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87 



T A S 



settlers continued to arrive, and obtained land too ; and as 

 these were not agriculturists either, they had to copy their 

 predecessors. Such was the progress of agriculture in Van 

 Diemen'g Land ; and such is its condition at the present 

 period (1838). The diversity of the climate in the different 

 oistriete is still overlooked ; the seasons are scarcely ascer- 

 tained, and the proper times for sowing remain doubtful, 

 and are adopted irregularly.' (The Condition and Capa- 

 bilities of Van Diemen's Land, by John Dixon, 1839.) 

 Van Diemen's Land however produces not only a sufficient 

 supply of grain for domestic consumption, but has con- 

 tributed for several years to supply the deficiency in New 

 South Wales ; and in the opinion of local writers there is a 

 probability of its being the granary of the southern hemi- 

 sphere. Oxen are generally used, instead of horses, in 

 ploughing, and the implements of husbandry are those in 

 use in England. 



Oil constitutes the second great article of export from 

 Tasmania. Whales of the black species were at one time 

 taken in trreat abundance in the bays on the coast of the 

 island ; but we find that Mr, Dixon confirms the appre- 

 hensions expressed by an earlier writer on the colony 

 iont on New South Wales and Van Diemen's 

 Land, by John Henderson, Calcutta, 1832) of their being 

 driven away by an injudicious prosecution of the fishery at 

 all seasons of the year. Sperm oil, as well as that of the 

 black whale, is exported. The returns derived from this 

 source are still considerable. 



Among the miscellaneous exports are bark, kangaroo 

 skins, \vhnlc-bone, and potatoes (to Sydney) ; but the ag- 

 >te of the returns from these articles is trifling. 



There are about eight banking establishments, with 



branches in the chief towns. .They are all joint-stock, the 



shareholders being responsible to the full extent of their 



property. They circulate notes of one pound and upwards. 



interest at a recent date was ten per cent., and at the 



period at which this article is written it cannot be affirmed 



with confidence whether it is lowered. There are also 



al companies for the insurance of life and property. 



iJirinimis of the Island. Original'y Tasmania was 

 divided into two counties, but it has since been subdivided 

 into police districts, and more recently into thirty-six 

 counties. We are not awdre however that any map em- 

 bracing the county divisions has been published, and in the 

 following details we adhere to the divisions into districts. 

 The district of Hobart Town is bounded on the east by the 

 riser Derwent, and on the south and west by the river Huon, 

 on the north by New Norfolk and Richmond districts. It 

 comprises an iirea of about 400 square miles, or 250,000 

 ol which not more than about 4000 are yet in cul- 

 tivation. Richmond is bounded on the south and east by 

 the sea, on the north by Oatlands, and on the west by New 

 Norfolk; its towns are Richmond, Sorell, and Brighton ; 

 liesicles which it includes several lariri- agricultural e-ta- 

 Mi.shmeiits: it contains about 1050 square miles, or 072,000 

 . of which about 22.(XX) are estimated to be under cul- 

 tivation. New Norfolk is bounded on three sides by Hobart, 

 ( 'lydc.and Richmond districts, and on the west and south- 

 by unlociited lands. The towns are New Norfolk and 

 Hamilton, and it comprises about lf>0() square miles, or 

 !Mj,000 acres, a great portion of which is ban-en and rocky: 

 about (MMN' in cultivation. Clyde is bounded on 



the west l>y unloeated lands, and on the other three sides 

 by Norfolk Plains, Campbell Town, and Oatlands districts : 

 its only town is Bothwell. This district comprises 1700 

 square miles or l.OHKOOO acres, about 5000 of which are in 

 cultivation. Oatlands, bounded on the south by Richmond, 

 east by Oyster Hay, west by the Clyde district, and north 

 by Campbell Town, contains 900 square miles, or about 

 :~>7G,(KX) acres. Oatlands and Jericho are its towns. Up- 

 ward* of 4000 acres are in cultivation. Campbell Town, 

 bounded on the south by Oatlands, east by unloeated laiHs 

 extending to the sea, west by theClyde and Norfolk Plains, 

 and north by Launccston district, comprises about 1200 

 square miles, or 8f>0,000 acres. Its towns are Campbell 

 Town and Ross. The land is rich and fertile, having KOOO 

 or 9000 acres in cultivation. Norfolk Plains are bounded on 

 (hi- ,.,'ilh 1,1 the Clyde, east by Campbell Town and Laun- 

 and by the territories of the Van Diemen's 

 Land ( <mi|j:uiy, and north by Bass's Straits. This district 

 com 'i square miles, or rather more than 1,500,000 



acres. Longford anil Westbury are the townships. About 

 8000 and are supposed to be m cultivation. Laun- 



ceston district is bounded on the south by Campbell Town, 

 on the west by Norfolk Plains districts, and on the north 

 and east by the ocean. Besides the town of Launceston 

 it has Perth and George Town. The district covers 3800 

 square miles, or about .2,352,000 acres; not more than 

 10,000 or 11,000 of which are in cultivation. Oyster Bay 

 is bounded on the^south by Richmond, west and north by 

 Oatlands and Campbell Town districts, and east by the 

 ocean. It contains about 900 square miles, or 570,000 

 acres, of which between 2000 and 3000 are estimated to be 

 in cultivation. (Martin's Van Diemen's Land ; Hobart 

 Town Annual.) 



The other divisions of the island are the Van Diemen's 

 Land Company's territories, comprising nearly half a mil- 

 lion of acres on the north-west corner of the island, bounded 

 on two sides by the sea, on the others by crown lands not 

 yet located, and by the settled districts of the Norfolk 

 Plains; and Tasman's Peninsula. Of the purposes to which 

 Tasman's Peninsula is applied, an account is given in the 

 article TRANSPORTATION. 



Towns. Of the towns mentioned in the preceding out- 

 line of the territorial divisions of Tasmania, only two or 

 three are worthy of notice, the others being little more 

 than villages or sites laid out for towns on which a few 

 straggling houses are built. ' Hobart Town is built upon 

 an undulating surface, receding from a cove on the left of 

 the Dervvent. Seen from the water, it seems to run up 

 before you on a variety of ascents, and to spread itself 

 abroad upon the hills in the distance. Mount Wellington, 

 a great mountain, which during nine months in the year 

 is capped with snow, and which rises four thousand feet 

 above the level of the .sea, stands at the back, in darkness 

 and sublimity, and overlooks the surrounding scenery. 

 The town is laid out with judgment. There are about twenty 

 streets, all wide, and dividing or intersecting one another 

 at right angles. A narrow and shallow rivulet, which 

 takes its rise from Mount Wellington, flows through the 

 town, and affords the inhabitants their only supply of fresh 

 water. All the streets are macadamized, and none are 

 flagged. . . The houses bear no common aspect. Some 

 are of brick, others of stone ; but all, instead of being 

 slated, are roofed with shingles. As every proprietor has 

 been guided by his own taste in the structure of his house, 

 few are built alike or upon the same plan ; and as he was 

 not restrained by the government to a settled line, they are 

 often planted in a zigzag position. The town covers a 

 great deal of ground, but little of it after all is built upon. 

 A tree is seen sometimes standing in the midst of houses, 

 and a house often in the midst of trees. Dwellings have 

 been erected long before the streets were made, and the 

 town being upon a very irregular surface, some of the 

 buildings in consequence now occupy very awkward situa- 

 tions. On one side of a street they are often elevated 

 much above the level ; while, on the other they are sunk 

 considerably beneath it. Shops are scattered all over 

 Hobart Town ; but the business thoroughfare is confined 

 to two streets. Some of the shops are showy and respect- 

 able, even tasteful and elegant ; displaying an appearance 

 equal to that of many in London. The householder is as 

 particular in decorating the interior of his house as ho 

 would be were he in England, and hence his furniture is not 

 inferior to that of those of his own rank in the mother coun- 

 try.' (Dixon's Account.) In 1839 there were upwards of 

 fifteen hundred houses in Hobart Town. Among the public 

 buildings may be named three handsome Episcopalian 

 churches, and one Presbyterian, one superior edifice be- 

 longing to the Wesleyans, besides several of inferior descrip- 

 tion, the property of the same body, two Independent, 

 chapels, and a Roman Catholic church, by this time proba- 

 bly completed. The Government House is an irregular struc- 

 ture, made up of continual additions to an originally small 

 building, and is shortly to give place to another house in- 

 tended for the residence of the lieutenant-governor, of 

 which the foundation has been laid. There are custom- 

 houses, a handsome theatre, a court-house, and police- 

 office, and an exchange has been set on foot. There are 

 many benevolent and religious institutions and societies 

 established, and two or three of a literary character. Seven 

 papers are published, most of which are weekly, besides 

 an official gazette and two gratuitous advertising sheets. 

 The population of Hobart Town, including the convicts and 

 military as well as the free inhabitants, in the town and 

 its immediate precincts, is not less than ten thousand. The 



