Tasmania is a rugged island of temperate climate, and was considered so similar in some ways to pre-industrial England that it was referred to by some English colonists as 'a Southern England'.

Geographically, Tasmania is similar to New Zealand to its east. Tasmania has been volcanically inactive in recent geological times, and has 'rounded smooth' mountain ranges similar to mainland Australia, (unlike most of New Zealand). The most mountainous region is the Central Highlands area, which covers most of the central west parts of the state. The central east area (the Midlands) is fairly flat by comparison, and is predominantly used for agriculture, although various types of farming activity can be seen all around the state.

The West Coast, being populated and having historically over a 150 years of mineral exploration and exploitation, is a vital region to the state. It has a high rainfall which powers some of the hydro-electric scheme, and the earnings from mineral activities are significant. The West Coast Range has some of the more well known West Coast mines on its slopes - notably the Mount Lyell mine.

The South-West region, in particular, is densely forested, the National Park holding some of the last temperate rainforests in the Southern Hemisphere. Management of such an isolated and inaccessible area has been made easier and more reliable with the advent of satellite imaging.

Most of the population lives on and around the coastal rivers - the Derwent and Huon Rivers in the south, the Tamar and Mersey Rivers in the north.

The temperate climate (only Australian state with any land below the 40th parallel) rustic environment and numerous historic features (for example, Richmond Bridge in south-eastern Tasmania is the oldest bridge in Australia).

Tasmania is a popular choice for retirees who prefer a temperate climate over a tropical one such as Queensland.

Physical prehistory

It is believed that the island was joined to the mainland until the end of the most recent ice age approximately 10,000 years ago.

Much of the island is composed of Jurassic dolerite, a basaltic intrusion of magma that up welled through other rock types and formed large columnar crystals as it cooled. Tasmania has the world's largest areas of dolerite, with many distinctive mountains and cliffs formed from this rock type. The Central Plateau and the SE portions of the island are mostly dolerite. Mt. Wellington above Hobart is a good example, with the Organ Pipes showing the distinct columns. In the SW, Precambrian quartzite’s are formed from very ancient sea sediments and form strikingly sharp ridges and ranges, such as Federation Peak or Frenchman's Cap. In the NE, granites can be seen at Freycinet. In the NW and W, mineral rich conglomerate rocks can be seen at Mt. Murchison near Rosebery, or at Mt. Owen near Queenstown. Also present in the S and NW are limestone’s in which some magnificent caves can be found.

The quartzite and dolerite in the higher mountains show evidence of glaciations and much of Australia's glaciated landscape is found on the Central Plateau and the Southwest. The combination of these different rock types offers incredible scenery, much of it distinct from any other regions of the world.

Indigenous people

Tasmania was once inhabited only by an indigenous population, the Tasmanian Aborigines, and evidence indicates their presence in the territory, later to become an island, at least 35,000 years ago (rising sea levels cut Tasmania off from mainland Australia about 10,000 years ago). The indigenous population at the time of British settlement in 1803 has been estimated at between 5 000-10 000 people, but through persecution (see Black War and Black Line) and disease the population had dwindled to 300 in 1833. The entire indigenous population was moved to Flinders Island by George Augustus Robinson at this time. Truganini (1812-1876) is generally recognised as the last full-blooded Tasmanian Aborigine, although there is strong evidence that it was in fact Fanny Cochrane Smith, who was born at Wybalena, and died in 1905.

European arrival

The first reported sighting of Tasmania by a European was on November 24th 1642 by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman who named the island Anthoonij van Diemenslandt, after his sponsor, the Governor of the Dutch East Indies. The name was later shortened to Van Diemens Land by the British. Captain James Cook also sighted the island in 1777, and numerous other European seafarers made landfalls, adding a colourful array to the names of topographical features.

The first settlement was by the British at Risdon Cove on the eastern bank of the Derwent estuary in 1803, by a small party sent from Sydney, under Lt. John Bowen. An alternative settlement was established by Captain David Collins 5 km to the south in 1804 in Sullivan's 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 the British Colonial Secretary of the time, Lord Hobart. The settlement at Risdon was later abandoned.

The early settlers were mostly convicts and their military guards, with the task of developing agriculture and other industries. Numerous other convict-based settlements were made in Van Diemens Land, including secondary prisons, such as the particularly harsh penal colonies at Port Arthur in the south-east and Macquarie Harbour on the West Coast.

Van Diemens Land was proclaimed a separate colony from New South Wales, with its own judicial establishment and Legislative Council, on December 3, 1825.

Tasmania's erratic economy was first experienced by colonists in the early 1800s. The reasons have been many and varied over the years. More recently the reasons have been attributed to: lack of federal infrastructure highway, lack of a gold rush, lack of open immigration initiatives, lack of population, decline in the wool and mineral economies, lack of early colonial initatives, or lack of foreign investment. For the length of the history of Tasmania there has been a continuing exodus of youth to mainland Australia in order to seek employment opportunities.

Traditionally Tasmania's main industries have been: mining, including copper, zinc, tin, and iron; agriculture; forestry; and tourism. Significantly in the 1940's and 1950's there had been a notion of 'Hydro-Industrialisation' but even that has ebbed. These all have had varying fortunes over the last century and more, involved in ebbs and flows of population moving in and away dependant upon the specific requirements of the dominant industries of the time.

There had been a decline in manufacturing during the 1990's, leading to a drain of some of the island's trained and experienced working population to mainland Australia. The major urban centres such as Melbourne and Sydney are popular destinations.

The state has a large number of food exporting sectors, including fish Atlantic Salmon, Abalone and Crayfish.

Since 2001, Tasmania has experienced a positive turn around. Favourable economic conditions throughout Australia, cheaper air fares and three new Spirit of Tasmania ferries have all contributed to what is now a booming tourism industry. Record numbers of tourists are discovering the island, the property market is booming and the growth of businesses are now being limited by labour constraints.

Today, a significant number of employed Tasmanians work for the government. Other major employers include the Federal Group, owner of several hotels and Tasmania's two casinos, and Gunns Limited, the state's biggest forestry company. In the late 1990s, many national companies based their call centres in the state after cheap access to broad-band fiber-optic became a reality.

Apparently the states housing market was undervalued in the early part of 2000, and a large boom in the national housing market finally made Tasmanian housing prices rise dramatically.

The shortage of rental properties that followed the investment rush caused problems for many of Tasmania's low income earners.

Small business is a large part of the community life and it is believed by many that the business environment in Tasmania is not an easy one to survive in. However there have been many success stories, Incat and Moorilla and Tassal

The form of the government of Tasmania is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then. Since 1901 Tasmania has been a state of the Commonwealth of Australia, and the Australian Constitution regulates its relationship with the Commonwealth.

Under the Australian Constitution, Tasmania ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained complete independence in other areas like Health and Education. In practice, however, the independence of Australian states has been eroded by increasing financial domination of the Commonwealth since the introduction of the GST, and a deisre to make laws consistent across Australia.

Politics

Tasmania's relatively low population density and temperate, maritime climate mean that it has a number of relatively unspoilt, ecologically valuable regions. Proposals for local economic development have therefore been faced with strong requirements for environmental sensitivity, or outright opposition. In particular, proposals for hydroelectric power generation proved controversial in the late 20th century. In the 1970s, opposition to the construction of the Lake Pedder impoundment led to the formation of the world's first green party, the United Tasmania Group. In the early 1980s the state was again plunged into often bitter debate over the proposed Franklin River Dam. The anti-dam sentiment was shared by many Australians outside Tasmania, and proved a factor in the election of the Hawke Labor government in 1983, which halted construction of the dam. Since the 1980s the environmental focus has shifted to old growth logging, which has proved a highly divisive issue. The Tasmania Together process recommended an end to clear felling in high conservation old growth forests by January 2003.

Nationally, Tasmania is well represented in the Australian Senate, where seats are not proportional to population. Since 1975, Tasmanian Independent senator Brian Harradine often held the balance of power. As a result he was able to hold the government of the day to pass legislation that, although often matches his conservative religious views, was also very financially rewarding for the state. Harradine successfully defended his seat in six consecutive senate elections and did not stand for re-election at the 2004 federal election, voluntarily retiring.