page_title: History of Hobart
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: History of Hobart / Geography
caption_attribution_description: w:Tasman Bridge, Hobart, Tasmania Taken by Enoch Lau on 11 January 2004. As a courtesy, please let me know if you alter this image or this image description page. Original filename was 100_2316.JPG.
context_page_description: The modern history of the Australian city of Hobart in Tasmania dates to its foundation as a British colony in 1804. Prior to British settlement, the area had been occupied for at least 8,000 years, but possibly for as long as 35,000 years, by the semi-nomadic Mouheneener tribe, a sub-group of the Nuenonne, or South-East tribe. The descendants of the indigenous Tasmanians now refer to themselves as 'Palawa'.
  Little is known about the region from prehistoric times. As with many other Australia cities, urbanisation has destroyed much of the archaeological evidence of indigenous occupation, although Aboriginal middens are often still present in coastal areas.
  The first European settlement in the Hobart area began in 1803 as a penal colony and defensive outpost at Risdon Cove on the eastern shores of the Derwent River, amid British concerns over the presence of French explorers in the South Pacific. In 1804 it was moved to a better location at the present site of Hobart at Sullivans Cove, making it the second oldest city in Australia.
context_section_description: The city of Hobart is located in the south eastern part of the island of Tasmania, at 42°S, 147°E. It is approximately 22 kilometres from the mouth of the Derwent River at Storm Bay. Hobart is built around Sullivans Cove, a small bay formed where the Hobart Rivulet and the Derwent River join. The location was chosen as a location for a settlement due to the deep-water harbour that allows easy access for shipping, the sheltered anchorage that Sullivans Cove provides, and the freshwater supply from Hobart Rivulet.
  The main part of the city runs along the western shore of the Derwent River in a north-south direction, but the eastern shore residential suburbs are also extensive. The eastern shore has many low hills and a small mountain ridge known as the Meehan Range. The western shore is partially flat at sea level but rises steeply away from the shore to the foothills.
  Deep gullies are situated between the hill ridges, most of which reach to around 500 – 800m in height. Mount Wellington is the most prominent feature of the Wellington Range. The Derwent Valley stretches northwards and is flat farmland and rolling green hills that follows the winding course of the river.
caption: Hobart (on the left) is centred around Sullivans Cove, at which a cruise ship is docking.
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