122-556: Cape Barren Island , officially truwana / Cape Barren Island , is a 478-square-kilometre (185 sq mi) island in Bass Strait , off the north-east coast of Tasmania , Australia . It is the second-largest island of the Furneaux Group , with the larger Flinders Island to the north, and the smaller Clarke Island to the south. The highest point on the island is Mount Munro at 715 metres (2,346 ft). Mount Munro
244-696: 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
366-585: 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
488-451: 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%),
610-451: A "commuting" distance to an island that has enough resources to be sustainable. The presence of an island is marked by seabirds , differences in cloud and weather patterns, as well as changes in the direction of waves. It is also possible for human populations to have gone extinct on islands, evidenced by explorers finding islands that show evidence of habitation but no life. Not all islands were or are inhabited by maritime cultures. In
732-514: A "rafting event". This phenomenon is known as oceanic dispersal . Tropical storms have the capacity to transport species over great distances. Animals like tortoises can live for weeks without food or water, and are able to survive floating on debris in the sea. One case study showed that in 1995, fifteen iguanas survived a 300 km journey to Anguilla in the Caribbean , an island which no iguana had lived on previously. They survived floating on
854-470: 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
976-406: 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
1098-426: A detailed review of 1,288 islands found that they were home to 1,189 highly-threatened vertebrate species, which was 41 percent of the global figure. Coral bleaching is expected to occur with more frequency, threatening marine ecosystems, some of which island economies are dependent on. Some islands that are low-lying may cease to exist given high enough amounts of sea level rise. Tuvalu received media attention for
1220-614: A few meters high, and are usually temporary. Changes in the flow speed, water level, and sediment content of the river may effect the rate of fluvial island formation and depletion. Permanent river islands also exist, the largest of which (that is completely inland) is Bananal Island in the Tocantins of Brazil, which has a maximum width of 55 kilometers. Lakes form for a variety of reasons, including glaciers , plate tectonics, and volcanism. Lake islands can form as part of these processes. The field of insular biogeography studies
1342-477: 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
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#17327917974961464-488: 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
1586-402: A higher carrying capacity also have more genetic diversity , which promotes speciation . Oceanic islands, ones that have never been connected to shore, are only populated by life that can cross the sea. This means that any animals present on the island had to have flown there, in the case of birds or bats , were carried by such animals, or were carried in a sea current in what is known as
1708-516: 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
1830-906: 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
1952-638: 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
2074-477: A loss of almost all the infrastructure in Dominica. Sea level rise and other climate changes can reduce freshwater reserves, resulting in droughts . These risks are expected to decrease the habitability of islands, especially small ones. Beyond risks to human life, plant and animal life are threatened. It has been estimated that almost 50 percent of land species threatened by extinction live on islands. In 2017,
2196-403: A mass of uprooted trees from a storm. Plant species are thought to be able to travel great distances of ocean. New Zealand and Australia share 200 native plant species, despite being separated by 1500 km. Continental islands, islands that were at one point connected to a continent, are expected to share a common history of plant and animal life up until the point that the island broke away from
2318-428: 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,
2440-837: A minimum. Some islands became host to humans due to a land bridge or a continental island splitting from the mainland. Today, up to 10% of the world's population lives on islands. Islands are popular targets for tourism due to their perceived natural beauty, isolation, and unique cultures. Islands became the target of colonization by Europeans, resulting in the majority of islands in the Pacific being put under European control. Decolonization has resulted in some but not all island nations becoming self-governing , with lasting effects related to industrialisation , invasive species , nuclear weapons testing , and tourism . Islands and island countries are threatened by climate change . Sea level rise threatens to submerge nations such as Maldives ,
2562-743: A minority. Cultural attitudes related to communal ownership of land as well as a lack of individualistic decision-making may make some island cultures less compatible with the global capitalist economy, causing these nations to experience less economic growth. Islands have long been a popular target for tourism , thanks to their unique climates, cultures, and natural beauty. However, islands may suffer from poor transportation connectivity from airplanes and boats and strains on infrastructure from tourist activity. Islands in colder climates often rely on seasonal tourists seeking to enjoy nature or local cultures, and may only be one aspect of an island's economy. In contrast, tourism on tropical islands can often make up
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#17327917974962684-616: 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
2806-710: 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
2928-601: 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
3050-613: A permanent caisson , a steel or concrete structure built in a closed loop and then filled with sand. Some modern islands have been constructed by pouring millions of tons of sand into the sea, such as with Pearl Island in Qatar or the Palm Islands in Dubai. These islands are usually created for real estate development , and are sold for private ownership or construction of housing. Offshore oil platforms have also been described as
3172-524: A phenomenon where new oceanic crust is formed, pushing away older crust. Islands sitting on the continental shelf may be called continental islands. Other islands, like those that make up New Zealand , are what remains of continents that shrank and sunk beneath the sea. It was estimated that Zealandia , the continent-like area of crust that New Zealand sits on, has had 93% of its original surface area submerged. Some islands are formed when coral reefs grow on volcanic islands that have submerged beneath
3294-423: A press conference publicizing the ongoing submerging of the island country. Tuvalu signed a cooperation agreement with Australia agreeing to annually allow 280 of its citizens to become permanent residents of Australia. The Marshall Islands, a country of 1,156 islands, have also been identified as a country that may be existentially threatened by rising seas. Increasing intensity of tropical storms also increases
3416-483: A priority target of conservation efforts, to prevent the extinction of these species. Despite high levels of endemism, the total species richness , the total number of unique species in a region, is lower on islands than on mainlands. The level of species richness on islands is proportional to the area of that island, a phenomenon known as the species-area relationship . This is because larger areas have more resources and thus can support more organisms. Populations with
3538-525: 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
3660-411: A restricted set of natural resources. However, these nations control some of the largest fisheries in the world, deposits of copper , gold , and nickel , as well as oil deposits . The natural beauty of island nations also makes them a magnet for tourism . Islands also have geopolitical value for naval bases , weapons testing , and general territorial control. One such example is French Polynesia ,
3782-476: A selection pressure for smaller animals that require less food. Having fewer predators would mean these animals did not need not be large to survive. Charles Darwin formulated the theory of natural selection through the study of island ecology. The species he observed on the Galápagos Islands , including tanager birds, contributed to his understanding of how evolution works. He first traveled to
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3904-462: 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
4026-509: A specific property known as adaptive radiation . In this process, a species that arrives on a group of islands rapidly becomes more diverse over time, splitting off into new species or subspecies. A species that reaches an island ecosystem may face little competition for resources, or may find that the resources that they found in their previous habitat are not available. These factors together result in individual evolutionary branches with different means of survival. The classical example of this
4148-414: A territory that receives substantial military expenditure and aid from France. Since the first discoveries of Polynesian, Micronesian , and other islands by Westerners, these nations have been the subject of colonization. Islands were the target of Christian missionaries . These missionaries faced resistance, but found success when some local chiefs used European support to centralize power. Beginning in
4270-462: A tree that is present in Australia, New Zealand, parts of South American, and New Guinea, places that today are geographically distant. A possible explanation for this phenomenon is that these landmasses were once all part of the continent Gondwana and separated by tectonic drift. However, there are competing theories that suggest this species may have reached faraway places by way of oceanic dispersal. Species that colonize island archipelagos exhibit
4392-517: A twice-weekly scheduled air service from Launceston . Various charter flight operators offer charter flights from either Tasmania, Australia or Victoria, Australia . From Flinders Island, Cape Barren island is only a short boat trip away. Cape Barren, with the other islands in the Furneaux Group, are a popular destination for sea kayakers who attempt the crossing of Bass Strait from the Australian mainland at Wilsons Promontory , Victoria to
4514-616: A type of island. Some atolls have been covered in concrete to create artificial islands for military purposes, such as those created by China in the South China Sea . These atolls were previously low-tide elevations, landmasses that are only above water during low tide . The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea indicates that these islands may not have the same legal status as a naturally occurring island, and as such may not confer
4636-451: A wider policy of assimilation , implemented in many parts of Australia and over a number of decades, that resulted in the phenomenon known as the " stolen generations ". From the 1970s, a series of government policy changes were implemented that provided increasingly greater recognition of the personal and social rights of individuals. On 10 May 2005, the government released Crown lands on both Cape Barren and Clarke Island to be overseen by
4758-515: Is Darwin's finches , a group of up to fifteen tanager species that are endemic to the Galápagos Islands. These birds evolved different beaks in order to eat different kinds of food available on the islands. The large ground finch has a large bill used to crack seeds and eat fruit. The Genovesa cactus finch prefers cacti as a food source, and has a beak adapted for removing pulp and flowers from cacti. The green warbler-finch (in
4880-479: 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 was inhabited by Aboriginal peoples . It
5002-598: Is actually a cognate of Swedish ö and German Aue , and more distantly related to Latin aqua (water). The spelling of the word was modified in the 15th century because of a false etymology caused by an association with the Old French loanword isle , which itself comes from the Latin word insula . Islands often are found in archipelagos or island chains, which are collections of islands. These chains are thought to form from volcanic hotspots , areas of
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5124-563: 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
5246-548: 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
5368-558: 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
5490-619: Is named after James Munro (c. 1779-1845), a former convict turned sealer who, from the 1820s, lived for more than 20 years with various indigenous women on nearby Preservation Island . The south-eastern point of the island was named Cape Barren by Tobias Furneaux in HMS ; Adventure in March 1773. The island was gazetted as a locality of the Flinders Council in 1968. Its population numbered 66 in 2016, most of them in
5612-525: 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
5734-595: 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
5856-503: Is the apple snail , initially introduced to the U.S. by aquarium owners. It has since been transported by hurricanes across the Gulf Coast and neighboring islands. These species compete for resources with native animals, and some may grow so densely that they displace other forms of existing life. For hundreds of years, islands have been created through land reclamation . One of the first recorded instances of this when people of
5978-634: Is the giant tortoise of the Seychelles , though it is unknown if it grew in size before or after reaching the island. Larger animals such as the hippopotamus tend to become smaller, such as in the case of the pygmy hippopotamus . This is known as insular dwarfism . In the case of smaller animals, it has been hypothesized that animals on islands may have fewer predators and competitors, resulting in selection pressure towards larger animals. Larger animals may exhaust food resources quickly due to their size, causing malnutrition in their young, resulting in
6100-685: 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
6222-633: 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 is estimated to have been between 3,000 and 7,000 at
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#17327917974966344-553: 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
6466-542: The Atlantic Ocean in search of an alternate route to the East Indies . These historians theorize that successful explorers were rewarded with recognition and wealth, leading others to attempt possibly dangerous expeditions to discover more islands, usually with poor results. About 10% of the world's population lives on islands. The study of the culture of islands is known as island studies . The interest in
6588-570: 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
6710-481: 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
6832-400: 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
6954-577: The Marshall Islands , and Tuvalu completely. Increases in the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones can cause widespread destruction of infrastructure and animal habitats. Species that live exclusively on islands are some of those most threatened by extinction . An island is an area of land surrounded by water on all sides that is distinct from a continent. There is no standard of size that distinguishes islands and continents . Continents have an accepted geological definition – they are
7076-762: 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
7198-507: The Polynesians . Many of the previous island settlements required traveling distances of less than 100 km (62 mi), whereas Polynesians may have traveled 2,000–3,200 km (1,200–2,000 mi) to settle islands such as Tahiti . They would send navigators to sail the ocean without the aid of navigational instruments to discover new islands for settlement. Between 1100 and 800 BC, Polynesians sailed East from New Guinea and
7320-839: The Solomon Islands and reached the islands that make up the modern-day Fiji and Samoa . The furthest extent of this migration would be Easter Island in the East, and New Zealand in the South, with New Zealand's first settlements between 1250 and 1300. Historians have sought to understand why some remote islands have always been uninhabited, while others, especially in the Pacific Ocean , have long been populated by humans. Generally, larger islands are more likely to be able to sustain humans and thus are more likely to have been settled. Small islands that cannot sustain populations on their own can still be habitable if they are within
7442-499: The Solomon Islands created eighty such islands by piling coral and rock in the Lau Lagoon . One traditional way of constructing islands is with the use of a revetment . Sandbags or stones are dropped with a barge into the sea to bring the land level slightly out of the water. The island area is then filled with sand or gravel, followed by a construction of this revetment to hold it together. Islands have also been constructed with
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#17327917974967564-643: 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
7686-596: 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
7808-414: The lithosphere where the mantle is hotter than the surrounding area. These hotspots would give rise to volcanoes whose lava would form the rock the islands are made of. For some islands, the movement of tectonic plates above stationary hotspots would form islands in a linear chain, with the islands further away from the hotspot being progressively older and more eroded , before disappearing under
7930-450: The sea as a natural barrier to the introduction of new species, causing the species that do reach the island to evolve in isolation. Continental islands share animal and plant life with the continent they split from. Depending on how long ago the continental island formed, the life on that island may have diverged greatly from the mainland due to natural selection . Humans have lived on and traveled between islands for thousands of years at
8052-537: The 16th century, European states placed most of Oceania in under colonial administration . Pohnpei was colonized by Spain as early as 1526. It changed hands from Germany to Japan to the United States before joining the Federated States of Micronesia in 1982, maintaining a "free association" status with the U.S. Guam was a Spanish territory until 1898, and now is a unincorporated territory of
8174-406: The 1920s and 1930s reported poor health and education, and proposals were made to remove children from their parents, ostensibly for their own benefit. Under threat of losing their children, many families relocated to mainland Tasmania . By 1944, the population had fallen to 106. From the 1950s, the government did indeed remove children from their parents. That forced removal of children was part of
8296-712: 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
8418-482: 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
8540-511: The Hawaiian islands being home to irrigated fields of taro, whereas in some islands, like Tahiti, breadfruit was more widely cultivated and fermented in order to preserve it. There is archeological evidence that Canary Islanders would chew the roots of ferns for sustenance, a practice that wore heavily on their molars . These islanders would also grow barley and raised livestock such as goats . Many island nations have little land and
8662-682: The Origin of Species . The first evidence of humans colonizing islands probably occurred in the Paleolithic era, 100,000 to 200,000 years ago. Reaching the Indonesian islands of Flores and Timor would have required crossing distances of water of at least 29 km (18 mi). Some islands, such as Honshu , were probably connected to the mainland with a land bridge that allowed humans to colonize it before it became an island. The first people to colonize distant oceanic islands were
8784-687: 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
8906-678: 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
9028-613: 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
9150-794: The Tasmanian mainland. Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics , and oceanic islands, which have never been part of a continent. Oceanic islands can be formed from volcanic activity, grow into atolls from coral reefs , and form from sediment along shorelines, creating barrier islands . River islands can also form from sediment and debris in rivers. Artificial islands are those made by humans, including small rocky outcroppings built out of lagoons and large-scale land reclamation projects used for development. Islands are host to diverse plant and animal life. Oceanic islands have
9272-481: The U.S. The decolonization era saw many island states achieve independence or some form of self-governance . Nuclear weapons testing on the Marshall Islands left many atolls destroyed or uninhabitable, causing the forced displacement of people from their home islands as well as increases in cancer rates due to radiation . Colonization has resulted in a decline of observance of traditional cultural practices in places such as Hawaii, where Native Hawaiians are now
9394-583: 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
9516-555: 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
9638-417: 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
9760-527: 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
9882-406: The continent. For example, the presence of freshwater fish on an island surrounded by ocean would indicate that it once was attached to a continent, since these fish cannot traverse the ocean on their own. Over the course of time, evolution and extinction changes the nature of animal life on a continental island, but only once it splits from the mainland. An example is that of the southern beech ,
10004-407: 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
10126-594: 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
10248-451: The deposition of sediment by waves . These islands erode and grow as the wind and waves shift. Barrier islands have the effect of protecting coastal areas from severe weather because they absorb some of the energy of large waves before they can reach the shore. A fluvial island is an island that forms from the erosion and sedimentation of debris in rivers; almost all rivers have some form of fluvial islands. These islands may only be
10370-426: The distances and frequency with which invasive species may be transported to islands. Floodwaters from these storms may also wash plants further inland than they would travel on their own, introducing them to new habitats. Agriculture and trade also have introduced non-native life to islands. These processes result in an introduction of invasive species to ecosystems that are especially small and fragile. One example
10492-400: The ecological processes that take place on islands, with a focus on what factors effect the evolution , extinction , and richness of species. Scientists often study islands as an isolated model of how the process of natural selection takes place. Island ecology studies organisms on islands and their environment. It has yielded important insights for its parent field of ecology since
10614-405: 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
10736-496: The first season. Other vessels followed from Sydney and the United States. Competition between the sealing gangs led to a violent clash between American and British sealers in 1803. Today, the residents of Cape Barren Island consist of an Aboriginal community of approximately 70 people. Most of the residents are descended from a community of mixed descent (European and Aboriginal people), who had originally settled on several smaller nearby islands but relocated to Cape Barren Island in
10858-481: 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
10980-611: 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
11102-595: 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
11224-502: The habit of true warbler species) consumes spiders and insects that live on plants. Other examples of this phenomenon exist worldwide, including in Hawaii and Madagascar, and are not limited to island ecosystems. Species endemic to islands show a common evolutionary trajectory. Foster's rule (also known as the island rule), states that small mammals such as rodents evolve to become larger, known as island gigantism . One such example
11346-473: 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
11468-404: 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
11590-457: The islands as a naturalist on HMS Beagle in 1835, as part of a five-year circumnavigation of Earth. He wrote that "the different islands to a considerable extent are inhabited by a different set of beings". Through the study of the finches and other animals he realized that organisms survive by changing to adapt to their habitat. It would be over twenty years before he published his theories in On
11712-643: The largest landmass of a particular tectonic plate . Islands can occur in any body of water, including lakes , rivers , seas . Low-tide elevations , areas of land that are not above the surface during a high tide , are generally not considered islands. Islands that have been bridged or otherwise joined to a mainland with land reclamation are sometimes considered "de-islanded", but not in every case. The word island derives from Middle English iland , from Old English igland (from ig or ieg , similarly meaning 'island' when used independently, and -land carrying its contemporary meaning. Old English ieg
11834-534: 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
11956-522: The late 1870s. The colonial government of Tasmania established a formal reserve in 1881 and commenced providing basic social services to the community. By 1908, the population had grown to 250 people. More active government intervention began in 1912, with the passage of the Cape Barren Act . The stated purpose of the act was to encourage the community to become self-sufficient through both incentives and disincentives. Government visitors throughout
12078-575: The local Aboriginal association. This marked the first official handover of Crown land to an Aboriginal community in Tasmania. On 16 November 1982, the east coast lagoons were recognised as being wetlands of international importance by being designated Ramsar site no.256. The site comprises a 4,370-hectare (10,800-acre) complex of shallow, saline lagoons among stretches of coastal dunes and beaches . It supports various plants of special botanical interest, including nationally rare species, as well as many waterbirds . Airlines of Tasmania operates
12200-404: The mainland, they had no need for boats. The motivation for island exploration has been the subject of research and debate. Some early historians previously argued that early island colonization was unintentional, perhaps by a raft being swept out to sea. Others compare the motivations of Polynesian and similar explorers with those of Christopher Columbus , the explorer who sailed westward over
12322-589: The majority of the local economy and built environment . These islands sometimes also require consistent foreign aid on top of tourism in order to ensure economic growth. This reliance can result in social inequality and environmental degradation . During tourism downturns, these economies struggle to make up the lost inflow of cash with other industries. Climate change threatens human development on islands due to sea level rise , more dangerous tropical cyclones , coral bleaching , and an increase in invasive species . For example, in 2017 Hurricane Maria caused
12444-471: 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
12566-830: 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
12688-506: 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
12810-756: 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
12932-597: 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
13054-529: The past, some societies were found to have lost their seafaring ability over time, such as the case of the Canary Islands , which were occupied by an indigenous people since the island's first discovery in the first century until being conquered by the Spanish Empire in 1496. It has been hypothesized that since the inhabitants had little incentive for trade and had little to any contact with
13176-400: 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
13298-592: 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
13420-491: The same legal rights. Tasmania, Australia 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 the surrounding 1000 islands . It
13542-789: The sea entirely. An example is the Hawaiian Islands , with the oldest island being 25 million years old, and the youngest, Hawaii , still being an active volcano . However, not all island chains are formed this way. Some may be formed all at once by fractures in the tectonic plates themselves, simultaneously creating multiple islands. One supporting piece of evidence is that of the Line Islands , which are all estimated to be 8 million years old, rather than being different ages. Other island chains form due to being separated from existing continents. The Japanese archipelago may have been separated from Eurasia due to seafloor spreading ,
13664-664: The settlement called The Corner , on the north-west coast. Australia's only native goose, the Cape Barren goose , was first documented by European explorers on the island. Sealing is known to have taken place from 1798 when the 80-ton brig Nautilus , under Captain Charles Bishop, arrived from Sydney to commence commercial sealing in Bass Strait. They began operations in Kent’s Bay and took nearly 9000 seal skins in
13786-530: 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
13908-603: 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
14030-549: The study of islands is due to their unique cultures and natural environments that differ from mainland cultures. This is for a few reasons: First, the obvious political and geographic isolation from mainland cultures. Second, unique restraints on resources and ecology creating marine-focused cultures with a focus on fishing and sailing. Third, a lasting historical and political significance of islands. The Polynesian diet got most of its protein from fishing. Polynesians were known to fish close to shore, as well as in deep water. It
14152-450: The surface. When these coral islands encircle a central lagoon , the island is known as an atoll . The formation of reefs and islands related to those reefs is aided by the buildup of sediment in shallow patches of water. In some cases, tectonic movements lifting a reef out of the water by as little as 1 meter can cause sediment to accumulate and an island to form. Barrier islands are long, sandy bars that form along shorelines due to
14274-438: The time of Charles Darwin . In biology, endemism is defined as the phenomenon where species or genus is only found in a certain geographical area. Islands isolate land organisms from others with water, and isolate aquatic organisms living on them with land. Island ecosystems have the highest rates of endemism globally. This means that islands contribute heavily to global biodiversity . Areas with high lives of biodiversity are
14396-399: 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, the island was initially part of
14518-461: 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
14640-419: 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
14762-550: 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
14884-470: Was reported that Rapa Nui people were known to fish as far as 500 km (310 mi) from shore at coral reefs. Spear , line , and net fishing were all used, to catch tuna as well as sharks and stingrays . Island cultures also cultivate native and non-native crops. Polynesians grew the native yam , taro , breadfruit , banana , coconut and other fruits and vegetables. Different island climates made different resources more important, such as
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