Cornwall Land District is one of the twenty land districts of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

which are part of the

Cadastral divisions of Tasmania A cadastre or cadaster is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represented graphically in a ca ...

. It contains most of Launceston. It was formerly Cornwall County, one of the 18 counties of Tasmania and one of the first eleven proclaimed in 1836. It was named after the then southwestern county of England. An earlier Cornwall County existed from 24 September 1804 until 4 February 1813 as an administrative division whilst

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania used by the British during the European exploration of Australia in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a sepa ...

was administered as two units. It was defined as all of Van Diemen's Land north of the 42nd parallel (now between

Trial Harbour Trial Harbour is a rural locality in the local government area (LGA) of West Coast in the North-west and west LGA region of Tasmania. The locality is about south-west of the town of Zeehan. The 2016 census has a population of 24 for the state ...

and Friendly Beaches), and governed by William Paterson. Buckingham County occupied the remainder of the island. It is bordered to the north by the

North Esk River The North Esk River is a major perennial river located in the northern region of Tasmania, Australia. Location and features It is one of the tributaries of the Tamar River together with the South Esk River. It starts in the Northallerton Valle ...

, and to the south by the

South Esk River The South Esk River, the longest river in Tasmania, is a major perennial river located in the northern region of Tasmania, Australia. Location and features The South Esk springs from the eastern foothills of the Ben Lomond plateau near Mathinn ...

. While most of Launceston is in it, it does not include suburbs to the north of the North Esk such as Mayfield which is in Dorset; and suburbs to the west of the South Esk such as

Trevallyn Trevallyn may refer to: * Trevallyn, Gauteng, South Africa * Trevallyn, Tasmania Trevallyn is a residential locality in the local government areas (LGAs) of Launceston (25%) and West Tamar (75%) in the Launceston LGA region of Tasmania. The ...

, which is in Devon. It goes east to the Tasman Sea, including St Helens and St Marys. The

1911 Encyclopædia Britannica A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

mentions Launceston as being in the county. There was, until 1999, a state

electoral division of Cornwall The electoral division of Cornwall was an electoral division in the Tasmanian Legislative Council of Australia. It was abolished in 1999 after the Legislative Council was reduced from 19 members to 15. The former division was located on the west ...

occupying a similar area to the district.

The original parishes

On 15 January 1836 George Arthur, the Lieutenant Governor of the Island of

proclaimed, via

The Hobart Town Courier ''The Courier'' is a newspaper founded in 1827 in Hobart, Tasmania, as ''The Hobart Town Courier''. It changed its name to ''The Hobart Town Courier and Van Diemen's Land Advertiser'' in 1839, settling on ''The Courier'' in 1840. By 1830 the n ...

, the first counties and parishes to be surveyed in the colony.

The County of Cornwall, bounded on the north by the river North Esk, and by a line connecting that river with George's river and by George's river; on the east by the Pacific ocean ; on the south by the South Esk river and by St. Paul's river, and by an eastline from the head of St. Paul's river to the sea coast, and on the west by the South Esk. This county to include all islands situate between the mouth of George's river and the south extremity of the county.

Hundreds and parishes proclaimed at this time were: *The hundred of Launceston **Launceston parish **Braedalbane (later corrected to ''Breadalbane'') **Perth **Evandale *The hundred of Lymington **Lymington **Deddington **Beverley **''another parish at present unnamed'' *The hundred of Avoca **Avoca **Trefusis **St. Aubyn **Malvern The townships of Launceston, Hadspen,

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Avoca (portion of) were delimited in the same proclamation.

References

{{Reflist Land Districts of Tasmania