Tasmania was populated by indigenous people for many thousands of years before discovery by Europeans. The first Europeans to see the island were Dutch, a man called Abel Tasman found the island in the late 17th century.

Many place names in Tasmania are still called by the names given them by Abel Tasman; Heemskirk, Zeehan (named after his two ships), De Witt Island and Schouten Island. The island was named after his superior, Van Dieman, in Batavia (Jakata, Indonesia). For almost two centuries it was called Van Dieman's Land.

The British who settled New South Wales in 1788 showed little interest in Van Dieman's Land. It was not until the French started exporatory journeys around the southern part of Australia in the early 1800s that the island attracted the attention of the English.

The British were concerned that the French might claim the newly discovered territory, unaware at this stage that is was in fact an island! This was not confirmed until Matthew Flinders circumnavigated Tasmania in 1812.

The earliest Tasmanian settlement by the British was as a convict colony. Tasmania was used as a place of "secondary" punishment. Convicts who committed further offences after having been sent to Sydney in New South Wales were then shipped to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). The free settlers acted as gaolers to the convicts by having them work as assigned labourers on the land they had granted to them by the colony's governor.

And so the colony was a rather rough place for several decades! One of the major tourist attractions in Tasmania is the Port Arthur Convict site which has the largest and best preserved convict ruins in Australia.

The transportation of convicts to Tasmania ended in 1854, and along with this the name of the island was changed to Tasmania, honouring that first Dutch explorer to discover the island, Abel Tasman.

Today Tasmania is a state of Australia. It lost its colonial status when the Australian colonies federated in 1901. It is a beautiful little island steeped in tradition and country ways with a small population of less than 500,000 people. We hope you'll be able to come visit Tasmania!