Hobart << HOH bahrt >> (pop. 197,451; met. area pop. 247,086) is the capital of the Australian island-state of Tasmania. Hobart lies at the foot of Mount Wellington on the Derwent River in the southeastern part of the state. Most of Tasmania’s shipping and trade pass through Hobart’s deepwater port.
The city
of Hobart covers approximately 30 square miles (77 square kilometers). It is part of the Greater Hobart statistical district, which includes such other cities as Brighton, Clarence, Glenorchy, Kingborough, and Sorell. At the time of the 2021 Australian census, the population of Greater Hobart was 247,086.
Many high-rise office buildings, shops, and department stores stand in Hobart’s central business district. Industrial areas are located away from the commercial center, with heavy industry concentrated around Moonah and Glenorchy in Greater Hobart. Residential areas in Hobart include the suburbs (districts) of Battery Point, Glebe, Lenah Valley, Mount Nelson, New Town, Sandy Bay, and Warrane.
Places of historic interest abound in Hobart. At Salamanca Place, a historic dockside commercial district, sandstone warehouses and stores built in the mid-1800’s have been converted to restaurants and tourist shops. The nearby suburb of Battery Point is the site of an old gun battery (a group of mounted guns) set up to defend the port. Battery Point also has many fine houses built during the 1800’s. They include the Georgian-style workers’ cottages that stand along Arthur’s Circus, a charming circular street that surrounds a village green in the suburb.
The Victorian-style Theatre Royal, which opened in Hobart in 1837, is Australia’s oldest continuously operating theater. St. George’s Anglican Church, which dates from 1838, is a fine example of Greek Revival architecture. The Lady Franklin Gallery, in Lenah Valley, resembles a Greek temple. It was built in 1842 as a museum. The Shot Tower, constructed in 1870 in the suburb of Taroona, was historically used to produce a type of ammunition called shot.
The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens feature many native and English plants. A gambling casino that opened in 1973 at Wrest Point was Australia’s first legal casino.
People.
By far, the largest number of people who live in Greater Hobart are of British origin. Hobart also has many people from China, Germany, India, Nepal, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Education.
The Tasmanian government runs most schools in Hobart. The city is home to the University of Tasmania, which was established in 1890. The Institute of TAFE Tasmania, a vocational college, has campuses in Hobart’s city center and in the suburb of Warrane. Hobart’s oldest school, the Hutchins School for boys, was founded in 1846. The State Library of Tasmania is the city’s chief library.
Economy.
Hobart’s deepwater port, with its extensive facilities for handling cargo, employs a large work force. The Tasmanian government employs many people as well. Manufacturing and tourism also contribute significantly to Hobart’s economy.
Modern factories in the city produce confectioneries (sweets), metal products, paper pulp, and textiles. The Cadbury factory at Claremont is Australia’s largest cocoa and confectionery factory. The Cascade Brewery in South Hobart has been making beer since 1824. A zinc smelting plant at Risdon produces a large percentage of Australia’s refined zinc, and a paper mill at Boyer supplies a large proportion of the newsprint used in the country. The Hobart-based shipbuilder Incat Australia produces ferries for passengers and vehicles and exports them throughout the world.
The natural beauty, historic buildings, and small-town feel of Hobart attract many tourists each year. Nearby beaches and vineyards contribute to the area’s appeal. Visitors can view the region from a platform on the top of Mount Wellington, which rises 4,167 feet (1,270 meters) above the city. Hobart is the finishing point for two annual yacht races—the Sydney to Hobart race and the Melbourne to Hobart race. Both races begin on Boxing Day (December 26).
In 1893, Hobart became the first city in the Southern Hemisphere with a completely electric tram system. Eventually, buses replaced Hobart’s electric trams. Today, a state-owned company called Metro provides public bus service in Hobart.
A railroad network, used mainly to transport freight, links Hobart to other Tasmanian cities. Hobart International Airport is about 9 miles (17 kilometers) east of the city. Many Australian and international ships, including commercial and cruise vessels, use Hobart’s port facilities.
Government.
The Hobart City Council governs the Hobart Local Government Area. The council consists of a mayor, a deputy mayor, and 10 other aldermen. Voters elect the mayor and deputy mayor to two-year terms. The other aldermen serve four-year terms.
History.
Aboriginal people of Tasmania lived in the region of present-day Hobart before Europeans arrived. However, most of the Aboriginal people either died in conflicts with Europeans or were moved to other locations by the mid-1800’s. Early written records of the traditional Aboriginal name for Hobart refer to the area as nib-ber-loon-ne or niberlooner. Following the development of palawa kani in the late 1900’s, the Aboriginal name for Hobart became nipaluna. Palawa kani is a composite language based on older Tasmanian Aboriginal languages.
In 1803, fearful that the French would establish colonies on the island that is now Tasmania, Philip Gidley King, the British governor of New South Wales, sent Lieutenant John Bowen to the island as the leader of a group of 49 convicts, soldiers, and settlers. The group landed at Risdon Cove in September. A second group of 262 British settlers, led by Lieutenant Governor David Collins, arrived at the present site of Hobart in February 1804. Collins named the settlement Hobart Town after Robert Hobart, the British secretary of state for the colonies at that time. Within a few months, the Risdon Cove settlers joined those in Hobart Town. By summer, the settlement had about 470 people, most of whom were male convicts.
George Arthur became lieutenant governor of Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen’s Land) in 1823. Following his arrival there in 1824, Arthur initiated a period of rapid growth, and local industries began to develop. In 1825, when Van Diemen’s Land became a separate colony from New South Wales, Hobart became its capital. Hobart Town became a city in 1842. The last convicts to be brought to Hobart as part of the British system of transportation—that is, sending convicts to the colonies—arrived in 1853. In 1856, Hobart became the site of Tasmania’s new state House of Assembly and Legislative Council. The city’s name was changed from Hobart Town to Hobart in 1881.
Major building projects took place in Hobart during the 1900’s. The Tasman Bridge opened in 1964, replacing an older floating bridge. Bushfires swept across southern Tasmania on Feb. 7, 1967, now known as Black Tuesday, killing 62 people. The damaged parts of Hobart were rebuilt. In 1984, Bowen Bridge opened.
