Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony, it is Australia's second oldest and twelfth largest city. The city is the financial and administrative heart of Tasmania, and also serves as the home port for both Australian and French Antarctic operations.

History

The first settlement was started in 1803 as a penal colony at Risdon Cove on the eastern shores of the Derwent River, amid British concerns over the presence of French explorers. In 1804 it was moved to a better location at the present site of Hobart at Sullivan's Cove. The area's original inhabitants were members of the semi-nomadic Mouheneer tribe. A series of bloody encounters with the Europeans and the effects of diseases brought by the settlers forced away 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. He writes of Hobart and the Derwent estuary in his Voyage of the Beagle

...The lower parts of the hills which skirt the bay are cleared; and the bright yellow fields of corn, and dark green ones of potatoes, appear very luxuriant... I was chiefly struck with the comparative fewness of the large houses, either built or building. Hobart Town, from the census of 1835, contained 13,826 inhabitants, and the whole of Tasmania 36,505.

But since the Derwent River was one of Australia's finest deepwater ports and was the centre of the Southern Ocean whaling and seal trade, it rapidly grew into a major port, with allied industries such as ship-building. Hobart Town became a city in 1842, and was renamed Hobart in 1875.

Geography

Hobart is located on the estuary of the Derwent River in the state's south-east. The central business district is located on the western shore, adjacent to Sullivan's Cove, with the inner suburbs spread out along the shores of the Derwent and climbing up the hills at the foot of Mount Wellington (1270 metres/4233 feet high). The Port of Hobart occupies the whole of the original Sullivan's Cove.

The Greater Hobart Metropolitan area consists of three self-governing cities, Hobart, Glenorchy and Clarence, plus the urbanised areas of the Municipalities of Kingborough and Brighton. The suburban areas cover a significant amount of both the western and eastern sides of the river. Apart from the city, the main commercial centres are Glenorchy (the northern suburbs) and Rosny (the eastern shore). The satellite town Kingston, south of the city, is fast becoming an outlying suburb of Hobart. Other surrounding towns such as Sorell, Margate, Brighton and New Norfolk are popular residential areas for commuters.

Photo: The City of Hobart (red) and Greater Hobart (pink)

Climate

Hobart has a mild, temperate, maritime climate with four distinct seasons. Being in the southern hemisphere, summer is December to February.

Some of its climatic averages:

• Mean summer maximum temperature — 21.1°C (70°F)
• Mean summer minimum temperature — 11.9°C (53°F)
• Mean winter maximum temperature — 12.5°C (54.5°F)
• Mean winter minimum temperature — 5.4°C (41.5°F)
• Mean annual rainfall — 628mm (25 inches)
• Wettest month on average — October, 63mm (2.5 inches)
• Driest month on average — February, 40mm (1.8 inches)