Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania has a different and calmer vibe to other Australian capital state cities such as Melbourne and Sydney.
Originally called Van Diemen’s Land when it was founded in the early 1803, named after Anthony van Diemen who was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies. The island land mass that we now know as Tasmania was found by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman on his voyage of discovery in the 1640s, and was the first known European to set foot on the shores of Tasmania.
Being initially setup by the British as a penal colony with the prison at Port Arthur best known.
It changed its name from Van Diemen’s Land to Tasmania officially in 1856 but had been known and called Tasmania by the locals to move it away from the penal colonies link.
Its topology and geography are different from the rest of mainland Australia with a more hilly and rugged and more apparent greenery. Hobart is however the second driest state capital city after Adelaide, but is uses an irrigation system from its northern lakes so the farms and vineyards have enough water to make them commercially viable.
The capital city has a sheltered harbour on the estuary of the River Derwent, and is the southerly most state capital city of Australia. Going south the next land is the Antarctic, which is why many expeditions and their boats are based from the port.
It has an interesting city skyline and architecture with many building from the 1840s still remaining along with newer versions from the 1960s to 2000s. It has many hotels but Hadley’s Orient Hotel is a heritage listed hotel has a history that goes back to 1862 when former convict John Webb combined several premises into a hotel. John Clay Hadley then took over as landlord in 1881 changing the name to Hadley’s Orient Hotel.
He installed electric lighting, telephones and one of the first elevators in Australia. The Hadley family then purchased the property in 1890 from Webb’s executor. Hot water was added in 1910. In 1935 the hotel was bought from the family by a consortium but has retained the name to this day, though the family isn’t involved any more.
There are many museums with the more interesting being the Maritime Museum Tasmania, The Tasmanian Museum, Art Gallery and the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts and NARRYNA a Merchant’s house in the Battery Point district of Hobart.
There are several tours worth booking a place on with the kunyani/Mount Wellington Explorer Bus trip and the Coal River Valley tour to Richmond well worth booking a place on. From the top of Mount Wellington, on a clear day, you get a great view down to the harbour and town of Hobart as well as the wider estuary area of the Derwent river.
Sources: Wikipedia & Hadley's Orient Hotel
