Capital of Tasmania
The most southerly city in Australia is Hobart, the Tasmanian capital. It is beautifully situated at the foot of Mount Wellington (1270m), straddling the estuary of the Derwent River, which here flows into the Tasman Sea. The city covers an area of 70 sq.km and has a population of some 183,000. The wider catchment area of
Hobart extends over almost 1000 sq.km, adding some tens of thousands to the population of the city itself.
History
When the French navigator Nicolas Baudin was encountered cruising off the coast of Tasmania in 1802, the British authorities in the young colony of New South Wales, suspecting a French intention to found a settlement in the area, dispatched Lieutenant John Bowen with an expedition to the south of Van Diemen's Land to establish a foothold on the island ahead of the French. The site in Risdon Cove, on the east bank of the Derwent, where Bowen set up his encampment in September 1803 was not well chosen: it lacked drinking water, and was abandoned a few months later. Finally Col. David Collins established a settlement farther down the Derwent River in February 1805, naming it after Lord Hobart, secretary for war in the British government. Hobart was proclaimed a town only in 1842.
In 1811 Lachlan Macquarie, governor of New South Wales, visited the site and settled the layout of the new town, fixing the line of seven main streets, ordering the construction of the Anglesea Barracks and the signal station on Mount Nelson and deciding the site of the seat of government of Tasmania. It was many years, however, before these plans were put into effect. Government House, for example, was not completed until 1858. In course of time Hobart developed into an important port and supply center for whalers. The deep-water harbor, the abundance of high-quality building timber (slow-growing Huon pine) in the immediate neighborhood and the availability of cheap convict labor provided the basis for the steady growth of the young town. Nowhere else in Australia were so many ships built, and nowhere else in Australia have so many buildings of the pioneering period been preserved.
When Van Diemen's Land was separated from New South Wales in 1825 Hobart had a population of 5000. In the 1850s many of the inhabitants left to try their luck in the goldfields of Victoria, and from 1870 onwards intensive mining activity led to the growth of new centers in Tasmania, particularly in the north and west. Nevertheless Hobart continued to grow, thanks in particular to considerable influxes of population after the two world wars.
Transport
Hobart's international airport lies 22km southeast of the city and has excellent connections with the Australian domestic air network (in many cases via Melbourne and Sydney) and with Christchurch in New Zealand.
In view of the relatively short distances within Tasmania itself regional air services, apart from special cases (e.g. tourist flights into the interior), are of minor importance.
The car ferry, Spirit of Tasmania, sails from Melbourne three times a week, reaching Devonport 141/2 hours later. The return journey is on the other weekdays. Flights to Hobart go from all Australia's main airports.
The bus services run by the Metropolitan Transport Trust (MTT) link the city with its widely scattered outer suburbs.
There are special Day Rover tickets which are of particular interest to visitors.
Information about services can be obtained from the MTT desk in the Tasmanian Travel Centre (TTC) at 80 Elizabeth Street.
From Hobart there are overland buses to all places of any size in Tasmania. The Tasmanian Redline Coaches have a dense network of services; their Super Tassie Pass, for either one or two weeks, is a good buy. Information: 96 Harrington Street.
A wide range of city tours and sightseeing excursions in the surrounding area are on offer. During the main holiday season (December to the end of April) there is a wide choice of package tours to Port Arthur, Mount Wellington, Richmond, Launceston, the Hastings Caves, the Huon valley, the Derwent valley, Lake Pedder and the Russell Falls.
Food and drink
Numerous restaurants in all price categories; very popular fish restaurants on waterfront.
Events
Wrest Point, with dinner theater; evening performances in the well-reputed little Theatre Royal in Campbell Street; Playhouse, 106 Bathurst Street; ABC Odeon, 163 Liverpool Street. Many pubs in the central area have live music in the evening.
Shopping
In addition to the shopping arcades and department stores in the city center (in particular Liverpool Street, Murray Street, Elizabeth Street, Collins Street with the Centrepoint Arcade and the Cat and Fiddle Arcade, Elizabeth Mall) there are many shops and galleries on the waterfront selling craft objects (particularly of Huon pine), glass and jewelry. A Tasmanian specialty is leatherwood honey (from the flowers of the leatherwood tree).
Sport
The most popular sports in Hobart are water sports (particularly sailing), fishing, golf, cricket and above all tennis. Real tennis is played at the Royal Tennis Club at 45 Davery Street (the only other place where it is played in Australia is Melbourne). Cycling and jogging are also very popular.
There is plenty of scope for adventurous bush walkers on nearby Mount Wellington.
Popular spectator sports are football (Australian rules), rugby, association football, cricket (November to March) and horse-racing (particularly on Elwich racecourse).
Central Hobart, between Battery Point in the southeast and the Domain in the northeast, has a clear and regular layout, based on Governor Macquarie's plan of 1811. The main shopping and business streets are Liverpool and Collins Streets and two cross streets, Elizabeth Street (with the pedestrian zone, Elizabeth Mall) and Murray Street. In the central area many 19th C buildings have been preserved.
Every Saturday morning the National Trust runs sightseeing walks in the harbor quarter led by knowledgeable local people.
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