1. Where is it?
2. Beginnings
Tasmania has a rich Aboriginal history dating back 40,000 years.
During an ice age about, the first inhabitants crossed over to the island from mainland Australia via a land bridge. Indigenous Tasmanians were the most southerly population on the earth at that time.
One of the terms Tasmanian Aboriginal people used when referring to themselves was 'Palawa'. This was the name of the 'first man', who was created from the kangaroo by a creation spirit.
The island of Tasmania was known as Lutruwita by the Palawa people.
Tasmania is named after Able Tasman, a Dutch explorer who was the first European to discover Tasmania in 1642.
During an ice age about, the first inhabitants crossed over to the island from mainland Australia via a land bridge. Indigenous Tasmanians were the most southerly population on the earth at that time.
One of the terms Tasmanian Aboriginal people used when referring to themselves was 'Palawa'. This was the name of the 'first man', who was created from the kangaroo by a creation spirit.
The island of Tasmania was known as Lutruwita by the Palawa people.
Tasmania is named after Able Tasman, a Dutch explorer who was the first European to discover Tasmania in 1642.
3. Symbols
The badge and flag of Tasmania
The official colours of Tasmania are bottle green, yellow and maroon.
|
The unofficial bird of Tasmania is the Yellow Wattle Bird.
The official animal of Tasmania is the Tasmanian Devil.
|
The official mineral of Tasmania is Crocoite.
The official floral emblem of Tasmania is the Blue Gum.
|
4. Big Things
The BIG Coffee Pot – Deloraine The Big Coffee Pot was once a grain silo base. The creators added a spout, lid, and handle to the already existing silo to depict an old coffee pot. Nearby, there’s a cafe and pottery shop where you can purchase souvenirs made from clay and enjoy a cup of coffee. No date of construction known. |
The BIG Penguin – Penguin The Big Penguin was erected by Centenary Celebrations Committee as a monument to the town of Penguin and also as a tourist attraction. It is made of fibro cement and was erected on the 25th October 1975. The Penguin area was first settled in 1861 by Edward Joseph Beecroft. Penguin took its name from the Fairy Penguins and was named by Ronald C Gunn, a distinguished botanist of the era. |
The BIG Picture Frame – Stanley At H.A. Lane Memorial Lookout.there's a wooden platform/viewing tower. It gives great views over Stanley and the Nut. The Big Picture Frame has been erected to frame any photos taken of the town. The Nut is a 143-metre volcanic plug rising sharply out of the ocean creating a breathtaking backdrop to the town of Stanley. |
The BIG Platypus – Latrobe Latrobe,Tasmania, is home to the Big Platypus sculpture a tourist attraction. It is located outside the Axeman’s Hall of Fame. The platypus is a unique mammal found in the rivers of Latrobe. Because of its unique physical appearance, the platypus stands out among other mammals. It has a duck-billed mouth and webbed feet that help it swim better and faster. Its body resembles a bush rat but comes with a shorter tail. The platypus is an egg-laying mammal. |
The BIG Rock Lobster – Stanley The Big Rock Lobster sits atop Hursey Seafood along the Alexander Terrace in Stanley, Tasmania. This giant lobster is a mascot for the region’s famous seafood restaurant. Tasmania has a history of lobster fishing and Stanley is one of the main fishing ports in the region. The town’s coastal climate provides the perfect habitat for different types of lobsters. |
How The Big Rock Lobster was Born
Hursey Seafoods was born from the booming fleet of a fishing company in 1987. James Snr and Valerie Hursey had a son called Patrick, who disappeared in the sea while rescuing an adventurer crossing the Bass Strait. They established the restaurant and erected the enormous lobster in memory of their lost son.
Hursey Seafoods was born from the booming fleet of a fishing company in 1987. James Snr and Valerie Hursey had a son called Patrick, who disappeared in the sea while rescuing an adventurer crossing the Bass Strait. They established the restaurant and erected the enormous lobster in memory of their lost son.
The BIG Tasmanian Devil – Trowunna The Big Tasmanian Devil, or Big Tassie Devil, is 2 metres by 3 metres and sits at the entrance of the Trowunna Wildlife Sanctuary at Mole Creek in northern Tasmania. It can be seen from the entrance track along Mole Creek Road, without going into the conservation park. The conservation based sanctuary successfully breeds Tasmanian devils. It works for the conservation of other wildlife animals too. |
5. Cradle Mountain
Cradle Mountain is in the Central Highlands region.
The mountain is located in the Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park and is part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage area.
Cradle Mountain is 1545m above sea level and is the fifth highest mountain in Tasmania.
One of the main tourist attractions in Tasmania is Cradle Mountain. Visitors can participate in various activities, such as hiking around the base or up the mountain and watching wildlife.
The mountain is located in the Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park and is part of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage area.
Cradle Mountain is 1545m above sea level and is the fifth highest mountain in Tasmania.
One of the main tourist attractions in Tasmania is Cradle Mountain. Visitors can participate in various activities, such as hiking around the base or up the mountain and watching wildlife.
6. Maria Island
Nature and Conservation
The very things that once made the island a suitable convict settlement now make it an ideal refuge for plant and animal species under threat elsewhere. Wildlife include: the native pademelons, who have always called Maria Island home; Forester kangaroos; Bennett's wallabies; Flinders Island wombats; Cape Barren geese and Tasmanian native hens. A more recent addition to the island are Tasmanian devils. Maria Island is also one of the best places in Tasmania for bird watching. Birdlife includes: the endangered forty-spotted pardalote, green rosellas, majestic wedge-tailed eagles, tiny hooded plovers, sooty and pied oyster catchers, and little fairy terns on the beaches. Cultural Heritage Aboriginal people know the island as wukaluwikiwayna. For more than 35,000 years Aboriginal people have lived in the homelands of the Oyster Bay nation. The Tasmanian Aboriginal people from Maria Island were known as the Puthikwilayti. Maria Island became a penal settlement in 1825 and was soon infamous for the number of escapes across the water. From 1842 Maria was used as a convict probation station, but by 1850 this mainly agricultural station was abandoned. The first moves were made towards forming a fauna reserve in the early 1960s. Maria Island was officially declared a national park in 1971. |
Bishop and Clerk Summit Walk just east of Darlington
Patterns formed by iron-oxide staining in Triassic Sandstones (Photo credit: Stephanie Sykora).
Convict kiln on Maria Island. Built to supply bricks for the building of the settlement.
|
7. Hobart
- Hobart and the rest of Tasmania is said to have the cleanest air on the planet due to strong westerly winds that send clean air to the island.
- Hobart is the starting point for travellers who want to sail to Antarctica.
- People who live in Hobart are known as Hobartians.
Things to See and Do in Hobart
Mount Wellington
Also known as Kunanyi, Mount Wellington is the perfect location for sightseeing. You can visit the Pinnacle Observation Shelter on the summit and look through the huge glass windows to see the beauty of Hobart!
Tasman Bridge
Check out one of Hobart’s most important links between the CBD and the suburbs. Take a bus or walk by foot and see sights like Franklin Square and the old Anglesea Barracks.
Constitution Dock
Constitution Dock is the prime area for sightseeing many of Hobart’s fishing boats and private yachts. During the famous Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, this dock becomes a finish line and it is well worth checking out.
Shop at the Salamanca Market
Running since 1972, Tasmania’s own market is the Salamanca Market. Open on Saturdays, this market features 230 stallholders who sell food and crafts.
Explore Port Arthur
Easily one of Hobart’s most famous locations, Port Arthur is one of Australia’s best preserved convict sites. Take tour of the coal mines where the convicts worked or explore the penitentiary where criminals were held in cells.
Take a look at MONA
Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) is a unique building with even more unique artwork. Enjoy food and music while experiencing some of Hobart’s best art.
Travel down the Battery Point Sculpture Trail
If you want to learn about Hobart, travel along this two-kilometre trail through the city. Along the way, you can discover nine large numerical sculptures which represent important pieces of Hobart’s history.
Check out the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens
Visit Australia’s cool climate garden in Hobart! Featuring Australia’s only Subantarctic Plant House and trees hundreds of years old, it is well worth the visit.
Mount Wellington
Also known as Kunanyi, Mount Wellington is the perfect location for sightseeing. You can visit the Pinnacle Observation Shelter on the summit and look through the huge glass windows to see the beauty of Hobart!
Tasman Bridge
Check out one of Hobart’s most important links between the CBD and the suburbs. Take a bus or walk by foot and see sights like Franklin Square and the old Anglesea Barracks.
Constitution Dock
Constitution Dock is the prime area for sightseeing many of Hobart’s fishing boats and private yachts. During the famous Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, this dock becomes a finish line and it is well worth checking out.
Shop at the Salamanca Market
Running since 1972, Tasmania’s own market is the Salamanca Market. Open on Saturdays, this market features 230 stallholders who sell food and crafts.
Explore Port Arthur
Easily one of Hobart’s most famous locations, Port Arthur is one of Australia’s best preserved convict sites. Take tour of the coal mines where the convicts worked or explore the penitentiary where criminals were held in cells.
Take a look at MONA
Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) is a unique building with even more unique artwork. Enjoy food and music while experiencing some of Hobart’s best art.
Travel down the Battery Point Sculpture Trail
If you want to learn about Hobart, travel along this two-kilometre trail through the city. Along the way, you can discover nine large numerical sculptures which represent important pieces of Hobart’s history.
Check out the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens
Visit Australia’s cool climate garden in Hobart! Featuring Australia’s only Subantarctic Plant House and trees hundreds of years old, it is well worth the visit.
History of Hobart
The Muwinina people have lived on the land where Hobart now sits for over 42,000 years. The Muwinina people were cut off from the rest of Australia when the rising sea flooded the Bass Plain, isolating them from the rest of Australia for 12,000 years.
The city of Hobart was created in 1804 due to its access to fresh water, a port and the shelter of a nearby mountain, Mt. Wellington.
Hobart was named after Lord Robert Hobart, the fourth Earl of Buckinghamshire and the first Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania).
The Muwinina people have lived on the land where Hobart now sits for over 42,000 years. The Muwinina people were cut off from the rest of Australia when the rising sea flooded the Bass Plain, isolating them from the rest of Australia for 12,000 years.
The city of Hobart was created in 1804 due to its access to fresh water, a port and the shelter of a nearby mountain, Mt. Wellington.
Hobart was named after Lord Robert Hobart, the fourth Earl of Buckinghamshire and the first Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania).
8. Tasmanian animals
Tasmanian Devil
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Sarcophilus harrisii TYPE: Mammals DIET: Carnivore AVERAGE LIFE SPAN IN THE WILD: Up to 5 years SIZE: 50 to 80 cm WEIGHT: 4 to 12 kg Adult Tasmanian devils are usually about the size of a small dog. They have coarse brown or black fur. They have sharp teeth and strong, muscular jaws that can deliver one of the most powerful bites of any mammal on Earth. Tasmanian devils are strictly carnivorous, surviving on small prey and frequently feasting on already dead animals, called carrion. The most famous characteristic of the Tasmanian devil, though, is its feisty personality. When threatened, a devil will lunge at its attacker, shriek, howl, bare its teeth, and often spin around in circles like the cartoon Taz. |
Tasmanian Pademelon
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Thylogale billardierii) TYPE: Mammals DIET: Herbivore AVERAGE LIFE SPAN IN THE WILD: 5 to 6 years SIZE: 1 to 1.2 m WEIGHT: 4 to 7 kg Pademelons are nocturnal, spending the daylight hours in thick vegetation. Rainforest and scrubland are preferred environments although wet gullies in dry open eucalyptus forest are also used. Such places, next to open areas where feeding can occur, are especially favoured. After dusk, the animals move onto open areas to feed, but rarely stray more than 100 metres. Pademelons feed on a wide variety of plants, from herbs, green shoots and grass, to some nectar-bearing flowers. After the young are born, they live in the mother's pouch for about 6 months. They are weaned at around 8 months. |
9. National Parks
Southwest National Park
Tasmania’s largest expanse of wilderness is located in Southwest National Park – a remote and rugged landscape in the heart of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. The forest is home to the Huon Pine, Sassafras, Celery Top Pine and Myrtle. It has a rocky coastline, windswept beaches, dramatic mountain ranges, deep harbours and extensive button grass plains. |
Ben Lomond National Park
This park is the main destination for alpine sports in Tasmania: cross-country and downhill skiing, snowshoeing and tobogganing. Its mountain-top features include as dolerite columns and scree slopes. The vegetation of Ben Lomond is different to other parts of Tasmania, and in the summer months alpine wildflowers make a colourful display. No matter the weather, there’s plenty of wildlife to be seen - wombats, Bennett’s wallabies, Forester kangaroos and pademelons. |
Tasman National Park
This National Park Covers much of the rugged coastline of Turrakana / Tasman Peninsula. It has 300m high cliffs and a curious collection of geological oddities. Highlights include:Cliffs
|
Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park
In southeast central Tasmania, wild rivers have cut deep gorges. Much of the landscape was carved by ancient glaciers. Towering Huon Pines dominate the landscape with many of them over 3,000 years old. This makes for a cool temperate rainforests in the west of the park. In the east of the park there is much less water which gives with dry eucalypt forests and button grass moorlands. Things to see and do: Nelson Falls, Nelson River Bridge, Donaghys Hill Wilderness Lookout, the Franklin River Valley and the Frenchman's Cap. You can walk, go on a riverboat or paddle your own canoe. Along the Gordon you can find Wedge-tailed Eagles, Australia's largest raptors (birds of prey) with a wingspan of 2.2 meters.They feed on small mammals throughout the park. |
10. Aboriginal Heritage
Tasmania’s Aboriginal cultural heritage provides a spiritual connection for Tasmanian Aboriginal people today and valuable information about one of the oldest living cultures in the world. It includes:
concentrations of shell that contain evidence of past Aboriginal hunting, gathering and food processing activities within a particular area.
|
|
Activities
Hobart Questions.
1. Download and print the worksheet. 2. Go to section 7 on the website for your answers. |
Colour a Tasmanian Devil.
1. Download and print the worksheet. 2. Go to section 8 on the website to find the colours of a Tasmanian Devil. |
Find a Word
If you enjoy find a words, try this one. 1. Download the worksheet and print to the library printer. 2. Highlight the words as you find them. |
Notes to Sentences
1. Download the worksheet and print to the library printer. 2. Choose 3 notes and write them in sentences. |
Distances in the TAS
1. Download the worksheet and print to the library printer. 2. Look at the map and choose 3 towns. 3. Using Google search find the distance between each of the 3 towns and Hobart - e.g. Hobart to Launceston. 4. Record your answers. |
Map Reading
1. Download the worksheet and print to the library printer. 2. Find Tasmania. 3. Colour the state that is closest to Tasmania red. 4. Colour the sate that is farthest away from Tasmania yellow. 5. Use section 1 to help you. |
MAKE a TIMELINE 1. Re-read Section 4. Big Things. 2. Make notes in your exercise book of 5 big things and when they were created. 3. Construct a timeline in your book. |