Hobart nipaluna (Southeast Tasmanian) Tasmania
City Centre and surrounds General Post Office Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery Salamanca Place Parliament House Panorama; Tasman Bridge, River Derwent, kunanyi / Mount Wellington
Hobart
Coordinates	42°52′50″S 147°19′30″E / 42.88056°S 147.32500°E / -42.88056; 147.32500
Population	252,639 (2023)[1] (11th)
• Density	145.7/km2 (377/sq mi) (2021)[2]
Established	20 February 1804 (1804-02-20)[3]
Elevation	17 m (56 ft)
Area	1,758.8 km2 (679.1 sq mi) (metropolitan)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10)
• Summer (DST)	AEDT State: Tasmania. (UTC+11)
Location	38 km (24 mi) from Huonville 134 km (83 mi) from Swansea 198 km (123 mi) from Launceston 248 km (154 mi) from Queenstown 284 km (176 mi) from Devonport
LGA(s)	Cities City of Hobart City of Glenorchy City of Clarence Other LGAs Kingborough Council[N 1] Brighton Council Sorell Council Derwent Valley Council[N 2]
State electorate(s)	Clark Franklin Lyons
Federal division(s)	Clark Franklin Lyons
Mean max temp[4] Mean min temp[4] Annual rainfall[4] 17.6 °C 64 °F 9.0 °C 48 °F 565.3 mm 22.3 in

Hobart (/ˈhoʊbɑːrt/ ^ⓘ HOH-bart;^[5] Nuennonne/palawa kani: nipaluna) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia.^[6] Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly half of Tasmania's population, Hobart is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-smallest by area after Darwin if territories are taken into account.^[2] Its skyline is dominated by the 1,271-metre (4,170 ft) kunanyi / Mount Wellington,^[7] and its harbour forms the second-deepest natural port in the world,^[8] with much of the city's waterfront consisting of reclaimed land.^[9] The metropolitan area is often referred to as Greater Hobart, to differentiate it from the City of Hobart, one of the seven local government areas that cover the city.^{[2] [10]} It has a mild maritime climate.

The city lies on country which was known by the local Mouheneener people as nipaluna, a name which includes surrounding features such as kunanyi / Mount Wellington and timtumili minanya (River Derwent).^[11] Prior to British settlement, the land had been occupied for possibly as long as 35,000 years^[12] by Aboriginal Tasmanians.^[13]

Founded in 1804 as a British penal colony,^[14] Hobart is Australia's second-oldest capital city after Sydney, New South Wales. Whaling quickly emerged as a major industry in the area, and for a time Hobart served as the Southern Ocean's main whaling port. Penal transportation ended in the 1850s, after which the city experienced periods of growth and decline. The early 20th century saw an economic boom on the back of mining, agriculture and other primary industries, and the loss of men who served in the world wars was counteracted by an influx of immigration.^[15] Despite the rise in migration from Asia and other non-English speaking regions, Hobart's population remains predominantly ethnically Anglo-Celtic, and has the highest percentage of Australian-born residents among Australia's capital cities.^[16]

Today, Hobart is the financial and administrative hub of Tasmania, serving as the home port for both Australian and French Antarctic operations and acting as a tourist destination, with over 1.192 million visitors in 2011–12,^[17] and 924,000 during 2022–23.^[18] Well-known drawcards include its convict-era architecture, Salamanca Market and the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), the Southern Hemisphere's largest private museum.

History

The first European settlement began in 1803 as a military camp at Risdon Cove on the eastern shores of the River Derwent, amid British concerns over the presence of French explorers. In 1804, along with the military, settlers and convicts from the abandoned Port Phillip settlement, the camp at Risdon Cove was moved by Captain David Collins to a better location at the present site of Hobart at Sullivans Cove. The city, initially known as Hobart Town or Hobarton, was named after Lord Hobart, the British Secretary of State for war and the colonies.

The area's indigenous inhabitants were members of the semi-nomadic Mouheneener tribe.^[19] Violent conflict with the European settlers, and the effects of diseases brought by them, dramatically reduced 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 The 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."

The River Derwent was one of Australia's finest deepwater ports and was the centre of South Seas whaling and sealing trades. The settlement rapidly grew into a major port, with allied industries such as shipbuilding.

Hobart Town became a city on 21 August 1842, and was renamed Hobart from the beginning of 1881.^[20]

On 7 September 1936, one of the last known surviving thylacines died at the Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart.^[21]

During the mid 20th century, the state and local governments invested in building Hobart's reputation as a tourist attraction - in 1956 the Lanherne Airport (now Hobart International Airport) was opened. Australia's first legal casino, Wrest Point Hotel Casino, opened in 1973. Despite these successes, Hobart faced significant challenges during the 20th century, including the 1967 Tasmanian fires, which claimed 64 lives in Hobart itself and destroyed over 1200 homes,^[22][23] and the 1975 Tasman Bridge disaster, when a bulk ore carrier collided with and destroyed the concrete span bridge that connected the city to its eastern suburbs.

In the 21st century, Hobart benefited as Tasmania's economy recovered from the 1990s recession, and the city's long-stagnant population growth began to reverse.^[24] A period of significant growth has followed, including the redevelopment of the former Macquarie Point railyards, Parliament Square, and new hotel developments throughout the city.^[25]

Geography

Topography

Hobart is located on the estuary of the River Derwent in the state's south-east. It is built predominantly on Jurassic dolerite around the foothills interspersed with smaller areas of Triassic siltstone and Permian mudstone, straddling the River Derwent. The western side extends from the Derwent valley in the north through the flatter areas of Glenorchy (which rests on older Triassic sediment). and into the hilly areas of New Town, Lenah Valley. Both of these areas rest on the younger Jurassic dolerite deposits, before stretching into the lower areas such as the beaches of Sandy Bay in the south, in the Derwent estuary. South of the Derwent estuary lie Storm Bay and the Tasman Peninsula.

The Eastern Shore also extends from the Derwent valley in a southerly direction hugging the Meehan Range in the east before sprawling into flatter land in suburbs such as Bellerive. These flatter areas of the eastern shore rest on far younger Quaternary deposits. From there the city extends in an easterly direction through the Meehan Range into the hilly areas of Rokeby and Oakdowns, before reaching into the tidal flatland area of Lauderdale.

Hobart has access to a number of beach areas including those in the Derwent estuary itself; Long Beach, Nutgrove Beach, Bellerive Beach, Cornelian Bay, Kingston, and Howrah Beaches, as well as many more in Frederick Henry Bay such as Seven Mile, Roaches, Cremorne, Clifton, and Goats Beaches.

Climate

Hobart has a mild temperate oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb).^[26] The highest temperature recorded was 41.8 °C (107.2 °F) on 4 January 2013 and the lowest was −2.8 °C (27.0 °F) on 25 June 1972 and 11 July 1981.^[4] Annually, Hobart receives only 40.8 clear days without rain. Compared to other major Australian cities, Hobart has the fewest daily average hours of sunshine, with only 5.9 hours per day.^[27] However, during the summer it has the same hours of daylight of any Australian city, with 15.3 hours on the summer solstice.^[28] By global standards, Hobart has cool summers and mild winters for its latitude, being heavily influenced by its seaside location. Nevertheless, the strong northerly winds from the Australian outback ensure that Hobart experiences temperatures above 35 °C (95 °F) in most years.^[29] Those temperatures are very warm compared to climates on higher latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere with similar summer averages. Light air frost occasionally happens, albeit not every year.^[29]

Although Hobart itself rarely receives snow during the winter due to the foehn effect created by the Central Highlands (the city's geographic position causes a rain shadow), the adjacent kunanyi / Mount Wellington is frequently seen with a snowcap throughout the year. During the 20th century, the city itself has received snowfalls at sea level on average only once every 5 years; however, outer suburbs lying higher on the slopes of Mount Wellington receive snow more often, owing to the more exposed position coupled with them resting at higher altitude. These snow-bearing winds often carry on through Tasmania and Victoria to the Snowy Mountains in Victoria and southern New South Wales. Nevertheless, sleet can occur in Hobart during the peak Tasmanian snow season (typically defined as being between May to September, with the most snowfalls in July and August).

Average sea temperatures range from 12.5 °C (54.5 °F) in September to 16.5 °C (61.7 °F) in February.^[30]