Hobart

Tasmania is a state of Australia, but is not joined to the mainland. It is 125 miles (or 200km) off the south east coast. This state is in fact a number of islands and the largest of these is also called Tasmania. The capital city of this state is Hobart, which has a population of 200,000.

The British established the first settlement here, back in 1803. It was a penal colony, that is to say a settlement of convicts sent over from Britain as punishment. The original name of this settlement was Hobarton, named after the secretary of the time, Lord Hobart. The aboriginal population of the area were obviously not happy with being forced off their land and there were a number of violent battles with the Europeans before eventually they were forced to move to another area.

In a short time the town grew into an important centre, mainly thanks to the deep water port. Hobarton developed a shipbuilding industry and in 1842 it became an official city and 33 years later changed its name to Hobart. Even today the city is synonymous with shipbuilding and is home to one of the top catamaran manufacturing companies. The port is also the base for the French and Australian antarctic expeditions.

If you want to visit the city there are lots of interesting places to see and things to do. If you come in midsummer you can see the arrival of the yachts at the end of the Sydney to Hobart race. The race starts on Boxing Day, which is the day after Christmas Day. (Remember that in the southern hemisphere the summer is during the winter months of the northern hemisphere!) There is a food and wine festival and the end of the race is part of the celebrations. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to see the oldest sporting event on the island - the Wooden Boats festival - which is held every 2 years and started back in 1830. Another event which happens every two years is something called 'Ten Days on the Island'. This is an international arts festival which lasts for, well you can guess from the name!

Anybody who watches cartoons will know Taz, the character created by Warner Bros. But did you know that the Tasmanian Devil actually exists. Yes, it's a real animal native to this island. It is about the size of a small dog but is very strong. It is the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world and is famous for the terrible sound it makes and for the aggressive way it eats. Keep your eyes open and you might see one, although the populations of this animal are now quite small because of a disease which is killing them.

Finally, no visitor to Hobart can fail to see the tallest building in the city. It's only 17 storeys, small by most city's standards, but very prominent here. It was built in 1973 and was the first legal casino in Australia. Be lucky!