Hobart
Hobart is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least populated Australian state capital city, and second smallest if territories are taken into account, after Darwin, Northern Territory. Hobart is located in Tasmania's southeast on the estuary of the River Derwent, making it the most southern of Australia's capital cities. Founded in 1804 as a British penal colony, Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney, New South Wales.
History
The first European settlement began in 1803 as a military camp at Risdon Cove on the eastern shores of the River Derwent, amid British concerns over the presence of French explorers. In 1804, along with the military, settlers and convicts from the abandoned Port Phillip settlement, the camp at Risdon Cove was moved by Captain David Collins to a better location at the present site of Hobart at Sullivans Cove. The city, initially known as Hobart Town or Hobarton, was named after Lord Hobart, the British Secretary of State for war and the colonies.
The area's indigenous inhabitants were members of the semi-nomadic Mouheneener tribe. Violent conflict with the European settlers, and the effects of diseases brought by them, dramatically reduced the aboriginal population, which was rapidly replaced by free settlers and the convict population. Charles Darwin visited Hobart Town in February 1836 as part of the Beagle expedition.
The River Derwent was one of Australia's finest deepwater ports and was the centre of the Southern Ocean whaling and sealing trades. The settlement rapidly grew into a major port, with allied industries such as shipbuilding.
Hobart Town became a city on 21 August 1842 and was renamed Hobart from the beginning of 1881.