Tasmania

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	CHRIS MENY & STEVIE RYER chris@yourtravelsource.com stevie@yourtravelsource.com (707)425-8157 DONNA COLLINS BEAUCHESNE donnab@yourtravelsource.com Donna - 509-525-1230 For all: (800) 597-0594 CST #: 2037874-40




		Tasmania, separated from the mainland of Australia by the Bass Strait, is Australia's smallest state and is about the size of the Republic of Ireland and twice the size of Switzerland. The population of around 472,000 is split between the south and the north. The capital city, Hobart, is in the south and has 195,500 people. Launceston, in the north, has a population of 98,500. The state also includes King Island and Flinders Island.

	Aboriginal people lived in Tasmania for tens of thousands of years.



		Map courtesy of Tasmania Tourism.

The island was first discovered in 1642 by Abel Tasman who named it Van Dieman's Land, and settlement began in 1798 and continued until 1861 when it became a dumping ground for convicts (the majority with petty crimes). The aboriginals, who roamed the lands of Tasmania, have died out and the last full-blooded Tasmanian aboriginal died in 1876.


	Tasmania has received Conde Naste's Traveler's "Best Temperate Island in the World" award twice. The island has four distinct seasons. More than 20% of the island has been declared a World Heritage Area, and nearly a third of the island is protected within its 14 national parks. Tasmania has dense rain forests, stoney mountain peaks, alpine meadows, pine plantations, eucalyptus stands and fertile stretches of farmland. To learn more about this interesting island, click on the buttons above.

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	Cradle Mountain & Dove Lake.

		Photo courtesy of Tasmania Tourism.