This captivating work charts the history of Tasmania from the arrival of European maritime expeditions in the late eighteenth century, through to the modern day. By presenting the perspectives of both Indigenous Tasmanians and British settlers, author Henry Reynolds provides an original and engaging exploration of these first fraught encounters. Utilising key themes to bind his narrative, Reynolds explores how geography created a unique economic and migratory history for Tasmania, quite separate from the mainland experience. He offers an astute analysis of the island's economic and demographic reality, by noting that this facilitated the survival of a rich heritage of colonial architecture unique in Australia, and allowed the resident population to foster a powerful web of kinship. Reynolds' remarkable capacity to empathise with the characters of his chronicle makes this a powerful, engaging and moving account of Tasmania's unique position within Australian history.

James Fenton (1820-1901) was born in Ireland and emigrated to Tasmania (then known as Van Diemen's Land) with his family in 1833. He became a pioneer settler in an area on the Forth River and published this history of the island in 1884. The book begins with the discovery of the island in 1642 and concludes with the deaths of some significant public figures in the colony in 1884. The establishment of the colony on the island, and the involvement of convicts in its building, is documented. A chapter on the native aborigines gives a fascinating insight into the attitudes of the colonising people, and a detailed account of the removal of the native Tasmanians to Flinders Island, in an effort to separate them from the colonists. The book also contains portraits of some aboriginal people, as well as a glossary of their language.

This work presents an incredible history of Tasmania, an island state of Australia. The writer discusses the life of natives, their origin and exile, the various conflicts and crimes on this land, etc. Moreover, it includes an in-depth study of the place after colonies were formed and many immigrants came for business. A must-read for history enthusiasts.

This is the first detailed examination of land alienation and land use by white settlers in an Australian colony. It treats the first decades of settlement in Van Diemen's Land, encompassing the effects of the European invasion on Aboriginal society, the early history of environmental degradation, the island's society history and the growth of primary industry. The book presents vivid insights into nineteenth-century society, where wool was so useless that it was burnt, and farmers lived in fear of bushrangers and Aborigines. We see how individuals were constrained by the rigid expectations of race, class and gender in a society where no white man ever stood trial for rape or murder of a black. Drawing on contemporary diaries and letters, as well as government statistics, manuals for intending settlers and newspaper reports, Sharon Morgan has built up a comprehensive picture of the significance of landscape and land use in early colonial society.

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