Van Diemen's Land
1852 map of Van Diemen's Land
Geography
Location	Southern Ocean
Coordinates	42°00′S, 147°00′E
Area	68,401 km2 (26,410 sq mi). The Southern Ocean, also known as the Great Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Ocean and the South Polar Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile.
Highest point	Mount Ossa 1,614 m (5,295 ft)
Administration
United Kingdom
Largest city	Hobart Town
Demographics
Population	40,000 (as of 1855)
Indigenous people	Tasmanian Aborigines

1663 map of Van Diemen's Land, showing the parts discovered by Tasman, including Storm Bay, Maria Island and Schouten Island. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. The Tasmanian Aborigines ( Aboriginal name Palawa) are the indigenous people of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Storm Bay is a large bay in the south-east of Tasmania, Australia. Maria Island is a mountainous island off the east coast of Tasmania. Schouten Island is a 34 km2 island in eastern Tasmania, Australia.

Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. Tasmania is an Australian island and state of the same name It is located south of the eastern side of the Continent, being separated from it by Bass For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to explore Tasmania. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Abel Janszoon Tasman ( 1603 - October 10 1659) was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and Merchant. He named the island Anthoonij van Diemenslandt in honour of Anthony van Diemen, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies who had sent Tasman on his voyage of discovery in 1642. Anthony van Diemen (also Antonie, Antonio, Anton, Antonius) ( Culemborg, 1593&ndash Batavia, 19 April 1645 The Dutch East India Company ( Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC in old-spelling Dutch, literally "United East Indian

In 1803, the island was colonised by the British as a penal colony with the name Van Diemen's Land, and became part of the British colony of New South Wales. The British Empire was the largest empire in history and for over a century was the foremost global power. A penal colony is a Settlement used to detain Prisoners and generally use them for Penal labour in an economically underdeveloped part of the state's In 1824, Van Diemen's Land became a colony in its own right. In 1856 the colony was granted responsible self-government with its own representative parliament, and the name of the island and colony were changed to Tasmania. Responsible government is a conception of a System of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster Tasmania is an Australian island and state of the same name It is located south of the eastern side of the Continent, being separated from it by Bass

Penal colony

• Main articles: - Port Arthur, Tasmania, Convicts on the West Coast of Tasmania

From the 1830s to the abolition of penal transportation (known simply as "transportation") in 1853, Van Diemen's Land was the primary penal colony in Australia. Port Arthur is a small town and former convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, in Tasmania, Australia. The West Coast of Tasmania has a significant convict heritage Transportation or penal transportation refers to the deporting of Convicted Criminals to a Penal colony, for example by France Following the suspension of transportation to New South Wales, all transported convicts were sent to in Van Diemen's Land. In total, some 75,000 convicts were transported to Van Diemen's Land, or about 40% of all convicts sent to Australia.

Male convicts served their sentences as assigned labour to free settlers or in gangs assigned to public works. Only the most difficult convicts were sent to the Tasman Peninsula prison known as Port Arthur, mostly re-offenders. Tasman Peninsula is located around 75 km by road south-east of Hobart, at the south east corner of Tasmania, Australia. Port Arthur is a small town and former convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, in Tasmania, Australia.

Female convicts were assigned as servants in free settler households or sent to a female factory (women's workhouse prison). Female factories were prison workhouses for women convicts transported to Australia during the time when some states were a Penal colony. There were five female factories in Van Diemen's Land.

Convicts completing their sentence or earning their ticket-of-leave often promptly left Van Diemen's Land. Many settled in the new free colony of Victoria, to the disgust of the free settlers in towns such as Melbourne. Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3

Tensions sometimes ran high between the settlers and the "Vandemonians" as they were termed, particularly during the Victorian gold rush when a flood of settlers from Van Diemen's Land rushed to the Victorian gold fields. The Victorian Gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s

Complaints from Victorians about recently released convicts from Van Diemen's Land re-offending in Victoria was one of the contributing reasons for the eventual abolition of transportation to Van Diemen's Land in 1853.

The name

Anthony Trollope used the term Vandemonian ^[1]: -

They are (the Vandemonians) united in their delcaration that the cessation of the coming of convicts has been their ruin

Eventually, in order to remove the unsavoury connotations with crime associated with its name (and its homophonic connection to "demon"), in 1856 Van Diemen's Land was renamed Tasmania in honour of Abel Tasman. Anthony Trollope (April 24 1815 – December 6 1882 became one of the most successful prolific and respected English Novelists of the Victorian era. The last penal settlement in Tasmania at Port Arthur finally closed in 1877^[2]. Port Arthur is a small town and former convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, in Tasmania, Australia.

The term is not used much, but in a review of a new book of the era the Australian newspaper chose the title of the review as Vandemonian vanity^[3]

Popular culture

Music

• Van Diemen's Land is mentioned in the Australian folk song "The Wild Colonial Boy".
• Van Diemen's Land is often mentioned in the works of Flogging Molly, such as in the song "Every Dog Has Its Day. Flogging Molly is a seven-piece Irish American Celtic punk band that formed in Los Angeles California and is currently signed to SideOneDummy "
• Among the Irish folk songs that mention Van Diemen's Land are "The Black Velvet Band", "Back Home in Derry", and "Van Diemen's Land". "The Black Velvet Band" (Roud number 2146 is a traditional Irish folk song describing transportation to Australia, a common punishment
• "Van Diemen's Land", also known as "The Gallant Poachers", is a traditional English folk song, and also a traditional Scottish one as well. The Folk Music of England has a long history. History Little survives of the early music of England by which is meant the music that was used by the people before
• Steeleye Span does a rendition of the traditional English folk song on their album They Called Her Babylon
• "Van Diemen's Land" is the title of the second track from the rock band U2's album Rattle and Hum. Steeleye Span is a British Electric folk band formed in 1969 and remaining active today They Called Her Babylon is an album by the Electric folk band Steeleye Span. Rattle and Hum is the name of both an album and its companion motion picture recorded by Irish rock band U2, released in 1988 The lyrics were written and sung by The Edge. David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961 in Barking, East London) more widely known by his Moniker The Edge, is a Musician known best The song is dedicated to a Fenian poet named John Boyle O'Reilly, who was deported to Australia because of his poetry ^[4]. John Boyle O'Reilly ( 28 June 1844 – 10 August 1890) was an Irish -born poet and novelist
• The chorus to the English folk song "Maggie May" says "They've sent you to Van Diemen's cruel shore. For the musical inspired by the song see Maggie May (musical " Maggie May " is a traditional Liverpool folk song ( "
• Van Diemen's Land is the subject of the Irish song, "Back home in Derry". The music was written by Canadian song writer Gordon Lightfoot and the lyrics by the famous Irish Republican Bobby Sands. Gordon Meredith Lightfoot Jr, (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer and songwriter who achieved international success in folk country and Irish republicanism (Poblachtánachas is an ideology based on the Irish nationalist belief that all of Ireland should be a single independent Republic Robert Gerard Sands (Roibeard Gearóid Ó Seachnasaigh commonly known as Bobby Sands, (9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981 was a Provisional Irish Republican Army It is most famously sung by the Irish bard Christy Moore. Christopher Andrew 'Christy' Moore (born 7 May 1945 in Newbridge County Kildare, Ireland is a popular Irish Folk singer, songwriter and Guitarist.
• Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band record a version of "Van Diemen's Land" in No Roses (1971)
• Carla Bruni sings the poem 'If You Were Coming In The Fall', by Emily Dickinson on her album No Promises. No Roses is an album by Shirley Collins and the Albion Country Band. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (born Carla Gilberta Bruni Tedeschi, 23 December 1967 is an Italian-born naturalized French songwriter singer and former model. No Promises is the second album by the Italian-French singer and model Carla Bruni. The song includes a reference to Van Diemen's land "subtracting till my fingers dropped; into Van Diemen's Land".
• Dropkick Murphys also mentions Van Diemen's Land in their song "Black Velvet Band" off of their album "Blackout"

Literature

• Van Diemen's Land is the setting of Gould's Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish by Richard Flanagan (published 2002), which tells the story of a man who is transported to the island, and runs afoul of the local (and rather insane) authorities. Dropkick Murphys are a Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts, U Gould's Book of Fish is a 2001 novel by Richard Flanagan, based on the history of the Macquarie Harbour Penal Station on the West Coast of Tasmania Richard Flanagan (born 1961 is an author historian and film director from Tasmania, Australia.
• In Cormac McCarthy's novel Blood Meridian, one of the characters in the Glanton Gang of scalpers in 1850s Mexico is a "Vandiemenlander" named Bathcat. Cormac McCarthy, born Charles McCarthy (born July 20, 1933 in Providence Rhode Island) is an American Novelist and Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West is a 1985 Western Novel by American author Cormac McCarthy. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. Born in Wales he later went to Australia to hunt aborigines, and eventually came to Mexico, where he used those skills on the Apaches.
• Van Diemen's Land is mentioned in Edgar Allan Poe's book Narrative of A. Gordon Pym. Edgar Allan Poe (January 19 1809 – October 7 1849 was an American poet, short-story Writer, editor and Literary critic, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket is Edgar Allan Poe 's only complete Novel, published in 1838. The main character stops at this island on his way to the South Pole.
• Van Diemen's Land is mentioned in Umberto Eco's novel "The Island of the Day Before" ("L'isola del giorno prima", 1994), a story about a 17th century Italian nobleman trapped at an island at the International Date Line. Umberto Eco (born 5 January 1932 is an Italian Medievalist, semiotician, Philosopher, literary critic and Novelist, best The Island of the Day Before ( L'isola del giorno prima) is a 1994 Novel by Umberto Eco.
• Van Diemen's Land is mentioned in Emily Dickinson's "If You Were Coming in the Fall"
• From "The Potato Factory" by Bryce Courtenay (1995): ". Bryce Courtenay (born 14 August, 1933) is a South African Novelist born in Johannesburg. . . subtracting till my fingers dropped; into Van Diemen's Land. " This is a quote from Emily Dickinson's Poem "If You Were Coming In The Fall".
• In Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (1726), the country of Lilliput is described as being “to the north-west of Van Dieman's Land” [sic].
• In the novel The Convicts by Iain Lawrence, young Tom Tin is sent to Van Diemen's Land on charges of murder
• Van Dieman's Land is mentioned in James De Mille's A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder. DeMilleHeadstonepng|thumb|180px|De Mille's humble headstone in Camp Hill Cemetery A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder is the most popular book by James De Mille. The manuscript spoken of in the title has been written by British sailor who lost his way after conveying convicts to Van Dieman's Land.
• In the novel The Terror by Dan Simmons (2007). Dan Simmons (born April 4, 1948 in Peoria, Illinois) is an American Author most widely known for his Hugo Award In this novel about the ill fated exploration by HMS Erebus and HMS Terror to discover the Northwest Passage. Ross expedition After two years service in the Mediterranean Sea, Erebus was refitted as an exploration vessel for Antarctic service and on November War service Terror saw service in the War of 1812 against the United States. The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago The ships left England in May 1846 and were never heard from again, although since then much has been discovered about the fate of the 129 officers and crew. References are made to Van Diemen's Land during the chapters devoted to Francis Crozier. Francis Rawdon Moira Crozier (September 1796&ndash1848? was born in the Kingdom of Ireland and was a British naval officer who participated in six exploratory expeditions
• Van Dieman's Land is mentioned in Peter Carey's book, True History of the Kelly Gang, as a place the Kelly parents suffered on their way to the Colony of Victoria. Peter Carey may refer to Peter Carey (footballer, Australian rules player for Glenelg Peter Carey (historian, British historian of south-east True History of the Kelly Gang is a historical novel by Australian writer Peter Carey.
• Van Dieman's Land is the setting of the novel English Passengers by Matthew Kneale (2000), which tells the story of 3 eccentric English men who in 1857 set sail for the island in search of the Garden of Eden. English Passengers (ISBN 0-385-49744-X is a 2000 Historical novel written by Matthew Kneale, which won that year's Whitbread Book Award Matthew Kneale (born November 24, 1960) is a British writer best known for his 2000 novel English Passengers, which won the prestigious The story runs parallel with the narrative of a young Tasmanian who tells the struggle of the indegenous population and the desperate battle against the invading British colonists.

External links

• Constitution Act 1855, establishing an elected parliament in the colony

See also

• Governors of Tasmania

Notes

1. ^ quoted by Patsy Adam Smith p. The Governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia. 248 of Smith, Patsy Adam and Woodberry, Joan (1977)Historic Tasmania Sketchbook Rigby ISBN 0727002864
2. ^ Australian Government, National Heritage site. Port Arthur Historic Site
3. ^ Pybus, Cassandra (2008) review of Van Diemans Land by James Boyce - page 19 of the Australian Literary Review 2nd April 2008
4. ^ From the liner notes on the U2 album "Rattle and Hum"

References

• Alexander, Alison (editor) (2005)The Companion to Tasmanian HistoryCentre for Tasmanian Historical Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart. The Companion to Tasmanian History was a book produced in 2005 by the Centre for Tasmanian Historical Studies at the University of Tasmania, in conjunction with the ISBN 186295223X.
• Robson, L. L. (1983) A history of Tasmania. Volume 1. Van Diemen's Land from the earliest times to 1855Melbourne, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195543645.
• Robson, L. L. (1991) A history of Tasmania. Volume II. Colony and state from 1856 to the 1980s Melbourne, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195530314.