Tasmania

Tasmania (Palawa Kani: lutruwita) is a large island off the southern coast of mainland Australia. It is a state of Australia. Its capital and the largest city is Hobart. The island was joined to the mainland until the end of the most recent ice age about 10,000 years ago.

Tasmania
Flag Coat of arms
Slogan or nickname	The Apple Isle
Other Australian states and territories
Capital city	Hobart
Demonym	Tasmanian
Government	Constitutional monarchy
• Premier	Jeremy Rockliff (Liberal)
Population
• Population	571,165 (6th)
Elevation
• Highest point	Mount Ossa 1,167 m (3,829 ft)
Gross state product
• Product ($m)	$AU$32.102 billion (8th)
• Product per capita	$AU$59,779 (7th)
Time zone(s)	UTC+10:00 (AEST) UTC+11:00 (AEDT)
Federal representation
• House seats	5/150
• Senate seats	12/76
Abbreviations
• Postal	TAS
• ISO 3166-2	AU-TAS
Emblems
• Floral	Leatherwood (unofficial) (Eucryphia lucida)
• Animal	Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii)
• Bird	Yellow wattlebird (unofficial) (Athochaera paradoxa)
• Mineral or gemstone	Crocoite
• Colours	Bottle green Maroon Yellow

Tasmania has wonderful natural history, and is the most forested part of Australia. It has the country's largest areas of temperate rainforest. One of its many unique trees is the Leatherwood (Eucryphia lucida). This is a common tree in wet forests, and there are four related species on the mainland.

Tasmania is the home of rare animals such as eastern quolls and Tasmanian devils. It was the last home of the thylacine, which became extinct in 1936.

Brief account

Tasmania is a state of Australia. Unlike the other states, it is an island. The Bass Strait separates it from the Australian mainland.

Australian aboriginals are the native people of Tasmania. Abel Janszoon Tasman landed on the island in 1642. He called it "Van Diemen's Land". It was later called Tasmania. Much later, people came from Europe, mostly from the British Empire, to live on the island.

Cities and towns

Tasmania has four cities: capital city Hobart, Launceston, Devonport and Burnie.

Population

Tasmania is the smallest state in Australia. It also has the smallest population. The total population of Tasmania is just over 500,000 (September 2014).

History

For an history of Tasmania, see Van Diemen's Land.

Darwin Crater

Darwin Crater Tasmania
False-colour Landsat image of Darwin Crater (arrowed); screen capture from NASA World Wind
Darwin Crater
Coordinates	42°18′15″S 145°39′27″E

Darwin Crater is a suspected meteorite impact crater in Western Tasmania about 26 km (16 mi) south of Queenstown.

It is just in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park. The crater is a rimless circular flat-floored depression, 1.2 km (0.75 mi) in diameter, in mountainous and heavily forested terrain. It is East of the West Coast Range and the former North Mount Lyell Railway formation.

Places to visit

Tasmania has some of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. They range from old country towns to up to date cities. Some popular tourist places are:

• Coles Bay
• Port Arthur
• Huonville
• Richmond
• Queenstown
• Strahan
• Hagley
• Hobart

Famous Tasmanians

• Errol Flynn, actor, best known for his role in the 1930s as Robin Hood
• Ricky Ponting, former Australian Cricket Captain
• Peter Crumpton, author
• David Boon, cricket player
• Don Kay, composer
• Madison Courto, musician
• Princess Mary Donaldson of Denmark
• Allanah Hill, fashion designer
• Simon Baker, actor