Colony of Tasmania
Colony of Tasmania | |||||||||
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1856–1901 | |||||||||
Anthem: Victoria | |||||||||
Governor | |||||||||
• 1856-1861 | Henry Young first | ||||||||
• 1901 | Arthur Havelock last | ||||||||
Legislature | Parliament | ||||||||
• Upper house | Legislative Council | ||||||||
• Lower house | House of Assembly | ||||||||
History | |||||||||
• Responsible self-government | 1856 | ||||||||
1 January 1901 | |||||||||
Area | |||||||||
• Total | 20,215 sq mi (52,360 km2) | ||||||||
Population | |||||||||
• Census | 115,705 (1881) | ||||||||
• Density | 4.387/sq mi (1.7/km2) | ||||||||
Currency | Pound sterling | ||||||||
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Today part of |
The Colony of Tasmania (more commonly referred to simply as "Tasmania") was a
The Colony suffered from economic fluctuations, but for the most part was prosperous, experiencing steady growth. With few external threats and strong trade links with the Empire, the Colony of Tasmania enjoyed many fruitful periods in the late nineteenth century, becoming a world-centre of shipbuilding. It raised a local defence force which eventually played a significant role in the
History
Self-government
A campaign for self-government in Van Diemen's Land had first begun in 1842. A growing resentment against penal transportation to the colony, and a lack of effective legislation led to agitators lobbying for better representation. on 31 October 1845 the 'Patriotic six' walked out of the Legislative Council, leaving it without a quorum, but by 23 March 1847 they had been restored. In 1849 the Australasian Anti-Transportation League was established in Launceston, and had soon established branches in the other Australian colonies. The Australian Republican Association (ARA) was founded at this time, but failed to gain much support.
On 5 August 1850, the
On 1 November 1856, Governor Sir Henry Fox Young proclaimed former British Army officer, William Champ as the first Premier of Tasmania, and the new bicameral parliament met for the first time on 2 December 1856, marking the beginning of self-government for the Colony of Tasmania.
End of transportation
In 1849 the
The beginning of the Victorian gold rush provided further argument, as it was felt that the opportunity of free passage aboard convict transports and the chance of escaping to the gold fields would provide an incentive to would-be offenders. The last convict ship to be sent from England, the St. Vincent, arrived in 1853, and on 10 August 1853 Jubilee festivals in Hobart and Launceston celebrated 50 years of European settlement with the official end of transportation. Celebratory medallions were minted and distributed to school children.
Growth of Tasmania
The era immediately following the granting of responsible self-government brought a new confidence to the colony. Whilst Tasmania suffered a setback with a large loss of working-age males to the Victorian gold-fields, many social and cultural improvements soon developed. Horse-drawn buses between
The 1860s saw a period of stagnation and economic
Withdrawal of British forces
The
This meant that at short notice the Government of Tasmania was given the responsibility of raising its own defences. At the time of the announcement, the 2nd Battalion, the
Although earlier attempts to establish locally raised volunteer defence forces had been made, such as the establishment of the Hobart Town Volunteer Artillery Company in 1859, and a similar company in Launceston in 1860, and twelve companies of "volunteer" infantry were also raised.[4] In 1867 the infantry companies were disbanded, and the artillery increased by one battery,[5] but most of these units were short-lived. The arrival of three Imperial Russian Navy warships, the Africa, Plastun, and Vestnik in 1872 caused a great deal of alarm in the colony, and led to vigorous discussion about the colony's defences.[citation needed] The threat of war with Russia in 1876 further hastened the establishment of both locally raised defence forces, and the modernisation of coastal defences, and in 1878 the Volunteer Act was passed, which established the Tasmanian Volunteer Force.[6] The following year, controversial Canadian Priest Charles Chiniquy visited Hobart to lecture on religion, but his second lecture descended into rioting when Catholics broke into the Hobart Town Hall. It took 150 constables and 400 armed volunteers to break up the rioting in what became known as the 'Chiniquy Affair',[7] and this added weight to the argument that the colony desperately needed a permanent military presence.[8]
In 1878 the Tasmanian Volunteer Rifle Regiment was raised in both the north and south of the colony.[6] By 1880 a defence force of 600 men had been established, and consisted of 200 artillery, 350 infantry and about fifty mounted infantry. In 1883 the Tasmanian Engineers were formed, and trained as a Torpedo boat crew for the newly acquired TB1.[9] By 1885 the strength of the Tasmanian Military Forces was 1200 men, the maximum permitted by law at a time of peace. However, by 1893, and additional "auxiliary" force of 1500 had also been raised. By 1896, the Regiment had three battalions. They were 1st battalion in Hobart, 2nd battalion in Launceston, and 3rd battalion in the North West.[5]
Consolidation
The
The population of the colony began to rise quite rapidly in the period immediately following the discovery of gold. In 1880 the colony's population was 114, 762, but by 1884, it had reached 130,541. The period of growth also created a substantial improvement in the standard of living for Tasmanians. In the period from 1875 to 1884, the total value of personal saving in the colony's five existing banks increased from £1,227,585, to £4,022,077 - nearly a fourfold increase. The total valuation of owned property also rose from £604,347 to £837,916.[11]
Boer War
In 1899 the Colonial Tasmanian Military Forces responded to the request for military assistance in South Africa. The war had been expected in both Britain and the Australian colonies, and planning had begun as a result. The initial request from Britain was made for two of the colony's three Ranger Infantry units. Colonel William Vincent Legge, the commander of the Colonial Tasmanian Military Forces, sought to also establish a mounted reconnaissance unit, and toured the colony. He was very impressed by the shooting and riding skills of many of the colony's wealthy young farm boys, and formed a Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen unit from them.[citation needed]
A Tasmanian colonial contingent was sent to the Second Boer War, consisting of the 1st and 2nd Tasmanian Bushmen. These mounted infantry units were primarily made up of volunteers who had good bushcraft, riding and shooting skills. The first contingent, known as the First Tasmanian (Mounted Infantry) Contingent, consisted of approximately 80 men under the command of Captain Cyril St Clair Cameron.
The first two
Federation
The Colony of Tasmania and its citizens played a prominent role in the move towards federation for the six British colonies in Australia.
Tasmanian lawyer and politician
In the 1898 constitutional referendum, 11,797 voted in favour of federation, and 2,716 opposed, a majority of nearly 4 to 1. Tasmania held their final constitutional referendum on 27 June 1899, and in that referendum to opposition vote had further reduced to 791, and with 13,437 voters in favour of federation, the Colony of Tasmania had provided the highest percentage of support shown in any of the Australian colonies.
Society
Following the raucous years of the 1830s and 40s in which the
Religion
Religion played an important part in the lives of European Tasmanians in the colonial era. This is evidenced by the large number of isolated churches that survive from that period. Following the
Moral and religious reform played a very important role in the education and rehabilitation of the
The
By 1861, 52 percent of Tasmanians were
Recreation
As soon as the first British settlers had established themselves in the colony, they had begun to enjoy similar forms of recreation as they had enjoyed in Britain.
By the 1860s the popularity of rugby and football was diminished by the arrival of
The
Government
The Colony of Tasmania had responsible achieved self-government in 1856, after a long and difficult campaign. The Tasmanian Constitution had been ratified by
Economy
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Demographics
According to the 1881 Census, males were counted at 61,162 compared to 54,543 females for a combined total of 115,705 people. The birth to death rate was 896 births to 481 deaths in 1881. The majority of the population were born in Tasmania and constituted 69.13% (79,991). Other places of birth include other Australian colonies (3987 or 3.44%), England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland (28,243 or 24.41%), other
Religion
The majority of the Tasmanian population adhered to Anglicanism under the British Church of England. However there was also a sizeable Roman Catholic minority. In addition to this, there were also small populations of Protestants which notably included Lutheranism and Presbyterianism as well as non-Christian faiths and Irreligious people also constituting a very small proportion of the population.
Largest Towns
- Hobart, City (Population in 1881: 21,118)
- Launceston (Population: 12,752)
- New Town (Population: 1720)
- Longford (Population: 1286)
- Westbury (Population: 1156)
- New Norfolk (Population: 1036)
- Campbell Town (Population: 948)
- Waratah (Population: 874)
- Deloraine (Population: 836)
- Queenborough (Population: 795)
Legacy
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See also
References
- ^ Townsley, Wilfred Asquith (1956). The struggle for self-government in Tasmania, 1842–1856. Hobart, L.G. Shea Printers.
- ^ Roe, M. "The History of Tasmania to 1856" pp. 40
- ^ a b Wyatt 1990, p. 55.
- ^ Nicholls 1988, pp. 25 & 31.
- ^ a b Festberg 1972, p. 5.
- ^ a b Wyatt 1990, p. 19.
- ^ Wyatt 1990, p. 22.
- ^ E Dollery,'The Chiniquy riots, Hobart', THRAPP 9/4, 1962.
- ^ Wyatt 1990, pp. 25–26.
- ^ "Tasmania, flag of". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2008.
- ^ New York Times, 24 August 1885
- ^ a b Wyatt 1990, p. 52.
- ^ Wyatt 1990, p. 53.
- ^ Andrew Inglis Clark. by Neasey, F. M.; Neasey, L. J. (2001).
- ^ a b c d The Companion to Tasmanian History by Alison Alexander. (2002)
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 30 December 2010.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Cricket". www.utas.edu.au.
- ^ "Australian Football".
- ^ "Yachting". www.utas.edu.au.
- ^ "Horseracing". www.utas.edu.au.
- ^ "Theatre". www.utas.edu.au.
- ^ "Literature". www.utas.edu.au.
- ^ "Tasmanian Poultry Society".
Sources
- Festberg, Alfred (1972). The Lineage of the Australian Army. Melbourne, Victoria: Allara Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 978-0-85887-024-6.
- Nicholls, Bob (1988). The Colonial Volunteers: The Defence Forces of the Australian Colonies 1836–1901. Sydney, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0-04-302003-8.
- Wyatt, Douglas (1990). A Lion in the Colony. Hobart, Tasmania: The 6th Military District Museum. ISBN 0-646-01177-4.