Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 09.djvu/313

TASMANIA 261 TASMANIA miles; area, 26,215 square miles; pop. (est. 1919), 270,881. The capital is Ho- bart on the S. coast; pop. with suburbs (1919), 40,352. Topography. — The island may be roughly described as heart-shaped. The coasts, which are all much broken and in- dented, have some excellent harbors. The islands belonging to Tasmania are numerous, the principal being the Fur- neaux group, on the N. E. extremity. Tasmania is traversed by numerous mountain ranges, the chief summits of which are Mount Humboldt, 5,520 feet; Mount Wellington, 4,195 feet; and Ben Lomond, 5,002 feet. The prevailing rocks are crystalline, consisting of basalt, gran- ite, gneiss, quartz, etc. The chief rivers are the Derwent the Huon, the Arthur, and the Tamar. The chief lake is Lake Westmoreland, which covers an area of 28,000 acres; Lake Sorell, 17,000 acres; Lake St. Clair, 10,000 acres. Climate. — The climate is very mild. Mount Wellington is frequently cov- ered with snow in the summer months; but at Hobart, in its immediate vicinity, snow never falls. In December, January and February, the summer months, dur- ing which there is little rain, the average temperature is 62°, extreme 100° to 110°. The mean temperature throughout the year is about 55°. 4. The average rain- fall is about 24.05 inches. Agriculture. — Much of the soil of Tas- mania is well adapted for cultivation. Wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, peas, beans and hops are largely cultivated, and the fruit includes grapes, cherries, plums, quinces, mulberries, peaches, apricots, walnuts, filberts, almonds, etc. Fruit- preserving forms an important industry. Zoology. — Kangaroos and other herbi- vorous animals of the pouched kind are numerous. There are two marsupial carnivorous animals called the Tasmani- an wolf and the Tasmanian devil, both of which are destructive to sheep. The natural forests are chiefly of the eucal- yptus or gum tree, pine, and acacia tribe. Mineralogy. — Among the minerals are gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, coal, free- stone, limestone, and roofing slate. Smelting works have been erected at Ho- bart for the iron which abounds in that district. Commerce. — The staple export from Tasmania is wool, and the other articles include gold, tin, timber, grain, fruit, hides and bark. In jam, hops, hides and skins, 1917-1918 the exports were valued at £1,459,748. Principal minerals pro- duced in 1918: Gold, 10,529 ounces; silver-lead, 7,241 tons; copper, about 6,000 tons; coal, 60,163 tons. Revenue, 1917-1918, £1,503,047; expenditures, £1,- 459,748. Government. — The colony is divided into 18 counties, which are again subdi- vided into parishes. Another division is into electoral districts for returning members to the legislative council and house of assembly. The constitution is settled by the Act 18 Victoria (1854), supplemented by acts passed in 1871 and 1885, by which are constituted a legisla- tive council and house of assembly, called the Parliament of Tasmania. The legis- lative council is composed of 18 members, and the house of assembly of 36 mem- bers, the latter being elected for five years. The governor is appointed by the crown, and he has a responsible cabinet of four ofiicial members, the colonial secretary, treasurer, attorney-general, and minister of land and works. Religion. — The majority of the colon- ists belong to the Church of England, Roman Catholics, Methodists and Pres- byterians ranking next in the order named. Education is compulsory, and the higher education is under a council, who hold examinations and grant de- grees. In 1918 there were 486 element- ary and 16 high schools. History. — Tasmania was discovered in 1642 by Abel Janszoon Tasman, who named it after Van Diemen, the gover- nor of the Dutch East Indies. It was visited by Cook in 1769, and during the next 20 years by various navigators. In 1797 Bass discovered the strait which has been called after him. The first settle- ment was made in 1803 by a guard with a body of convicts, who settled at Rest- down, but afterward removed to the site now occupied by Hobart. The develop- ment of the country made slow progress till the land was divided into small allot- ments and farming stock and government pensions reckoned as capital. Convict labor was supplied, and at a very mod- erate expense farms were cleared for cul- tivation. Sheep, cattle, and horses were introduced, and the raising of stock has always been carried on with great suc- cess. Till 1824 Tasmania was a depen- dency of New South Wales, but in that year it was made an independent colony. For a series of years the prosperity of the colony was retarded by the hostility of the natives and the depredations of escaped convicts, known by the name of bush-rangers. The aborigines have ceased to exist, in 1853 transportation was abolished, and about the same time the name of Tasmania was officially adopted on the petition of the colonists. When gold was discovered in Australia in 1851, a rapid emigration from Tasma- nia to Australia began to take place.