Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
used by the British during the
European exploration of Australia
The European exploration of Australia first began in February 1606, when Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon landed in Cape York Peninsula and on October that year when Spanish explorer Luís Vaz de Torres sailed through, and navigated, Torres Strai ...
in the 19th century. A British settlement was established in Van Diemen's Land in 1803 before it became a separate colony in 1825. Its
penal colonies became notorious destinations for the
transportation of convicts due to the harsh environment, isolation and reputation for being inescapable.
Macquarie Harbour
Macquarie Harbour is a shallow fjord in the West Coast region of Tasmania, Australia. It is approximately , and has an average depth of , with deeper places up to . It is navigable by shallow-draft vessels. The main channel is kept clear by th ...
and
Port Arthur are among the most well-known penal settlements on the island.
With the passing of the
Australian Constitutions Act 1850
The Australian Constitutions Act 1850, or the Australian Colonies Government Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which was enacted to formally established the Colony of Victoria by separating the District of Port Phillip fro ...
, Van Diemen's Land (along with
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, and
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
) was granted
responsible self-government with its own elected representative and parliament. On 1 January 1856, the colony of Van Diemen's Land was officially changed to Tasmania. The last penal settlement was closed in Tasmania in 1877.
Toponym
The island was named in honour of
Anthony van Diemen
Anthony van Diemen (also ''Antonie'', ''Antonio'', ''Anton'', ''Antonius'') (1593 – 19 April 1645) was a Dutch colonial governor.
Early life
He was born in Culemborg in the Netherlands, the son of Meeus Anthonisz van Diemen and Christina Hoe ...
,
Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
The governor-general of the Dutch East Indies ( nl, gouverneur-generaal van Nederlands Indië) represented Dutch rule in the Dutch East Indies between 1610 and Dutch recognition of the independence of Indonesia in 1949. Occupied by Japanese fo ...
who had sent the Dutch explorer
Abel Tasman
Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first known European explorer to reach New Z ...
on his voyage of discovery in the 1640s. In 1642 Tasman became the first known European to land on the shores of Tasmania. After landing at
Blackman Bay and later raising the Dutch flag at North Bay, Tasman named the island ''Anthoonij van Diemenslandt'' (Anthony Van Diemen's land) in his patron's honour.
The
demonym
A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...
for inhabitants of Van Diemen's Land was "Van Diemonian", though contemporaries used the spelling "Vandemonian".
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...
used the latter term; "They are (the Vandemonians) united in their declaration that the cessation of the coming of convicts has been their ruin."
In 1856, Van Diemen's Land was renamed ''
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
''; removing the unsavoury link the name Van Diemen's Land had with its penal settlements (and the "
demon
A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, ani ...
" connotation). Tasmania was chosen as it honoured the explorer Abel Tasman, the first European to visit the island. Within 21 years the last penal settlement in Tasmania at
Port Arthur was permanently closed in 1877.
History
Exploration
![Tasmania 1644](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Tasmania_1644.png)
Between 1772 and 1798, recorded European visits were only to the southeastern portion of the island and it was not known to be an island until
Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...
and
George Bass
George Bass (; 30 January 1771 – after 5 February 1803) was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia.
Early years
Bass was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George ...
circumnavigated it in the sloop in 1798–1799.
In 1773,
Tobias Furneaux
Captain Tobias Furneaux (21 August 173518 September 1781) was an English navigator and Royal Navy officer, who accompanied James Cook on his second voyage of exploration. He was one of the first men to circumnavigate the world in both directions ...
in , explored a great part of the south and east coasts of Van Diemen's Land and made the earliest British chart of the island. He discovered the opening to
D'Entrecasteaux Channel
The D'Entrecasteaux Channel is a body of water located between Bruny Island and the south-east of the mainland of Tasmania, Australia. The channel is the mouth for the estuaries of the Derwent and the Huon Rivers and empties into the Tasman S ...
and, at
Bruny Island
Bruny Island ( Nuenonne: Lunawanna-alonnah) is a island located off the south-eastern coast of Tasmania, Australia. The island is separated from the Tasmanian mainland by the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, and its east coast lies within the Tasman S ...
, named
Adventure Bay for his ship.
In 1777,
James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
took on water and wood in Tasmania and became cursorily acquainted with some aborigines on his third voyage of discovery. Cook named the
Furneaux Group
The Furneaux Group is a group of approximately 100 islands located at the eastern end of Bass Strait, between Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. The islands were named after British navigator Tobias Furneaux, who sighted the eastern side of th ...
of islands at the eastern entrance to
Bass Strait
Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...
and the group now known as the
Low Archipelago.
From at least the settlement of
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, sealers and whalers operated in the surrounding waters and explored parts.
In January 1793, a French expedition under the command of
Antoine Bruni d'Entrecasteaux
Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni, chevalier d'Entrecasteaux () (8 November 1737 – 21 July 1793) was a French naval officer, explorer and colonial governor. He is perhaps best known for his exploration of the Australian coast in 1792, while ...
anchored in
Recherche Bay
Recherche Bay ( ) is an oceanic embayment, part of which is listed on the National Heritage Register, located on the extreme south-eastern corner of Tasmania, Australia. It was a landing place of the d’Entrecasteaux expedition to find missin ...
and a period of five weeks was spent in that area, carrying out explorations into both
natural history and
geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
. A few months later, British East India Company Captain John Hayes, with the ships ''Duke of Clarence'' and ''Duchess'', resupplied with wood and water at
Adventure Bay and explored and named the Derwent River and many surrounding features.
In 1802 and 1803, the French expedition commanded by
Nicolas Baudin
Nicolas Thomas Baudin (; 17 February 1754 – 16 September 1803) was a French explorer, cartographer, naturalist and hydrographer, most notable for his explorations in Australia and the southern Pacific.
Biography
Early career
Born a comm ...
explored
D'Entrecasteaux Channel
The D'Entrecasteaux Channel is a body of water located between Bruny Island and the south-east of the mainland of Tasmania, Australia. The channel is the mouth for the estuaries of the Derwent and the Huon Rivers and empties into the Tasman S ...
and
Maria Island
Maria Island or 'wukaluwikiwayna' in alawa kani) is a mountainous island located in the Tasman Sea">island.html" ;"title="alawa kani) is a mountainous island">alawa kani) is a mountainous island located in the Tasman Sea, off the east coast of ...
and carried out charting of
Bass Strait
Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...
. Baudin had been associated, like Peyroux, with the resettlement of the
Acadians
The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the des ...
from French Canada – mostly from what is now called the New Brunswick–Nova Scotia area to Louisiana.
Early colonisation
Around 1784–1785,
Henri Peyroux de la Coudrenière Henri Peyroux de la Coudrenière (1743–18??), also spelled Coudrenaire, was a French politician and author who is perhaps best known for his scheme to transport the exiled Acadians from France to Louisiana, from which the people known as Cajuns ar ...
, a serial entrepreneur in colonial schemes, wrote a "memoir on the advantages to be gained for the Spanish crown by the settlement of Van Diemen's Land". After receiving no response from the Spanish government, Peyroux proposed it to the French government, as "Mémoire sur les avantages qui résulteraient d'une colonie puissante à la terre de Diémen" but nothing came of his scheme.
Sealers and whalers based themselves on the Tasmanian islands from 1798.
In August 1803,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
Governor
Philip King sent Lieutenant
John Bowen to establish a small military outpost
on the eastern shore of the
Derwent River to forestall any claims to the island arising from the activities of the French explorers.
From 24 September 1804 until 4 February 1813 there were two administrative divisions in Van Diemen's Land,
Cornwall County in the north and
Buckingham County in the south. The border between the counties was defined as 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). Cornwall County was administered by
William Paterson while Buckingham County was administered by
David Collins David Collins may refer to:
Persons
* David Collins (Hampshire cricketer), 18th-century cricketer
* David Collins (New Zealand cricketer) (1887–1967)
* David Collins (Scottish footballer) (1912–?)
* David Collins (Australian footballer) ( ...
.
Major-General
Ralph Darling
General Sir Ralph Darling, GCH (1772 – 2 April 1858) was a British Army officer who served as Governor of New South Wales from 1825 to 1831. He is popularly described as a tyrant, accused of torturing prisoners and banning theatrical entertain ...
was appointed Governor of New South Wales in 1825, and in the same year he visited
Hobart Town
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/ Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
, and on 3 December proclaimed the establishment of the independent colony, of which he became governor for three days.
In 1856, the colony was granted
responsible self-government with its representative parliament, and the name of the island and colony was officially changed to Tasmania on 1 January 1856.
Penal colony
From the early 1800s to the 1853 abolition of
penal transportation
Penal transportation or transportation was the relocation of convicted criminals, or other persons regarded as undesirable, to a distant place, often a colony, for a specified term; later, specifically established penal colonies became their ...
(known simply as "transportation"), Van Diemen's Land was the primary penal colony in Australia. Following the suspension of transportation to New South Wales, all transported convicts were sent to Van Diemen's Land. In total, some 73,000 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 (mostly re-offenders) were sent to the
Tasman Peninsula
The Tasman Peninsula, officially Turrakana / Tasman Peninsula, is a peninsula located in south-east Tasmania, Australia, approximately by the Arthur Highway, south-east of Hobart.
The Tasman Peninsula lies south and west of Forestier Peninsula ...
prison known as
Port Arthur. Female convicts were assigned as servants in free settler households or sent to a
female factory (women's workhouse prison). There were five female factories in Van Diemen's Land.
Convicts completing their sentences or earning their
ticket-of-leave
A ticket of leave was a document of parole issued to convicts who had shown they could now be trusted with some freedoms. Originally the ticket was issued in Britain and later adapted by the United States, Canada, and Ireland.
Jurisdictions ...
often promptly left Van Diemen's Land. Many settled in the new free colony of
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, to the dismay of the free settlers in towns such as
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
.
On 6 August 1829, the
brig
A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...
, a government-owned vessel used to transport goods, people, and convicts, set sail from Hobart Town for Macquarie Harbour Penal Station on a routine voyage carrying supplies and convicts. While the ship was becalmed in
Recherche Bay
Recherche Bay ( ) is an oceanic embayment, part of which is listed on the National Heritage Register, located on the extreme south-eastern corner of Tasmania, Australia. It was a landing place of the d’Entrecasteaux expedition to find missin ...
, convicts allowed on deck
attacked their guards and took control of the brig. The mutineers marooned officers, soldiers, and convicts who did not join the mutiny without supplies. The convicts then sailed the ''Cyprus'' to
Canton, China, where they scuttled her and claimed to be castaways from another vessel. On the way, ''Cyprus'' visited Japan during the height of the period of
severe Japanese restrictions on the entry of foreigners, the first Australian ship to do so.
Tensions sometimes ran high between the settlers and the "Vandemonians" as they were termed, particularly during the
Victorian gold rush
The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony, and an influx of population growth and financial capita ...
when a flood of settlers from Van Diemen's Land rushed to the Victorian goldfields.
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.
Popular culture
Film
*The 2008 film ''
The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce
''The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce'' is a 2008 Australian-Irish film directed by Michael James Rowland starring Irish actors Adrian Dunbar as Philip Conolly and Ciarán McMenamin as bushranger Alexander Pearce and an ensemble Australian c ...
'' tells the true story of
Alexander Pearce through his final confession to fellow Irishman and colonial priest Philip Conolly. The film was nominated for a Rose d'Or, an
Irish Film and Television Award
The Irish Film & Television Academy (IFTA) is an all-Ireland organisation focused on film and television. It has about 1000 members, and is based in Dublin, with branches in London and Los Angeles. The IFTA now holds separate ceremonies for the ...
, an
Australian Film Institute Award
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industry ...
and won an
IF Award in 2009.
* The 2009 film ''
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 ...
'' follows the story of the infamous Irish convict Alexander Pearce and his escape with seven other convicts.
* The 2011 Australian drama film ''
The Hunter,'' about a shadowy corporation that sends a mercenary to
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
to track down a
thylacine
The thylacine ( , or , also ) (''Thylacinus cynocephalus'') is an extinct carnivorous marsupial that was native to the Australian mainland and the islands of Tasmania and New Guinea. The last known live animal was captured in 1930 in Tasman ...
, a supposedly extinct animal whose genetic code holds the secret to a dangerous weapon.
* The 2013 ABC telemovie ''
The Outlaw Michael Howe
''The Outlaw Michael Howe'' is a 2013 Australian historical drama film written and directed by Brendan Cowell. Set in the early 19th century, the film is based on the exploits of Michael Howe, an Englishman who was transported as a convict to ...
'' is set in Van Diemen's Land and tells the story of bushranger
Michael Howe's convict-led rebellion.
* The 2018 film ''
Black '47'' directed by
Lance Daly
Lance Daly is an Irish film director, screenwriter and producer.
Biography
Daly was born and raised in Dublin. He acted occasionally in his youth, including a role as a harmonica-playing extra in ''The Commitments'' (1991). He studied commu ...
and set in Ireland during the
Great Irish Famine
The Great Famine ( ga, an Gorta Mór ), also known within Ireland as the Great Hunger or simply the Famine and outside Ireland as the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a ...
depicts a judgement imposed on a farmer for theft by a judge in the province of
Connemara
Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speak ...
, which includes six months of hard labor and subsequent penal transportation to Van Diemen's Land.
* The 2018 film ''
The Nightingale'' is set in Van Diemen's Land in 1825 and depicts a female Irish convict taking revenge for the murder of her family by the
colonial forces of Australia
Until Australia became a Federation in 1901, each of the six colonies were responsible for their own defence. From 1788 until 1870 this was done with British regular forces. In all, 24 British infantry regiments served in the Australian colonies ...
as the
Black War
}
The Black War was a period of violent conflict between British Empire, British colonists and Aboriginal Tasmanians in Tasmania from the mid-1820s to 1832. The conflict, fought largely as a guerrilla war by both sides, claimed the lives of 600 ...
breaks out.
Music
*
U2 recorded the song "Van Diemen's Land" for their 1988 album ''
Rattle and Hum
''Rattle and Hum'' is a hybrid live/studio album by Irish Rock music, rock band U2, and a companion rockumentary film directed by Phil Joanou. The album was produced by Jimmy Iovine and was released on 10 October 1988, while the film was distri ...
'', with lyrics expressing the plight of a man facing transportation.
* Tom Russell sets Van Diemen's Land as the ship's destination in his song "Isaac Lewis" on the album "Modern Art".
* In the traditional
Irish folk song "
The Black Velvet Band
"The Black Velvet Band" (Roud number 2146) is a traditional folk song collected from singers in Ireland, Australia, England, Canada and the United States describing how a young man is tricked and then sentenced to transportation to Australia, a ...
", the protagonist is found guilty of stealing a watch and is sent to Van Diemen's Land as punishment.
* The song "Van Diemen's Land" in the album titled "Parcel of Rogues" with vocals by
Barbara Dickson
Barbara Ruth Dickson (born 27 September 1947) is a Scottish singer and actress whose hits include 'I Know Him So Well', 'Answer Me' and 'January February'. Dickson has placed fifteen albums on the UK Albums Chart from 1977 to date, and had a n ...
is about an Irish man caught for poaching and transported to Van Diemen's Land and the hardships he has living there.
*Russell Morris released an album titled "
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 ...
" in Australia in 2014. The title track describes the voyage of a convict being transported to Van Diemen's Land and was released with a video shot in Tasmania.
* The
Roud Folk Song Index
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud (born 1949), a former librarian in the London ...
includes two different English
transportation ballads with the title
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 ...
, both about a poacher sentenced to transportation to the penal colony.
* The album "Fred Holstein: A Collection" includes
Fred Holstein
Fred Holstein (December 9, 1942 – January 12, 2004) was an American folk music singer. Holstein was a prominent figure in the Chicago folk music scene in the 1960s through 1980s. He co owned two clubs in the Old Town and Lincoln Park neighbo ...
's version of the classic folk song "Maggie May" (
Maggie May (folk song)
"Maggie May" (or "Maggie Mae") ( Roud No. 1757) is a traditional Liverpool folk song about a prostitute who robbed a "homeward bounder": a sailor coming home from a round trip.
John Manifold, in his ''Penguin Australian Song Book'', described i ...
, which is different from Rod Stewart's
Maggie May
"Maggie May" is a song co-written by singer Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton, and performed by Rod Stewart on his album ''Every Picture Tells a Story'', released in 1971.
In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the song number 130 on its list of T ...
). In his version, the prostitute and thief Maggie May is transported to "Van Diemen's cruel shore."
Literature
*The novel, ''
The Broad Arrow: Being Passages from the History of Maida Gwynnham, a Lifer'' (published in 1859 in London and in 1860 in Hobart) was written in the penal colony, under the pen name
Oliné Keese.
[Caroline Woolmer Leaky]
, ''Index of Significant Tasmanian Women'', Department of Premier and Cabinet, Government of Tasmania.
*Australian winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature
Patrick White
Patrick Victor Martindale White (28 May 1912 – 30 September 1990) was a British-born Australian writer who published 12 novels, three short-story collections, and eight plays, from 1935 to 1987.
White's fiction employs humour, florid prose, ...
's novel ''
A Fringe of Leaves
''A Fringe of Leaves'' is the tenth published novel by the Australian novelist and 1973 Nobel Prize-winner, Patrick White.
Plot
A young Cornish woman, Ellen Roxburgh, travels to the Australian colony of Van Diemen's Land (now "Tasmania") in ...
'' places much of the novel's beginnings in Van Diemen's Land.
*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 authorities.
*Van Diemen's Land is the setting for Flanagan's novel ''Wanting'' (2008).
*
Brendan Whiting
Brendan Whiting (31 January 1935 – 2 January 2009, Sydney, Australia) was an Australian author and researcher, who wrote non-fiction books.
Whiting was born in Australia, and lost his father during the Second World War when he was 6 years ...
's book ''Victims of Tyranny'', gives an account of the lives of the Irish rebels, the Fitzgerald convict brothers who were sent to help open up the north of Van Diemen's Land in 1805, under the leadership of the explorer
Colonel William Paterson.
*In
Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy (born Charles Joseph McCarthy Jr., July 20, 1933) is an American writer who has written twelve novels, two plays, five screenplays and three short stories, spanning the Western and post-apocalyptic genres. He is known for his gr ...
's novel ''
Blood Meridian
''Blood Meridian or the Evening Redness in the West'' is a 1985 in literature, 1985 Epic (genre), epic novel by American author Cormac McCarthy, classified under the Western (genre), Western, or sometimes the Revisionist Western, anti-Western, g ...
'', one of the characters in the
Glanton Gang John Joel Glanton (1819 – 23 April 1850) was an early settler of Arkansas, a Texas Ranger and noted soldier in the Mexican–American War, and the leader of a notorious gang of scalp-hunters in Northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States d ...
of scalpers in 1850s
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
is a "Vandiemenlander" named Bathcat. Born in
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
he later went to Australia to hunt aborigines, and eventually came to Mexico, where he uses those skills on the
Apache
The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...
s.
*From ''The Potato Factory'' by
Bryce Courtenay (1995), "... 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". Two of the main characters in Cortenay's novel are transported Van Diemen's Land as convicts and another travels there, where around half of the novel takes place.
*In the novel ''The Convicts'' by Iain Lawrence, young Tom Tin is sent to Van Diemen's Land on charges of murder.
*In the novel ''The Terror'' by
Dan Simmons
Dan Simmons (born April 4, 1948) is an American science fiction and horror writer. He is the author of the Hyperion Cantos and the Ilium/Olympos cycles, among other works which span the science fiction, horror, and fantasy genres, sometimes wi ...
(2007). In this novel about the ill-fated exploration by and to discover the
Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arct ...
. 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 (17 October 1796 – disappeared 26 April 1848) was an Irish officer of the Royal Navy and polar explorer who participated in six expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. In May 1845, he was second-in-comman ...
.
*Van Diemen's Land is the setting of the novel ''
English Passengers
''English Passengers'' () is a 2000 historical novel written by Matthew Kneale, which won that year's Whitbread Book Award and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Miles Franklin Award. It is narrated by 20 different characters and ...
'' by
Matthew Kneale
Matthew Kneale (born 24 November 1960) is a British writer. He is best known for his 2000 novel '' English Passengers''.
Life
Kneale was born on 24 November 1960 in London, the son of screenwriter Nigel Kneale, and the children's writer Judith ...
(2000), which tells the story of three eccentric Englishmen who in 1857 set sail for the island in search of the Garden of Eden. The story runs parallel with the narrative of a young Tasmanian who tells the struggle of the indigenous population and the desperate battle against the invading British colonists.
* Christopher Koch's novel ''Out of Ireland'' describes life as a convict in Van Diemen's Land.
* Richard Butler's novel ''The Men That God Forgot'' (1977) is based on the historical events of ten convicts who escaped from Van Diemen's Land to
Valdivia
Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Cau R ...
, Chile in 1833.
* Marcus Clarke used historical events as the basis for his fictional ''
For the Term of his Natural Life
''For the Term of His Natural Life'' is a story written by Marcus Clarke and published in ''The Australian Journal'' between 1870 and 1872 (as ''His Natural Life''). It was published as a novel in 1874 and is the best known novelisation of life ...
'' (1870), the story of a gentleman, falsely convicted of murder, who is transported to Van Diemen's Land.
*
Julian Stockwin
Julian Stockwin MBE (born 1944 in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England) is an author of historical action-adventure fiction. As well as the Kydd Series he has written two standalone novels ''The Silk Tree'' and ''The Powder of Death''.
Biography
B ...
's
nautical fiction
Nautical fiction, frequently also naval fiction, sea fiction, naval adventure fiction or maritime fiction, is a genre of literature with a setting on or near the sea, that focuses on the human relationship to the sea and sea voyages and highligh ...
series, ''The Kydd Series'', includes the book ''Command'' (2006) in which Thomas Kydd takes a ship to Van Diemen's Land, at the behest of then governor of New South Wales,
Philip Gidley King
Captain Philip Gidley King (23 April 1758 – 3 September 1808) was a British politician who was the third Governor of New South Wales.
When the First Fleet arrived in January 1788, King was detailed to colonise Norfolk Island for defence an ...
, for the purpose of preventing French explorers from establishing a French settlement on the island.
* Kevin G. Dyer's novel ''Dark Night in Van Diemen's Land'' tells the story of a young couple transported to the Port Arthur penal settlement.
* J.W. Clennett's 2015 graphic novel, ''The Diemenois'', is set during an alternate history in which
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
fakes his death and flees to West Van Diemen, an area of Tasmania colonised by France. The story takes place in the fictional city of Baudin (where modern-day
Stanley
Stanley may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Film and television
* ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film
* ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy
* ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short
* ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...
is located), named after French
cartographer
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
Nicolas Baudin
Nicolas Thomas Baudin (; 17 February 1754 – 16 September 1803) was a French explorer, cartographer, naturalist and hydrographer, most notable for his explorations in Australia and the southern Pacific.
Biography
Early career
Born a comm ...
.
* Emily Dickinson's poem, "If you were coming in the fall" makes reference to Van Diemen's land.
* “The Exiles” by Christina Baker Kline (2020) tells the story of “transportation” to Van Dieman’s Land and the hardship, oppression, opportunity and hope of three women at the centre of the story.
See also
*
Cape Grim massacre
*
Cyprus mutiny
The ''Cyprus'' mutiny took place in 1829 off the British penal settlement of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania, Australia). Convicts seized the brig and sailed her to Canton, China, where they scuttled her and claimed to be castaways from anot ...
*
Colony of Tasmania
The Colony of Tasmania (more commonly referred to simply as "Tasmania") was a British colony that existed on the island of Tasmania from 1856 until 1901, when it federated together with the five other Australian colonies to form the Commonwealt ...
*
Governors of Tasmania
The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker (judge), Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The offi ...
*
Van Diemen's Land Company
The Van Diemen's Land Company (also known as Van Dieman Land Company) is a farming corporation in the Australian state of Tasmania. It was founded in 1825 and received a royal charter the same year, and was granted 250,000 acres (1,000 km2) ...
*
Apostolic Vicariate of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land
The Archdiocese of Sydney ( la, Archidioecesis Sydneyensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church. Its episcopal see is Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Erected in 1842, the archdiocese is the metr ...
(Catholic missionary jurisdiction)
Notes
References
*Alexandra, Rieck (editor) (2005) ''
The Companion to Tasmanian History
''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 Tasmanian Government celebrations of the Bicentenary of Tasmania.
The proje ...
'' Centre for Tasmanian Historical Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart. .
*Boyce, James (2008), ''Van Diemen's Land''. Black Inc., Melbourne. .
*Robson, L.L. (1983) ''A history of Tasmania. Volume 1. Van Diemen's Land from the earliest times to 1855'' Melbourne, Oxford University Press. .
*Robson, L.L. (1991) ''A history of Tasmania. Volume II. Colony and state from 1856 to the 1980s'' Melbourne, Oxford University Press. .
External links
Constitution Act 1855, establishing an elected parliament in the colony
{{Authority control
Former British colonies and protectorates in Oceania
Former penal colonies
Colonial history of Tasmania
States and territories established in 1825
1825 establishments in Australia
States and territories disestablished in 1856
1856 disestablishments in Oceania