Tasmania is an island state of Australia. It is located 240 kilometres (150 miles) to the south of the Australian mainland, separated from it by the Bass Strait, with the archipelago containing the southernmost point of the country. The state encompasses the main island of Tasmania, the 26th-largest island in the world, and the surrounding 1000 islands. It is Australia's least populous state, with 569,825 residents as of December 2021. The state capital and largest city is Hobart, with around 40 percent of the population living in the Greater Hobart area. This makes it Australia's most decentralised state.
Devonport is a city in northern Tasmania, Australia, located on the lands of the Pannilerpanner clan of the Palawa nation. It is situated at the mouth of the Mersey River. Devonport had an urban population of 26,150 at the 2021 Australian census.
Launceston or is a city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, at the confluence of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River (kanamaluka). As of 2021, the Launceston urban area has a population of 90,953. Launceston is the second most populous city in Tasmania after the state capital, Hobart. As of 2020, Launceston is the 18th largest city in Australia. Launceston is the fifth-largest inland city and the ninth-largest non-capital city in Australia. Launceston is regarded as the most livable regional city, and was one of the most popular regional cities to move to in Australia from 2020 to 2021. Launceston was named Australian Town of the Year in 2022.
John Batman was an Australian grazier, entrepreneur and explorer. He is best known for his role in the founding of Melbourne.
Hydro Tasmania, known for most of its history as the Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC) or The Hydro, is the trading name of the Hydro-Electric Corporation, a Tasmanian Government business enterprise which is the predominant electricity generator in the state of Tasmania, Australia. The Hydro was originally oriented towards hydro-electricity, due to Tasmania's dramatic topography and relatively high rainfall in the central and western parts of the state. Today Hydro Tasmania operates thirty hydro-electric and one gas power station, and is a joint owner in three wind farms.
The Wilderness Society is an Australian, community-based, not-for-profit non-governmental environmental advocacy organisation.
10 Days on the Island is a biennial cultural festival held in the island state of Tasmania, Australia.
Darrel John Baldock was an Australian sportsman and state politician. He played Australian rules football for the St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL), East Devonport Football Club and Latrobe Football Club in the North West Football Union (NWFU), and New Norfolk Football Club in the Tasmanian Australian National Football League (TANFL). He was also a handy cricketer, successful racehorse trainer and served in the Tasmanian House of Assembly.
An election for the House of Assembly was held in the Australian state of Tasmania on 18 March 2006, the same day as the South Australian elections. The Labor Party led by Premier Paul Lennon, won a third successive majority government term in office, despite predictions the election would result in a minority government. Although there was a small swing against Labor, they finished with 14 seats, and there were no changes in the party composition of the assembly. The Liberal Party led by Rene Hidding gained a small swing and finished with seven seats. The Tasmanian Greens led by Peg Putt suffered a small swing and finished with four seats; meaning no change in seat representation since the last election. Had the Greens lost one of their four seats, they would have lost their status as a major party and would lose financial resources, offices and support staff.
Australian rules football in Tasmania, has been played since the late 1870s and draws the largest audience for a football code in the state.
Edward J. "Ted" Steele is an Australian molecular immunologist with interests in virology and evolution. He is an honorary research associate at the C.Y.O'Connor ERADE Village Foundation in Piara Waters, WA, Australia.
Tasmanian Gothic is a genre of Tasmanian literature that merges traditions of Gothic fiction with the history and natural features of Tasmania, an island state south of the main Australian continent. Tasmanian Gothic has inspired works in other artistic media, including theatre and film.
The history of the Tasmanian AFL bid covers a series of proposals and bids between 1987 and 2023 for a Tasmanian-based Australian rules football team in the Australian Football League and AFL Women's premierships. Eight formal proposals for a new or relocated club to represent Tasmania were made over this time, the earliest coming in 1992, while informal proposals were raised as early as 1987, when the Victorian Football League commenced its expansion to become a national competition.
Greer Honeywill is an Australian conceptual artist. Her work covers sculptural conventions, autobiography and critical thinking.
The major industries of Tasmania, have been: mining, agriculture, aquaculture, fishing, forestry; and tourism. Mining has including copper, zinc, tin, iron and gold. Food production has included salmon, beef, chicken, pork, dairy and lamb farming, as well as a variety of fruits and vegetables. Apples, pears, strawberries, raspberries, carrots and many varieties of potatoes are produced. Tasmania is known for its wild abalone and crayfish. The crayfish in the local waters, are one of the largest species of rock lobsters in the world, and fetches top prices in northern Pacific market.
North West Tasmania is one of the regions of Tasmania in Australia. The region comprises the whole of the north west, including the North West Coast and the northern reaches of the West Coast. It is usually accepted as extending as far south as the Pieman River and including the Savage River National Park within the Tarkine region.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Australian state of Tasmania have the same legal rights as non-LGBT residents. Tasmania has a transformative history with respect to the rights of LGBT people. Initially dubbed "Bigots Island" by international media due to intense social and political hostility to LGBT rights up until the late 1990s, the state has subsequently been recognised for LGBT law reforms that have been described by activists such as Rodney Croome as among the most extensive and noteworthy in the world. Tasmania imposed the harshest penalties in the Western world for homosexual activity until 1997, when it was the last Australian jurisdiction to decriminalise homosexuality after a United Nations Human Rights Committee ruling, the passage of federal sexual privacy legislation and a High Court challenge to the state's anti-homosexuality laws. Following decriminalisation, social and political attitudes in the state rapidly shifted in favour of LGBT rights ahead of national trends with strong anti-LGBT discrimination laws passed in 1999, and the first state relationship registration scheme to include same-sex couples introduced in 2003. In 2019, Tasmania passed and implemented the world's most progressive gender-optional birth certificate laws. In July 2023, the Tasmanian government officially included and also added "asexual or asexuality".
Isle of the Dead is an island, about 1 hectare in area, adjacent to Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia. It is historically significant since it retains an Aboriginal coastal shell midden, one of the first recorded sea-level benchmarks, and one of the few preserved Australian convict-period burial grounds. The Isle of the Dead occupies part of the Port Arthur Historic Site, is part of Australian Convict Sites and is listed as a World Heritage Property because it represents convictism in the era of British colonisation.
Marinus Link is a proposed 1500 megawatt capacity high voltage direct current (HVDC) electricity interconnector, to strengthen the connection between the Australian states of Tasmania and Victoria, on Australia's National Electricity Market. It involves approximately 250 km of subsea cables and approximately 90 km of underground land cables. Marinus Link will also incorporate significant optical fibre capacity for system control, with the remaining capacity available to strengthen telecommunications and data connectivity between the regions. Marinus Link will be supported by approximately 220 km of high voltage alternating current (HVAC) of proposed transmission developments in North West Tasmania, known as the North West Transmission Developments (NWTD). Collectively, Marinus Link and the North West Transmission Developments are known as Project Marinus. In October 2022, authorities pledged loans for the project, as well as supporting facilities such as pumped hydro in Tasmania.
Tasmanian Magpies are an Australian netball team that represents Tasmania in the Australian Netball League. They were ANL champions in 2018. The team was formed in 2017 as a partnership between Netball Tasmania, the Tasmanian Government and Collingwood Magpies. Tasmanian Magpies are effectively the reserve team of Collingwood Magpies.
