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Tasmania Facts & Worksheets

Tasmania, an isolated island state off Australia’s south coast, is known for its vast, rugged wilderness areas, largely protected within parks and reserves.

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Tasmania, an isolated island state off Australia’s south coast, is known for its vast, rugged wilderness areas, largely protected within parks and reserves. On the Tasman Peninsula, the 19th-century Port Arthur penal settlement is now an open-air museum. In Hobart, the port capital, Salamanca Place’s Georgian warehouses now house galleries and boutiques. Its Museum of Old and New Art has a contemporary edge.

See the fact file below for more information on the Tasmania or alternatively, you can download our 20-page Tasmania worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

HISTORY OF TASMANIA

  • It is estimated that people inhabited Tasmania as early as 20,000 to 40,000 years ago via a land bridge that connected the Australian mainland to other surrounding islands.
  • The aboriginal population became isolated when the land bridge flooded over around 11,000 years ago.
  • Abel Janszoon Tasman, a Dutch explorer, landed in Tasmania in December of 1642 after seeing it from his ship in November.
  • French and British explorers saw the island as they made their voyages in the area as well.
  • Of the two British settlements in 1803 and 1804, the latter settlement in Sullivans Cove became known as Hobart Town, named after the British Lord Hobart; the former settlement in 1803 was later abandoned.
  • The majority of European settlers beyond 1804 were convicts and guards who were sent to Australia and Tasmania with the tasks of developing agriculture and making the land suitable for living and the development of industry.
  • The first convict ships began arriving directly from England in 1817.
  • Roads and carriages were constructed by 1820 to begin the extensive work done by prisoners on farming fields.
  • Tensions rose in the 1800’s between Tasmania’s black and white inhabitants, which culminated in violent events known as the “Black War”. These hostilities ended in 1832 when the majority of the indigenous population were persuaded or forced to relocate to Flinders Island, where they were subjected to harmful infectious diseases with no cure.
  • The land that is now Tasmania was proclaimed a separate colony (separate from New South Wales, of which it was a territory by the name of Van Diemen’s Land until that point) in 1825.
  • It was renamed Tasmania in 1856, and became a self-governing colony of the British Empire in the same year.
  • By the late 19th century, largely prosperous and isolated, Tasmania was world-renowned for its shipbuilding as well as the significant role it played in the Second Boer War in South Africa.
  • Throughout the 1960’s, 70’s, and 80s, Tasmania suffered major losses with the Tasmanian fires of 1967, the collapse of the Tasman bridge in 1975, and later on in 2006, with the collapse of a popular mine.

GEOGRAPHY OF TASMANIA

  • Tasmania’s location between the 40th and 50th southern parallels place it directly in the pathway of the “Roaring Forties”, which are strong westerly winds in the Southern Hemisphere.
  • Tasmania is surrounded by the Southern Ocean, Pacific Ocean, the Tasman Sea, and the Great Australian Bight.
  • Due to glaciation, Tasmania is the most mountainous state in Australia; Cradle Mountain being the sixth-highest in Tasmania, pictured right.
  • Tasmania has a relatively cool climate with four distinct seasons whereby summer is from December to February and winter is from June to August.
  • Due to its isolation, Tasmania enjoys a unique abundance of flora and fauna with extremely diverse vegetation including eucalyptus trees, rainforests, moorlands, and grasslands.
  • Some animals you are likely to find in Tasmania include the famous Tasmanian devil, as well as the Tasmanian cave spider, platypus, several endemic bird species, the Tasmanian tree frog, and wallabies.
  • Unfortunately, the thylacine (more commonly known as the Tasmanian tiger) became extinct in Tasmania around 1936.

CULTURE AND ECONOMY OF TASMANIA

  • Prior to the 1940’s and 50’s, Tasmania relied on mining, agriculture, and tourism to shape their economy; nowadays the economy is comprised of new agricultural products such as wine, cherries, and saffron.
  • Unfortunately, due to the small size of Tasmania, there are often problems with the scale of their contributions as well as transportation issues. Since the 1970’s there has been a steady decline in job availability
    in the agriculture, forestry, and manufacturing industries.
  • Tasmania has a vibrant arts community and many cultural institutions, with an emphasis on orchestra and musical groups.
  • Yachting, soccer, cricket, and other sports are common among both kids and adults.

Tasmania Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Tasmania across 20 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Tasmania worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Tasmania, an isolated island state off Australia’s south coast, which is known for its vast, rugged wilderness areas, largely protected within parks and reserves. On the Tasman Peninsula, the 19th-century Port Arthur penal settlement is now an open-air museum. In Hobart, the port capital, Salamanca Place’s Georgian warehouses now house galleries and boutiques. Its Museum of Old and New Art has a contemporary edge.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Tasmania Wordsearch
  • Map Decoding
  • Cities and the Alphabet
  • Criminal Terms
  • Tasmania Crossword
  • “Gentleman” Matthew Brady
  • Animals of Tasmania
  • Life in Isolation
  • Traveling in Tasmania
  • The Black War

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Link will appear as Tasmania Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, July 8, 2019

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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