Tasmania Travel Guide
Tasmania accommodation, Tasmania activities and attractions, Tasmania maps, transportation to and around Tasmania - the ALL NEW Jasons Tasmania Destination Travel Guide is your complete visitor guide for Tasmania.
Tasmania is Australia’s only island state, separated from the mainland about 12,000 years ago when the seas rose to form Bass Strait. Much of Tasmania remains untouched by human habitation, protected as the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. This is Tasmania’s greatest attraction, and every year thousands of visitors come here to explore its national parks and trek some of the most rugged and scenic trails in the world.
Once a harsh penal colony, today Tasmania's superb scenery, adventure activities and charming towns are a magnet for visitors. The capital of
Hobart, with its beautiful harbour, vibrant crafts and heritage buildings, makes an ideal
base for exploring the Tasman Peninsula. Most of Tasmania's towns have preserved their colonial charm, and many of the heritage buildings have been converted to B&Bs, craft galleries and restaurants. The restored ruins of
Port Arthur, now part of a peaceful 40ha visitor attraction, remain as a fascinating monument to Australia’s convict era.
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History
Tasmania’s history is the most colourful but tragic of all the states. For more than 25,000 years Aboriginal tribes lived here in isolation, until their peaceful existence was shattered by the establishment of a British penal colony in 1803. Tasmania’s settlements prospered from the hard labour of the convicts, incarcerated in brutal conditions at Port Arthur. Sadly, the Aborigines, who resisted the takeover of their land, were treated even more harshly than the convicts. With the end of transportation and the granting of self government in 1856, Tasmanian civic pride took the form of building splendid buildings such as the Town Hall and Government House, and the capital Hobart became the port for a prosperous agrarian economy with wool, meat, crops, fruit and timber being shipped to foreign ports.
Population
480,000
Capital City
Hobart
Area of State
68,332sq km
Climate
The climate is classified as 'temperate maritime' and is much cooler than the mainland states. It has mild summers and cold winters, with average maximum summer temperatures of 21ºC, and average maximum winter temperatures of 12ºC. Much of the mountain regions receive heavy winter snowfalls.
Time Zone
Australian Eastern Standard Time.
Daylight Saving
Clocks go forward one hour on the last Sunday in October and go back one hour on the last Sunday in March.
State Emblems
Animal Emblem: Tasmanian Tiger
Floral Emblem: Tasmanian Blue Gum
Major Attractions
Hobart, Port Arthur Historic Site, Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park, Freycinet National Park, Tamar Valley, Maria Island National Park, Flinders Island, King Island.