The first European settlement of the Peninsula was Port Arthur in the 1830s. It was selected as a penal colony because it was isolated from the rest of Tasmania. It could be easily got to by sea. The other prison colony at Macquarie Harbour on the west coast was too difficult to get to by sea. The prisoners there were moved to a new prison at Port Arthur. The peninsula also had a lot of trees that could be used for ship building and building houses. It had a deep sheltered harbour where visiting British warships could be repaired. Eaglehawk Neck was lined with guards and guard dogs, to prevent the escape of any convicts. Some did escape, including the bushranger Martin Cash.
The Saltwater River, Tasmania historic site (entry free) is near the north west tip of the peninsula. It was originally the site of a coal mine. Prisoners dug for coal during the day and lived in underground cells at night.
The prison at Port Arthur is now a tourist attraction. Tourism is a major business in most of Tasmania. Bushwalking is also popular in the remote parts of the peninsula. Popular places to walk to include Cape Raoul and Cape Pillar at the south west and south east ends of the Peninsula, on either side of the entrance to Port Arthur.
It is now the main area in the battle to save the Tasmanian Devil from extinction. The devils have been getting a new type of cancer called Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD). It has spread quickly through the devil population. The disease has already killed more than half of the Tasmanian devils.
The peninsula's isolation from the Tasmanian mainland is ideal for keeping a healthy wild Tasmanian devil population. This project involves the local Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park at Taranna and government and university scientists.
The rocky coastline has been the site of a number of shipwrecks. Two large steam ships have sunk after hitting the Hyppolyte Rocks off the east coast - the "Tasman" in 1883 and the "Nord" in 1915. Munroe Bight to the north of Cape Pillar is named after the American ship "James Munroe" wrecked there in 1850.
In the years between convict settlement and the start of the modern tourist industry the area most people worked in the timber industry and fishing. The area was not suitable for big farms. There are some fruit orchards and some small mixed farms. The area was isolated until a regular river steamer began sailing from Port Arthur to Hobart in the 1880s. From 1900 to the 1930s the main shipping company was the Huon, Channel & Peninsula Steamship Company. They owned several ships including the M.V. "Cartela".
Many smaller towns are also on the Tasman Peninsula. The largest are Nubeena and Koonya. Smaller villages are Premaydena, Highcroft and Stormlea.
The local government area is the Tasman Council. The major road to Hobart is called the Arthur Highway. The current population is around 2000. In summer the area gets many visitors and the population rises to around 6000.
The Tasman Peninsula is well known for its rocky eastern coastline. Much of it is now in the Tasman National Park. At Eaglehawk Neck the rocks have made many strange shapes and patterns. These include Remarkable Caves, Tasman's Arch and the Tessellated Pavement. On the south of the peninsula are the highest sea cliffs in the southern hemisphere, rising 300 m above the Tasman Sea at Cape Hauy. The peninsula is claimed as one of Australias best surfing spots at Cape Roaul and Roaring Beach.
Non-player character
A non-player character (or an NPC) is a character played by a computer in a video game. NPCs are in many video games and help the player learn how to play the game or guide the player through the game.
Breaking Dawn
Breaking Dawn is the fourth and last novel in the "Twilight" series by Stephenie Meyer. The novel is divided into three sections called 'books'. The story in Book One and Book Three is told from the perspective of Bella Swan. Book Two is from the perspective of Jacob Black, Bella's werewolf friend. "Breaking Dawn" was released on August 2, 2008 with a special midnight release in many bookstores.
As the book opens, Bella is driving a Mercedes Guardian that Edward has bought to protect her from getting into trouble. After informing Bella's parents of their engagement, Bella and Edward marry in a traditional wedding ceremony. The wedding has a minor disturbance during a confrontation between Jacob, Bella and Edward. Not wanting to spoil her wedding day, Bella puts aside her disappointment in Jacob's unpleasantness. Edward and Bella soon depart for their honeymoon off the coast of Brazil. Edward then fulfills Bella's wish and makes love to her. The next day they argue because Edward's passionate lovemaking leaves dark bruises all over Bella's body. He then refuses to make love to her while she is still human. Meanwhile, she has a recurrent dream of a small, green-eyed boy that she feels compelled to protect she also has dreams of her and Edward making love. Bella also finds herself constantly hungry and sick. But soon after Bella awakes in the middle of a dream crying; Edward asks whats wrong and instead of telling him she decices to show him and kisses him very passionately and Edward gives in. They have made love more than twice and upon seeing a box of unused tampons in her suitcase, she realizes that her period is late and she is pregnant. Though Bella has not longed for a child, she becomes immediately attached to her baby when she becomes aware of its existence. Edward, however, is only concerned for her health, and after hearing stories from a local woman (who suspects that Edward is a vampire) of similar situations that resulted in the mothers' deaths, Edward wants to get rid of the baby. Book one ends as Edward prepares to bring Bella home where he says that Carlisle will "take care of it," and as Bella secretly calls Rosalie for help.
The book is told from Jacob's perspective. He receives news of Edward and Bella's return, and that Carlisle has told Charlie that Bella is quarantined because she has contracted a rare disease in South America. Jacob assumes that Bella has been bitten and transformed. He is upset when Sam Uley, acting Alpha of the pack, declares that the pack will not retaliate. Jacob, full of anger, decides that if the pack will not retaliate collectively, he will act alone. Formulating strategies of attack, he runs to the Cullen house. When he arrives, however, he discovers that things aren't as he expected. Bella, as opposed to being a newborn vampire, is already heavily pregnant with Edward's and her child. It is clear that the child's rapid growth is starving and hurting Bella.
When Jacob returns to his wolf state, his thoughts inadvertently inform the pack of Bella's state. This causes fear and anger among the werewolves; they don't know how the child might act since the child is an offspring of a vampire. Sam commands the pack in the double-timbre of the Alpha, to obey his decision to destroy Bella and her unborn child. Jacob, who still loves Bella, disagrees, revolts, assumes his inherited Alpha position and leaves Sam's pack. Seth, then Leah Clearwater, soon join Jacob and the threesome form a pack with Jacob as Alpha. Jacob, Leah and Seth patrol the Cullen territory to forewarn the family of any impending werewolf attack.
As the fetus continues to develop at an alarmingly accelerated rate, Bella's health worsens. During Bella's pregnancy, Edward realizes he can read the child's mind, and is astonished to discover that the baby already loves Bella. As he hears his child's thoughts, Edward begins to love the baby as well. This leaves Jacob feeling betrayed, as he was counting on Edward to hate the baby more than he.