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne landed at (nearby but different) Blackmans Bay , and the following year Tobias Furneaux became the first Englishman to land in Tasmania when he arrived at Adventure Bay , which he named after his ship HMS Adventure . Captain James Cook also landed at Adventure Bay in 1777. Matthew Flinders and George Bass sailed through Bass Strait in 1798–1799, determining for
303-504: A Laser sailing dinghy . In March 2009 two young dinghy sailors sailed a B14 (dinghy) from Stanley in north west Tasmania to Walkerville South in Victoria. The purpose of the voyage was to raise funds for the treatment of the endangered Tasmanian Devil , an animal species suffering from a facial tumour disease and, if possible, break the dinghy sailing time record for the crossing. The sailors Adrian Beswick and Josh Philips accompanied by
404-523: A Proclamation of Demarcation forbidding Aboriginal people to enter the settled districts without a passport issued by the government. Arthur declared martial law in the colony in November that year, and this remained in force for over three years, the longest period of martial law in Australian history. In November 1830, Arthur organised the so-called " Black Line ", ordering every able-bodied male colonist to assemble at one of seven designated places in
505-451: A state of Australia through the process of the federation of Australia . Today, Tasmania has the second smallest economy of the Australian states and territories , and comprises principally tourism, agriculture, aquaculture, education, and healthcare. Tasmania is a significant agricultural exporter, as well as a significant destination for eco-tourism. About 42% of its land area, including national parks and World Heritage Sites (21%),
606-465: A 50-metre canopy and are varied by environmental factors. Emergent growth usually comes from eucalyptus , which can tower another 50 metres higher (usually less), providing the most common choice of nesting for giant wedge-tailed eagles . The human environment ranges from urban or industrial development to farming or grazing land. The most cultivated area is the Midlands , where it has suitable soil but
707-406: A band of Aboriginal Tasmanians who had not been removed from the island. Van Diemen's Land—which thus far had existed as a territory within the colony of New South Wales —was proclaimed a separate colony, with its own judicial establishment and Legislative Council , on 3 December 1825. Transportation to the island ceased in 1853 and the colony was renamed Tasmania in 1856, partly to differentiate
808-400: A bomb. The plane crashed into Bass Strait in the middle of the night and many character's lives were put at risk, with some drowning. Bass Strait is regularly crossed by sailing vessels, including during the annual Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race . The Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race passes generally east of the strait but is affected by its weather conditions. The first windsurfer crossing
909-469: A government notice declaring that colonists were free to kill Aboriginal people when they attacked settlers or their property, and in the following eight months more than 200 Aboriginal people were killed in the Settled Districts in reprisal for the deaths of 15 colonists. After another eight months, the death toll had risen to 43 colonists and probably 350 Aboriginal people. In April 1828, Arthur issued
1010-482: A high concentration of waterfalls . These can be found in small creeks, alpine streams , rapid rivers , or off precipitous plunges. Some of the tallest waterfalls are found on mountain massifs , sometimes at a 200-metre cascade. The most famous and most visited waterfall in Tasmania is Russell Falls in Mount Field due to its proximity to Hobart and stepped falls at a total height of 58 metres. Tasmania also has
1111-512: A landmass of 68,401 km (26,410 sq mi) and 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 2,500 kilometres (1,300 nautical miles) south of Tasmania island lies the George V Coast of Antarctica . Depending on which borders of
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#17328586412351212-895: A large number of beaches , the longest of which is Ocean Beach on the West Coast at about 40 kilometres. Wineglass Bay in Freycinet on the east coast is a well-known landmark of the state. The Tasmanian temperate rainforests cover a few different types. These are also considered distinct from the more common wet sclerophyll forests, though these eucalypt forests often form with rainforest understorey and ferns (such as tree-ferns ) are usually never absent. Rainforest found in deep gullies are usually difficult to traverse due to dense understorey growth, such as from horizontal ( Anodopetalum biglandulosum ) . Higher-elevation forests (~500 to 800 m) have smaller ground vegetation and are thus easier to walk in. The most common rainforests usually have
1313-401: A large part of the output of Hazelwood Power Station , which was closed in early 2017. The fastest and often the cheapest method of travel across Bass Strait is by air . The major airports in Tasmania are Hobart Airport and Launceston Airport , where the main airlines are Jetstar and Virgin Australia . Qantas also operates services. The smaller airports in the north of the state and on
1414-638: A large plateau which forms a number of ranges and escarpments on its north side, tapering off along the south, and radiating into the highest mountain ranges in the west. At the north-west of this, another plateau radiates into a system of hills where takayna / Tarkine is located. The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) divides Tasmania into 9 bioregions: Ben Lomond , Furneaux , King , Central Highlands , Northern Midlands , Northern Slopes , Southern Ranges , South East , and West . Tasmania's environment consistes of many different biomes or communities across its different regions. It
1515-428: A means of suppressing the native threat – or even in some cases, exacting revenge. Van Diemen's Land had an enormous gender imbalance, with male colonists outnumbering females six to one in 1822—and 16 to one among the convict population. Historian Nicholas Clements has suggested the "voracious appetite" for native women was the most important trigger for the explosion of violence from the late 1820s. From 1825 to 1828,
1616-611: A name for Cape Barren Island . In the 20th century, some writers used it as an Aboriginal name for Tasmania, spelled "Trowenna" or "Trowunna". It is now believed that the name is more properly applied to Cape Barren Island, which has had an official dual name of "Truwana" since 2014. A number of palawa kani names, based on historical records of aboriginal names, have been accepted by the Tasmanian government. A dozen of these (below) are 'dual-use' (bilingual) names, and another two are unbounded areas with only palawa names. There are also
1717-1154: A new train radio system, in June 1998 the entire locomotive fleet was renumbered. At this stage 31 locomotives were operated. On the mainland, ATN Access was formed to bid for freight work. In 1999 a contract was awarded by the Australian Wheat Board to haul 300,000 tonnes of grain per annum from the Riverina and Dimboola regions to Port Kembla and Appleton Dock with operations commencing in June 2000. ATN Access purchased seven L class locomotives from Westrail in July 1999 (251, 253, 254, 265, 270, 271 and 276) with four being overhauled by National Railway Equipment Company , Whyalla . In June 2000, three 830 class (833, 838 and 845) locomotives were purchased from Australian Southern Railroad . These were often supplemented by locomotives hired from Chicago Freight Car Leasing Australia and Great Northern Rail Services . ATN Access also imported 44 new grain wagons from China. These were constructed at
1818-710: A number of archaeological sites with Palawa names. Some of these names have been contentious, with names being proposed without consultation with the aboriginal community, or without having a connection to the place in question. As well as a diverse First Nations geography, where remnants are preserved in rough form by European documentation, Tasmania is known as a place for unorthodox place-names . These names often come about from lost definitions, where descriptive names have lost their old meanings and have taken on new modern interpretations (e.g. 'Bobs Knobs'). Other names have retained their original meaning, and are often quaint or endearing descriptions (e.g. 'Paradise' ). The island
1919-582: A party of 49, including 21 male and three female convicts, named the camp Risdon. Several months later, a second settlement was established by Captain David Collins , with 308 convicts, 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) to the south in Sullivans Cove on the western side of the Derwent, where fresh water was more plentiful. The latter settlement became known as Hobart Town or Hobarton, later shortened to Hobart , after
2020-464: A reputation as "Sanitorium of the South" and a health-focused tourist boom began to grow. The MS Princess of Tasmania began her maiden voyage in 1959, the first car ferry to Tasmania. As part of the boom, Tasmania allowed the opening of the first casino in Australia in 1968. Queen Elizabeth II visited the state in 1954, and the 50s and 60s were charactered by the opening of major public services, including
2121-411: A safer and less boisterous passage for ships on the route from Europe or India to Sydney in the early 19th century. The strait also saved 1,300 km (700 nmi) on the voyage. Bass Strait is approximately 250 km (160 mi) wide and 500 km (310 mi) long, with an average depth of 60 m (200 ft). The widest opening is about 350 km (220 mi) between Cape Portland on
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#17328586412352222-462: A significant dolerite exposure, though the western half of the state is older and more rugged, featuring buttongrass plains, temperate rainforests, and quartzite ranges, notably Federation Peak and Frenchmans Cap . The presence of these mountain ranges is a primary factor in the rain shadow effect , where the western half receives the majority of rainfall, which also influences the types of vegetation that can grow. The Central Highlands feature
2323-406: A support vessel successfully completed the crossing in 14 hours 53 minutes. Kitesurfers have also completed the crossing with Natalie Clark in 2010 become the first female to do the crossing. In 1971 lone rower David Bowen from Mount Martha crossed Bass Strait in a 6.1 m (20 ft) dory , leaving from Devonport he landed on Wilson's Promontory. The first crossing by paddleboard
2424-508: A trace, or left scant evidence of their passing. Despite myths and legends of piracy , wrecking and alleged supernatural phenomena akin to those of the Bermuda Triangle , such disappearances can be invariably ascribed to treacherous combinations of wind and sea conditions, and the numerous semi-submerged rocks and reefs within the Straits. Despite the strait's difficult waters, it provided
2525-546: Is also the Australia Post abbreviation for the state. In the constructed palawa kani language, the main island of Tasmania is called lutruwita , a name originally derived from the Bruny Island Tasmanian language . George Augustus Robinson recorded it as Loe.trou.witter and also as Trow.wer.nar , probably from one or more of the eastern or Northeastern Tasmanian languages . However, he also recorded it as
2626-535: Is also the driest part of the state. Tasmania's insularity was possibly detected by Captain Abel Tasman when he charted Tasmania's coast in 1642. On 5 December, Tasman was following the east coast northward to see how far it went. When the land veered to the north-west at Eddystone Point , he tried to keep in with it but his ships were suddenly hit by the Roaring Forties howling through Bass Strait . Tasman
2727-419: Is estimated to have been between 3,000 and 7,000 at the time of British settlement, but was almost wiped out within 30 years during a period of conflicts with settlers known as the " Black War " and the spread of infectious diseases . The conflict, which peaked between 1825 and 1831 and led to more than three years of martial law, cost the lives of almost 1,100 Aboriginal people and settlers. Under British rule,
2828-546: Is found on the Central Plateau and the Southwest. Cradle Mountain , another dolerite peak, for example, was a nunatak . The combination of these different rock types contributes to scenery which is distinct from any other region of the world. In the far southwest corner of the state, the geology is almost wholly quartzite, which gives the mountains the false impression of having snow-capped peaks year round. Evidence indicates
2929-512: Is protected in some form of reserve. The first environmental political party in the world was founded in Tasmania. Tasmania is named after Dutch explorer Abel Tasman , who made the first reported European sighting of the island on 24 November 1642. Tasman named the island Anthony van Diemen's Land after his sponsor Anthony van Diemen , the Governor of the Dutch East Indies . The name
3030-577: Is the Central Highlands area, which covers most of the central western parts of the state. The Midlands located in the central east, is fairly flat, and is predominantly used for agriculture, although farming activity is scattered throughout the state. Tasmania's tallest mountain is Mount Ossa at 1,617 m (5,305 ft). Much of Tasmania is still densely forested, with the Southwest National Park and neighbouring areas holding some of
3131-685: Is the most forested state in Australia, and preserves the country's largest areas of temperate rainforest . A distinctive type of moorland found across the west, and particularly south-west of Tasmania, are buttongrass plains, which are speculated to have been expanded by Tasmanian Aboriginal burning practices . Tasmania also features a diverse alpine garden environment , such as cushion plant . Highland areas receive consistent snowfall above ~1,000 metres every year, and due to cold air from Antarctica , this level often reaches 800 m, and more occasionally 600 or 400 metres. Every five or so years, snow can form at sea level. This environment gives rise to
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3232-500: The Norfolk in 1798–99. At Flinders' recommendation, the Governor of New South Wales, John Hunter , in 1800 named the stretch of water between the mainland and Van Diemen's Land "Bass's Straits". In 1798 it became known as Bass Strait. The existence of the strait had been suggested in 1797 by the master of Sydney Cove when he reached Sydney after deliberately grounding his foundering ship and being stranded on Preservation Island (at
3333-543: The 1943 federal election and first female to serve in the federal cabinet . In May 1948, Margaret McIntyre achieved another milestone as the first female elected to the Parliament of Tasmania. Less than six months after her election, McIntyre died in the crash of the Lutana near Quirindi on 2 September 1948. After the end of World War II, the state saw major urbanisation, and the growth of towns like Ulverstone . It gained
3434-568: The Bassian Rise and King Island Rise located on the eastern and western margins of Bass Strait, respectively, are composed of a basement of Paleozoic granite . These features form sills separating Bass Basin from the adjacent ocean basins. Associated with the less than 50 m (160 ft)-deep Bassian Rise is the Furneaux Islands , the largest of which is Flinders Island (maximum elevation 760 m [2,490 ft]). The surface of
3535-552: The British Colonial Secretary of the time, Lord Hobart . The settlement at Risdon was later abandoned. Left on their own without further supplies, the Sullivans Cove settlement suffered severe food shortages and by 1806 its inhabitants were starving, with many resorting to scraping seaweed off rocks and scavenging washed-up whale blubber from the shore to survive. A smaller colony was established at Port Dalrymple on
3636-634: The Cape Otway Lighthouse was first lit in 1848, followed by another at Cape Wickham at the northern end of King Island in 1861. There are over 50 islands in Bass Strait. Major islands include: Western section: South eastern section: North eastern section: Within Bass Strait there are several Commonwealth marine reserves , which are all part of the South-east Network. The two larger reserves, Flinders and Zeehan, extend mostly outside of
3737-456: The Furneaux Group of Bass Strait , King Island in the west of Bass Strait, Cape Barren Island south of Flinders Island, Bruny Island separated from Tasmania by the D'Entrecasteaux Channel , Macquarie Island 1,500 km from Tasmania, and Maria Island off the east coast. Tasmania features a number of separated and continuous mountain ranges. The majority of the state is defined by
3838-743: The National Firearms Agreement . In 2000, Queen Elizabeth II once again visited the state. Gunns rose to prominence as a major forestry company during this decade, only to collapse in 2013. In 2004, Premier Jim Bacon died in office from lung cancer. 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. The COVID-19 pandemic in Tasmania resulted in at least 230 cases and 13 deaths as of September 2021 . In 2020, after
3939-617: The Southern Ocean , but rather states that it lies with the Tasman Sea. The strait between the Furneaux Islands and Tasmania is Banks Strait , a subdivision of Bass Strait. Aboriginal Tasmanians arrived in Tasmania approximately 40,000 years ago during the last glacial period , across a broad prehistoric land bridge called the Bassian Plain between the nowaday southern Victoria coastline (from Wilsons Promontory to Cape Otway ) and
4040-609: The Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area . The Franklin Dam was blocked by the federal government in 1983, and CSIRO opened its marine studies centre in Hobart. Pope John Paul II would hold mass at Elwick Racecourse in 1986. The 1990s were characterised by the fight for LGBT rights in Tasmania , culminating in the intervention of the United Nations Human Rights Committee in 1997 and
4141-577: The cypress forests of the Central Plateau and mountainous highlands. In particular, the Walls of Jerusalem with large areas of rare pencil pine , and its closest relative King Billy pine . On the West Coast Range and partially on Mount Field , Australia's only winter- deciduous plant, deciduous beech is found, which forms a carpet or krummholz , or very rarely a 4-metre tree. Tasmania features
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4242-465: The surrounding 1000 islands . It is Australia's smallest and least populous state, with 573,479 residents as of June 2023 . The state capital and largest city is Hobart , with around 40% of the population living in the Greater Hobart area. Tasmania is the most decentralised state in Australia, with the lowest proportion of its residents living within its capital city. Tasmania's main island
4343-652: The Australian government's 2020 Oil and Gas acreage release as this opened up new areas of Tasmania's oceans for exploration. The western field, known as the Otway Basin , was discovered in the 1990s offshore near Port Campbell . Its exploitation began in 2005. The oil and gas is sent via pipeline to gas processing facilities and oil refineries at Longford ( Longford gas plant ), Western Port ( Westernport Refinery closed 1985), Altona ( Altona Refinery scheduled to close in 2021) and Geelong ( Geelong Oil Refinery ), as well as by tanker to New South Wales . Pipelines from
4444-632: The Bass Strait area. The smaller islands of Bass Strait typically have some form of protection status. Most notably the Kent Group National Park covers the Kent Group islands of Tasmania, as well as the surrounding state waters which is a dedicated marine reserve. The national park is wholly contained by the Beagle Commonwealth Marine Reserve. Victoria has several marine national parks in Bass Strait, and are all adjacent to
4545-688: The British Empire. 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-centre of shipbuilding. It raised a local defence force that eventually played a significant role in the Second Boer War in South Africa, and Tasmanian soldiers in that conflict won
4646-474: The Central Highlands and flow out to the coast. Tasmania's major population centres are mainly situated around estuaries (some of which are named rivers). Tasmania is in the shape of a downward-facing triangle, likened to a shield, heart, or face. It consists of the main island as well as at least a thousand neighbouring islands within the state's jurisdiction. The largest of these are Flinders Island in
4747-462: The King Island Rise also occurs in water depths of less than 50 m (160 ft), and includes the shallow (40 m [130 ft]) Tail Bank at its northern margin as well as King Island itself. Subaqueous dunes (sandwaves) and tidal current ridges cover approximately 6,000 km (2,300 sq mi) of the seabed in Bass Strait. During Pleistocene , low sea level stands
4848-1103: The Kingfish Field, the Mackerel Field, and the Fortescue Field discovered in 1978. Large gas fields include the Whiptail field, the Barracouta Field, the Snapper Field, and the Marlin Field. Oil and gas are produced from the Cretaceous - Eocene clastic rocks of the Latrobe Group, deposited with the break-up of Australia and Antarctica. In 2020 activist group No Gas Across the Bass was set up after American company ConocoPhillips put in an application to seismic blast 27km from King Island . Further environmental campaigning followed
4949-612: The Otway Basin gas fields lead to several processing facilities in the vicinity of Port Campbell ( Iona Gas Plant and Otway Gas Plant ). In June 2017, the Government of Victoria announced a three-year feasibility study for Australia's first offshore wind farm . The project, which could have 250 wind turbines within a 574 km (222 sq mi) area, is projected to deliver around 8,000 GWh of electricity, representing some 18 per cent of Victoria's power usage and replacing
5050-642: The Qiqihar Railway Workshops in Northern China. Tasmania Tasmania ( / t æ z ˈ m eɪ n i ə / ; palawa kani : lutruwita ) is an island state of Australia . It is located 240 kilometres (150 miles) to the south of the Australian mainland , and is separated from it by the Bass Strait . The state encompasses the main island of Tasmania, the 26th-largest island in the world , and
5151-673: The Settled Districts to join a massive drive to sweep Aboriginal people out of the region and on to the Tasman Peninsula . The campaign failed and was abandoned seven weeks later, but by then Tasmania's Aboriginal population had fallen to about 300. After hostilities between settlers and Aboriginal peoples ceased in 1832, almost all of the remnants of the Indigenous population were persuaded by government agent George Augustus Robinson to move to Flinders Island . Many quickly succumbed to infectious diseases to which they had no immunity, reducing
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#17328586412355252-655: The Tamar River in the island's north in October 1804 and several other convict-based settlements were established, including the particularly harsh penal colonies at Port Arthur in the southeast and Macquarie Harbour on the West Coast. Tasmania was eventually sent 75,000 convicts—four out of every ten people transported to Australia. By 1819, the Aboriginal and British population reached parity with about 5000 of each, although among
5353-587: The Tasmanian Housing Department and Metro Tasmania public bus services. A jail was opened at Risdon in 1960, and the State Library of Tasmania the same year. The University of Tasmania also moved to its present location in 1963. The state was badly affected by the 1967 Tasmanian fires , killing 64 people and destroying over 652,000 acres in five hours. In 1975 the Tasman Bridge collapsed when
5454-467: The Tasmanian mainland at Stanley Head , and then continued on to George Town . However it started failing within a few weeks of completion, and by 1861 it failed completely. Tasmania is currently connected to the mainland via two Telstra -operated fibre optic cables; since 2006, dark fibre capacity has also been available on the Basslink HVDC cable. Other submarine cables include: In 1978, one of
5555-576: The arrival of 600 colonists from Norfolk Island between 1807 and 1813. They established farms along the River Derwent and east and west of Launceston , occupying ten percent of Van Diemen's Land. By 1824 the colonial population had swelled to 12,600, while the island's sheep population had reached 200,000. The rapid colonisation transformed traditional kangaroo hunting grounds into farms with grazing livestock as well as fences, hedges and stone walls, while police and military patrols were increased to control
5656-536: The bridge was struck by the bulk ore carrier 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 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the north, at Bridgewater. Throughout the 1980s, strong environmental concerns saw the building of the Australian Antarctic Division headquarters, and the proclamation of
5757-417: The burgeoning society of free settlers from the island's convict past. The Legislative Council of Van Diemen's Land drafted a new constitution which gained Royal Assent in 1855. The Privy Council also 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
5858-490: The capacity to carry up to 630 megawatts of electrical power across the strait. Alinta owns a submarine gas pipeline , delivering natural gas to large industrial customers near George Town , as well as the Powerco gas network in Tasmania. The first submarine communications cable across Bass Strait was laid in 1859. Starting at Cape Otway , Victoria , it went via King Island and Three Hummock Island , made contact with
5959-423: The central basin of Bass Strait was enclosed by raised sills forming a large shallow lake. This occurred during the last glacial maximum (18,000 BP ) when the basin was completely isolated. Sea level rise during the marine transgression flooded the basin, forming a westward embayment from 11,800 BP to 8700 BP, and the basin rim was completely flooded by about 8000 BP, at which point Bass Strait
6060-410: The colonists men outnumbered women four-to-one. Free settlers began arriving in large numbers from 1820, lured by the promise of land grants and free convict labour. Settlement in the island's northwest corner was monopolised by the Van Diemen's Land Company , which sent its first surveyors to the district in 1826. By 1830, one-third of Australia's non-Indigenous population lived in Van Diemen's Land and
6161-407: The convict farm labourers. Violence began to spiral rapidly from the mid-1820s in what became described as the " Black War ". Aboriginal inhabitants were driven to desperation by hunger – that included a desire for agricultural produce, as well as feeling anger at the prevalence of abductions of women and girls. New settlers motivated by fear carried out self-defence operations as well as attacks as
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#17328586412356262-462: The decriminalization of homosexuality that year. Christine Milne became the first female leader of a Tasmanian political party in 1993, and major council amalgamations reduce the number of councils from 46 to 29. Following the Port Arthur massacre on 28 April 1996, which resulted in the loss of 35 lives and injured 21 others, the Australian Government conducted a review of its firearms policies and enacted new nationwide gun ownership laws under
6363-542: The east and continued his continent hunting. The next European to approach the strait was Captain James Cook in the HMS Endeavour in April 1770. However, after sailing for two hours westward towards the strait against the wind, he turned back east and noted in his journal that he was "doubtful whether they [i.e. Van Diemen's Land and New Holland] are one land or no". The strait was named after George Bass , after he and Matthew Flinders sailed across it while circumnavigating Van Diemen's Land (now named Tasmania ) in
6464-521: The eastern end of the strait). He reported that the strong south westerly swell and the tides and currents suggested that the island was in a channel linking the Pacific and southern Indian Ocean. Governor Hunter thus wrote to Joseph Banks in August 1797 that it seemed certain a strait existed. When news of the 1798 discovery of Bass Strait reached Europe, the French government despatched a reconnaissance expedition commanded by Nicolas Baudin . This prompted Governor King to send two vessels from Sydney to
6565-405: The first completely electrified city on the island in 1885, followed closely by the township of Zeehan in 1900. The state economy was riding mining prosperity until World War I. In 1901, the state population was 172,475. The 1910 foundation of what would become Hydro Tasmania began to shape urban patterns, as well as future major damming programs. Hydro's influence culminated in the 1970s when
6666-428: The first time that Tasmania was an island. Sealers and whalers based themselves on Tasmania's islands from 1798, and in August 1803 New South Wales Governor Philip King sent Lieutenant John Bowen to establish a small military outpost on the eastern shore of the Derwent River in order to forestall any claims to the island by French explorers who had been exploring the southern Australian coastline. Bowen, who led
6767-443: 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 favour of federation with the largest majority of all the Australian colonies. Tasmania was an early adopter of electric street lighting . Australia's first electric street lights were switched on in Waratah in 1886. Launceston became
6868-416: The genocide thesis, arguing that the colonial authorities did not intend to destroy the Aboriginal population in whole or in part. Boyce has claimed that the April 1828 "Proclamation Separating the Aborigines from the White Inhabitants" sanctioned force against Aboriginal people "for no other reason than that they were Aboriginal". However, as Reynolds, Broome and Clements point out, there was open warfare at
6969-473: The island accounted for about half of all land under cultivation and exports. Tensions between Tasmania's Aboriginal and white inhabitants rose, partly driven by increasing competition for kangaroo and other game. Explorer and naval officer John Oxley in 1810 noted the "many atrocious cruelties" inflicted on Aboriginal people by convict bushrangers in the north, which in turn led to black attacks on solitary white hunters. Hostilities increased further with
7070-459: The island to establish a garrison at Hobart. Strong currents between the Antarctic-driven southeast portions of the Indian Ocean and the Tasman Sea 's Pacific Ocean waters provide a strait of powerful, wild storm waves. The shipwrecks on the Tasmanian and Victorian coastlines number in the hundreds, although stronger metal ships and modern marine navigation have greatly reduced the danger. Many vessels, some quite large, have disappeared without
7171-462: The island was initially part of the Colony of New South Wales ; however, it became a separate colony under the name Van Diemen's Land (named after Anthony van Diemen ) in 1825. Approximately 80,000 convicts were sent to Van Diemen's Land before this practice, known as transportation , ceased in 1853. In 1855, the present Constitution of Tasmania was enacted, and the following year the colony formally changed its name to Tasmania. In 1901, it became
7272-404: The island's nine nations; Nicholas Clements, citing research by N.J.B. Plomley and Rhys Jones , settled on a figure of 3,000 to 4,000. They engaged in fire-stick farming , hunted game including kangaroo and wallabies , caught seals, mutton-birds, shellfish and fish and lived as nine separate "nations" on the island, which they knew as "Trouwunna". The first reported sighting of Tasmania by
7373-572: The islands in the strait are served either by Rex Airlines , QantasLink or King Island Airlines . The domestic sea route is serviced by two Spirit of Tasmania passenger vehicle ferries , based in Devonport , Tasmania. The ships travel daily between Devonport and Spirit of Tasmania Quay in Geelong as overnight trips, with additional daytime trips during the peak summer season. The Basslink HVDC electrical cable has been in service since 2006. It has
7474-525: The last temperate rain forests in the Southern Hemisphere . The Tarkine , containing Savage River National Park located in the island's far north west, is the largest temperate rainforest area in Australia covering about 3,800 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi). With its rugged topography, Tasmania has a great number of rivers. Several of Tasmania's largest rivers have been dammed at some point to provide hydroelectricity . Many rivers begin in
7575-619: The limits of Bass Strait as follows: Some authorities consider the strait to be part of the Pacific Ocean as in the never-approved 2002 IHO Limits of Oceans and Seas draft. In the currently in-force IHO 1953 draft, it is instead associated with the Great Australian Bight; the Bight is numbered 62, while the Bass Strait is designated 62-A. The Australian Hydrographic Service does not consider it to be part of its expanded definition of
7676-597: The mainland coastline: A number of oil and gas fields exist in the eastern portion of Bass Strait, in what is known as the Gippsland Basin. Most large fields were discovered in the 1960s, and are located about 50 to 65 km (30 to 40 mi) off the coast of Gippsland in water depths of about 70 m (230 ft). These oil fields include the Halibut Field discovered in 1967, the Cobia Field discovered in 1972,
7777-541: The most direct waterway between the Great Australian Bight and the Tasman Sea , and is also the only maritime route into the economically prominent Port Phillip Bay . Formed 8,000 years ago by rising sea levels at the end of the last glacial period , the strait was named after English explorer and physician George Bass (1771–1803) by European colonists . The International Hydrographic Organization defines
7878-562: The most famous UFO incidents in Australian history occurred over Bass Strait. Frederick Valentich was flying a small aeroplane over the strait when he reported to personnel at a local airport that a strange object was buzzing his plane. He then claimed that the object had moved directly in front of his plane; the airport personnel then heard a metallic "scraping" sound, followed by silence. Valentich and his plane subsequently vanished and neither Valentich nor his plane were ever seen again. The issue of planes, ships and people having been lost in
7979-471: The northeast and east, continental granites can be seen, such as at Freycinet, similar to coastal granites on mainland Australia. In the northwest and west, mineral-rich volcanic rock can be seen at Mount Read near Rosebery , or at Mount Lyell near Queenstown . Also present in the south and northwest is limestone with caves. The quartzite and dolerite areas in the higher mountains show evidence of glaciation , and much of Australia's glaciated landscape
8080-547: The northeastern tip of Tasmania and Point Hicks on the Australian mainland. Jennings' study of the submarine topography of Bass Strait described the bathymetric Bass Basin, a shallow depression approximately 120 km (70 mi) wide and 400 km (250 mi) long (over 65,000 km [25,000 sq mi] in area) in the centre of Bass Strait, a maximum depth is the channel between Inner Sister Island and Flinders Island , which navigation charts indicate reaches 155 m (510 ft). Two underwater plateaus ,
8181-502: The northern Tasmanian shores (from Cape Portland to Cape Grim ). After the glacial period ended, sea levels rose and flooded the Bassian Plain to form Bass Strait at around 8,000 years ago, leaving them isolated from the Australian mainland. Aboriginal people lived on Flinders Island until around 4,000 years ago. Based on the recorded language groups, there were at least three successive waves of Aboriginal colonisation. The strait
8282-805: The northernmost point on mainland Tasmania is approximately 40°38′26″S 144°43′33″E / 40.64056°S 144.72583°E / -40.64056; 144.72583 in Woolnorth / Temdudheker near Cape Grim / Kennaook . Tasmania lies at similar latitudes to Te Waipounamu / South Island of New Zealand and parts of Patagonia in South America. Areas at equivalent latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere include Hokkaido in Japan, Northeast China ( Manchuria ), Central Italy , and United States cities such as New York and Chicago . The most mountainous region
8383-501: The number of native attacks more than doubled each year, raising panic among settlers. Over the summer of 1826–1827 clans from the Big River, Oyster Bay and North Midlands nations speared stock-keepers on farms and made it clear that they wanted the settlers and their sheep and cattle to move from their kangaroo hunting grounds. Settlers responded vigorously, resulting in many mass-killings. In November 1826, Governor Sir George Arthur issued
8484-663: The oceans are used, the island can be said to be either surrounded by the Southern Ocean, or to have the Pacific on its east and the Indian to its west. Still other definitions of the ocean boundaries would have Tasmania with the Great Australian Bight to the west, and the Tasman Sea to the east. The southernmost point on mainland Tasmania is approximately 43°38′37″S 146°49′38″E / 43.64361°S 146.82722°E / -43.64361; 146.82722 at South East Cape , and
8585-581: The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic ( SARS-CoV-2 ) and its spread to Australia, the Tasmanian government issued a public health emergency on 17 March, the following month receiving the state's most significant outbreak from the North-West which required assistance from the Federal government . In late 2021, Tasmania was leading the nationwide vaccination response. Tasmania, the largest island of Australia, has
8686-400: The population further. Of those removed from Tasmania, the last to die was Truganini , in 1876. The near-destruction of Tasmania's Aboriginal population has been described as an act of genocide by historians including Robert Hughes , James Boyce , Lyndall Ryan and Tom Lawson. However, other historians including Henry Reynolds , Richard Broome and Nicholas Clements do not agree with
8787-587: The presence of Aboriginal people in Tasmania about 42,000 years ago. Rising sea levels cut Tasmania off from mainland Australia about 10,000 years ago and by the time of European contact, the Aboriginal people in Tasmania had nine major nations or ethnic groups. At the time of the British occupation and colonisation in 1803, the indigenous population was estimated at between 3,000 and 10,000. Historian Lyndall Ryan's analysis of population studies led her to conclude that there were about 7,000 spread throughout
8888-524: The southeast portions of the island are mostly dolerites. Mount Wellington above Hobart is a good example, showing distinct columns known as the Organ Pipes. In the southern midlands as far south as Hobart, the dolerite is underlaid by sandstone and similar sedimentary stones. In the southwest, Precambrian quartzites were formed from very ancient sea sediments and form strikingly sharp ridges and ranges, such as Federation Peak or Frenchmans Cap . In
8989-584: 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 green party was established; the United Tasmania Group . National and international attention surrounded the campaign against the Franklin Dam in the early 1980s. Tasmanian Enid Lyons became the first female member of the House of Representatives at
9090-410: The strait over time has spawned a number of theories. Perhaps the most thorough list of losses and disappearances has been the oft reprinted book of Jack Loney though it is possible that most losses can be adequately explained by extreme weather events. On the popular Australian soap Neighbours , one of its most dramatic storylines unfolded when a 1940s themed joy flight to Tasmania was sabotaged by
9191-461: The time. Boyce described the decision to remove all Tasmanian Aboriginal people after 1832—by which time they had given up their fight against white colonists—as an extreme policy position. He concluded: "The colonial government from 1832 to 1838 ethnically cleansed the western half of Van Diemen's Land." Nevertheless, Clements and Flood note that there was another wave of violence in north-west Tasmania in 1841, involving attacks on settlers' huts by
9292-419: Was adjoined to the mainland of Australia until the end of the last glacial period about 11,700 years ago. Much of the island is composed of Jurassic dolerite intrusions (the upwelling of magma ) through other rock types, sometimes forming large columnar joints. Tasmania has the world's largest areas of dolerite, with many distinctive mountains and cliffs formed from this rock type. The central plateau and
9393-596: Was announced as the successful bidder for Australian National's Tasrail operation in Tasmania with the handover occurring on 1 November 1997. In 1998, Tasrail purchased the Emu Bay Railway from Pasminco . The president of Wisconsin Central, Ed Burkhardt dispatched Mark Rosner to Australia to take control in Tasmania. Amongst Rosner's achievements was the implementing of a new condensed Operating Rule Book, which eliminated some more complex practices in favour of vastly simplified procedures. Single car roadside freight
9494-399: Was formed and Tasmania became an isolated island. Like the rest of the waters surrounding Tasmania, and particularly because of its limited depth, it is notoriously rough, with many ships lost there during the 19th century. A lighthouse was erected on Deal Island in 1848 to assist ships navigating in the eastern part of the Straits, but there were no guides to the western entrance until
9595-456: Was in 1982 by Mark Paul and Les Tokolyi. In 1998 Australian offshore sailor Nick Moloney took on a different challenge by being the first person to windsurf unaided across the Bass Strait in a time of 22 hours. In terms of dinghy sailing many crossings have been made but in March 2005 Australian Olympic medallist Michael Blackburn set a record when he crossed the strait in just over 13 hours in
9696-600: Was inhabited by Aboriginal peoples . It is thought that Aboriginal Tasmanians became separated from the mainland Aboriginal groups about 11,700 years ago, after rising sea levels formed Bass Strait . The island was permanently settled by Europeans in 1803 as a penal settlement of the British Empire to prevent claims to the land by the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars . The Aboriginal population
9797-542: Was later shortened to Van Diemen's Land by the British. It was officially renamed Tasmania in honour of its first European discoverer on 1 January 1856. Tasmania was sometimes referred to as "Dervon", as mentioned in the Jerilderie Letter written by the notorious Australian bushranger Ned Kelly in 1879. The colloquial expression for the state is "Tassie". Tasmania is also colloquially shortened to "Tas", mainly when used in business names and website addresses. TAS
9898-449: Was made by Jack Bark, Brad Gaul and Zeb Walsh, leaving Wilsons Promontory in Victoria on 25 February 2014 and arriving at Cape Portland in northeastern Tasmania on 4 March 2014. Rod Harris, Ian and Peter Richards are credited with the first kayak crossing in 1971. Many sea kayakers have since made the crossing, usually by island hopping on the eastern side of the strait. Fewer sea kayak crossings have been made via King Island, due to
9999-479: Was on a mission to find the Southern Continent , not more islands, so he abruptly turned away to the east and continued his continent-hunting. Bass Strait Bass Strait ( / b æ s / ) is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria , with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet ). The strait provides
10100-515: Was possibly detected by Captain Abel Tasman when he charted Tasmania's coast in 1642. On 5 December, Tasman was following the east coast northward to see how far it went. When the land veered to the north-west at Eddystone Point , he tried to keep in with it but his ships were suddenly hit by the Roaring Forties howling through Bass Strait. Tasman was on a mission to find the Southern Continent, not more islands, so he abruptly turned away to
10201-932: Was resumed where customers required it (discontinued under Australian National) in line with US short line practice. On sections of the main trunk line north of Hobart , moving block train spacing (5,000 metres minimum) managed over train radio replaced fixed block train order working introduced under Australian National. ATN inherited a fleet of Alco and English Electric locomotives from Australian National and Walkers diesel-hydraulics from Emu Bay Railway. In line with Wisconsin Central's preference for Electro-Motive Diesel products, 15 DQ class locomotives that had been rebuilt at Hutt Workshops from 1960s built Queensland Rail 1460 and 1502 class locomotives were transferred from Tranz Rail in 1998/99 along with DC4588 . Two rebuilt Westrail D class locomotives were also forwarded from Tranz Rail in August 2001. In conjunction with
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