Everything about Hobart Tasmania totally explained
Hobart is the
state capital and most populous city of the
Australian island state of
Tasmania. Founded in
1803 as a
penal colony, it's one of Australia's oldest cities and the
eleventh most populous, with a population of approximately 205,566 in 2006. A series of bloody encounters with the Europeans and the effects of diseases brought by the settlers forced away the aboriginal population, which was rapidly replaced by free settlers and the
convict population.
Charles Darwin visited Hobart Town in February,
1836 as part of the
Beagle expedition. He writes of Hobart and the Derwent estuary in his
Voyage of the Beagle:
...The lower parts of the hills which skirt the bay are cleared; and the bright yellow fields of corn, and dark green ones of potatoes, appear very luxuriant... I was chiefly struck with the comparative fewness of the large houses, either built or building. Hobart Town, from the census of 1835, contained 13,826 inhabitants, and the whole of Tasmania 36,505.
But since the Derwent River was one of Australia's finest deepwater ports and was the centre of the
Southern Ocean whaling and seal trade, it rapidly grew into a major port, with allied industries such as shipbuilding. Hobart Town became a city in
1842, and was renamed Hobart in
1875.
Geography
Hobart is located on the estuary of the
Derwent River in the state's south-east at . The
central business district is located on the western shore, adjacent to
Sullivan's Cove, with the inner suburbs spread out along the shores of the Derwent and climbing up the hills at the foot of
Mount Wellington. The Port of Hobart occupies the whole of the original Sullivan's Cove.
The Greater Hobart Metropolitan area consists of three self-governing cities,
City of Hobart,
City of Glenorchy and
City of Clarence, plus the urbanised areas of the
Municipality of Kingborough and
Municipality of Brighton. The suburban areas cover a significant amount of both the western and eastern sides of the river. Apart from the city, the main commercial centres are
Glenorchy (the
northern suburbs) and
Rosny Park (the
eastern shore). The satellite town
Kingston, south of the city, is fast becoming an outlying suburb of Hobart. Other surrounding towns such as
Sorell,
Margate,
Brighton and
New Norfolk are popular residential areas for commuters.
See also
List of Hobart suburbs
Climate
Hobart has a mild temperate
oceanic climate (Koppen
Cfb), with four distinct
seasons. The highest maximum temperature recorded was 40.8°C on 4 January 1976 and the lowest minimum was -2.8°C on 25 June 1972. Compared to other major Australia cities Hobart has the second least daily average hours of sunshine, with 5.9 hours. (Melbourne has the least) The city rarely receives snow in winter; however, the adjacent Mount Wellington is often seen with a covering in winter, and it has received unseasonal snowfalls in all seasons, including summer.
» See also:
Demographics
As of the
2006 census there were 200,525 people in the greater Hobart area and the City of Hobart local government area has a population of 47,700. According to the 2006 census, approximately 12.0% of greater Hobart's residents were born overseas, commonly the
United Kingdom,
New Zealand,
Germany and
Netherlands.
Economy
Hobart is a busy seaport, notably serving as the home port for the
Antarctic activities of
Australia and
France. It supports several other industries, including a high-speed
catamaran factory
Incat and a
zinc smelter operated by
Nyrstar, as well as a vibrant tourist industry. Visitors come to the city to explore its historic inner suburbs, to visit the weekly craft market in
Salamanca Place, as well as to use the city as a base from which to explore the rest of
Tasmania.
Other notable businesses in the area include the
Cadbury chocolate factory and the
Cascade Brewery located in
South Hobart near the natural spring waters of
Mount Wellington. The Hobart surrounding area has many vineyards, including
Moorilla Estate at
Berriedale.
Distinctive Features
The
Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens is a popular recreation area a short distance from the City centre. It is the second-oldest Botanic Gardens in
Australia and holds extensive significant plant collections as well as built heritage.
Mount Wellington, accessible by passing through
Fern Tree, is the dominant feature of Hobart's skyline, indeed many descriptions of Hobart have used the phrase "nestled amidst the foothills", so undulating is the geographical landscape. At 1,271 metres, the mountain has its own ecosystems, is rich in biodiversity and plays a large part in determining the local weather. An attempt to construct a
cable car from the Cascade Brewery to the summit in the early 1990s was met with vocal disparagement, indicating just how important Hobartians consider "The Mountain".
The
Tasman Bridge is also a uniquely important feature of the city, connecting the two shores of Hobart and visible from many locations.
Culture
Events
Hobart is internationally famous among the yachting community as the finish of the
Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race which starts in
Sydney on Boxing Day (the day after Christmas Day). The arrival of the yachts is celebrated as part of the
Hobart Summer Festival, a food and wine festival beginning just after Christmas and ending in mid-January. The
Taste of Tasmania is a major part of the festival, where locals and visitors can taste fine local and international food and wine.
Hobart is the finish point of the
Targa Tasmania rally car event held annually in April since 1991.
The annual
Tulip Festival at the
Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens is a popular Spring celebration in the City.
The
Australian Wooden Boat Festival is a bi-annual event held in
Hobart celebrating
wooden boats. It is held concurrently with the
Royal Hobart Regatta, which began in 1830 and is therefore Tasmania's oldest sporting event.
Hobart also hosts the bulk of the
10 Days on the Island festival, a biannual international arts festival.
Entertainment
Australia's first legal
casino was the 17-storey
Wrest Point Hotel Casino in
Sandy Bay, opened in 1973. It is still the tallest building in the city, despite being several kilometres out of the CBD, and is a nationally recognised icon.
The Hobart nightlife primarily revolves around
Salamanca Place and the waterfront area, but popular
pubs,
bars and
nightclubs exist around the city as well. Major national and international music events are usually held at the
Derwent Entertainment Centre, or the
Casino.
Popular restaurant strips include
Elizabeth Street in
North Hobart, and
Salamanca Place near the waterfront. These include a large number of ethnic restaurants including
Chinese,
Thai,
Greek,
Italian,
Indian and
Mexican.
Hobart is home to Australia's oldest
theatre, the
Theatre Royal. It also has three
Village Cinema complexes, one each in the city,
Glenorchy and
Rosny. The
State Cinema in North Hobart specializes in
arthouse and foreign films.
Hobart is home to the
Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, which is resident at the
Federation Concert Hall on the city's waterfront. It offers a year-round program of concerts and is thought to be one of the finest small orchestras in the world.
Hobart also plays host to the University of Tasmania's acclaimed
Australian International Summer Orchestra Institute (AISOI) which brings pre-professional advanced young musicians to town from all over Australia and internationally. The AISOI plays host to a public concert season during the first two weeks of December every year focusing on large symphonic music. Like the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, the AISOI uses the Federation Concert Hall as its performing base.
Hobart has also long been home to a thriving classical, jazz, folk, punk, hip-hop, electro, metal and rock music scene. Nationally recognised musicians such as singer/songwriters Michael Noga (of
The Drones), two thirds of indie rock band
Love Of Diagrams, Tim Evans (of bands
Sea Scouts,
Mouth and
Bird Blobs),
Monique Brumby, blues guitarist Phil Manning (of blues-rock band
Chain), power-pop group
The Innocents and metal band
Psycroptic are all successful expatriates. In addition, founding member of
Violent Femmes,
Brian Ritchie, now calls Hobart home, and has formed a local band, The Green Mist.
Several festivals such as the
Hobart Fringe Festival,
Hobart Summer Festival,
Southern Roots Festival,
Ten Days On The Island and the
Falls Festival in
Marion Bay all capitalise on the Hobart's artistic communities.
Media
Hobart's major newspaper is
The Mercury, which was founded by
John Davies in 1854 and has been continually published ever since. The paper is currently owned and operated by
Rupert Murdoch's News Limited.
Six free-to-air television channels service Hobart. Commercial television channels are provided by
Southern Cross Tasmania,
Tasmanian Digital Television (TDT) and
WIN Television. The
Australian Broadcasting Corporation provides
ABC1 and
ABC2. Multicultural broadcaster
SBS provides
SBS Television.
Until 1986, television broadcasts in the city were restricted to two channels:
TVT-6 and the ABC. In 1986, SBS began transmission to the city. In 1994 market aggregation allowed
Launceston based station
TNT-9 (now
Southern Cross Tasmania) to broadcast to Hobart as well. TVT-6 (since known as
TasTV, now
WIN Television) took on a
Nine Network affiliation, with Southern Cross carrying both
Seven and
Ten programming. All stations commenced digital broadcasting during 2003, and in December 2003, a fifth station, TDT, began broadcasting. TDT is a joint venture between Southern Cross and WIN. In March 2005, ABC2 came on-line.
Pay TV services are provided by
Austar and
SelecTV via satellite.
Commercial radio stations licensed to cover the Hobart market include
7HO FM,
Sea FM and
Heart 107.3. Local community radio stations include
Christian radio station
Ultra106five, youth station
Edge Radio and
92FM which targets the wider community with specialist programmes. All five ABC radio networks broadcast to Hobart via
936 ABC Hobart,
Radio National,
Triple J,
Newsradio and
ABC Classic FM.
Sport
Due to Tasmania's widely distributed population, most Hobart sporting teams in national competitions are statewide teams rather than exclusively city teams. These include the
Tasmanian Tigers cricket team, which plays home games at
Bellerive Oval on the eastern shore. Current Australian Cricket Captain
Ricky Ponting's Home Ground is Hobart. Despite
Australian rules football's huge popularity in the state, Tasmania doesn't have a team in the
Australian Football League. It does, though, have a team (the
Tasmanian Devils) in the
VFL (Victorian league), and a team in the national league is a popular topic among supporters as well as the state government (one of the potential sponsors of such a team). Some AFL teams play scheduled games at
Aurora Stadium (at
York Park in
Launceston) and occasionally at
North Hobart Oval.
Tasmania's small population and low sponsorship potential results in the state not being represented in national,
rugby union,
rugby league,
netball,
soccer and
basketball leagues; although the Oasis
Hobart Chargers do represent Hobart in the
South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL).
With boat registrations reportedly doubling in recent years, many residents follow the strong maritime history of the Island State by participating in a range of water sports including sailing and fishing.
Politics
Parliament House in
Salamanca Place is a focal point for political activity in the state. The lawns outside Parliament House are frequently used for political protests.
Education
Hobart is home to the main campus of the
University of Tasmania, situated in
Sandy Bay. On-site accommodation colleges include
Christ College,
Jane Franklin Hall and
St John Fisher College. Other campuses are in Launceston and Burnie.
Senior secondary colleges in the Hobart area include
Hobart College, at the top of
Mount Nelson just south of the city; inner-city
Elizabeth College and St Michael's Collegiate School;
The Friends' School in North Hobart;
St Mary's College and
Guilford Young College in
North Hobart;
The Hutchins School and
Fahan School in
Sandy Bay;
Rosny College at Rosny on the eastern shore; and
Claremont College at Claremont in the northern suburbs. Some of these colleges also function as community colleges, open to students outside the formal secondary school system. Many of these colleges are not exclusively colleges as they also provide primary and high school education.
Transport
Most
public transport within the city is via an extensive network of
Metro buses and some private
bus services. The main arterial routes within the urban area are the
Brooker Highway to
Glenorchy and the northern suburbs, the
Tasman Bridge and
Bowen Bridge across the river to
Rosny and the Eastern Shore, and the
Southern Outlet south to
Kingston and the
D'Entrecasteaux Channel.
Leaving the city, motorists can travel the
Lyell Highway to the
west coast,
Midland Highway to
Launceston and the north,
Tasman Highway to the east coast, or the
Huon Highway to the far south.
Hobart is serviced by
Hobart International Airport, and the smaller
Cambridge Aerodrome (which mainly serves small charter airlines offering local tourist flights).
Like many large cities, Hobart once operated passenger
tram services, a
Trolleybus network consisting of six routes which operated until
1968. However, the tramway closed in the early 1960s. Suburban passenger trains, run by the Tasmanian Government Railways, closed in 1974 and the intrastate passenger service, the Tasman Limited, ceased in
1979.
Further Information
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