History of Hobart

The modern history of the Australian city of Hobart (formerly 'Hobart Town', or 'Hobarton') in Tasmania dates to its foundation as a British colony in 1803. Prior to British settlement, the area had been occupied for at least 8,000 years, but possibly for as long as 35,000 years, by the semi-nomadic Mouheneener tribe, a sub-group of the Nuennone, or South-East tribe. The descendants of the indigenous Tasmanians now refer to themselves as 'Palawa'.

Little is known about the region from prehistoric times. As with many other Australia cities, urbanisation has destroyed much of the archaeological evidence of indigenous occupation, although Aboriginal middens are often still present in coastal areas.

The first European settlement in the Hobart area began in 1803 as a penal colony and defensive outpost at Risdon Cove on the eastern shores of the Derwent River, amid British concerns over the presence of French explorers in the South Pacific. In 1804 it was moved to a better location at the present site of Hobart at Sullivans Cove, making it the second oldest city in Australia

The convict past haunted the city for decades, and Hobart's prominent Georgian architecture of the era served as a constant reminder of the 'social stain' some of its citizens feared they could never erase. Gradually this unpromising beginning was transformed into a quiet, conservative, strongly class-conscious society. However, many of the former convicts proved to be hard-working and enterprising, establishing businesses and families that still play a prominent role in Tasmanian society.

Since that time, the city has grown from what was approximately one square mile around the mouth of Sullivans Cove to stretch in a generally north-south direction along both banks of the Derwent River, from 22 km inland from the estuary at Storm Bay to the point where the river reverts to fresh water at Bridgewater. The city sits on low-lying hills at the eastern foot of Mount Wellington.

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