User:Chuq/History of Tasmania

Hi all - this temp page is where I plan to gradually re-write the timeline into prose form. Once done, I will move History of Tasmania to a timeline article and replace it with the prose. I expect it to be time consuming, but we have a lot of data to work from! I expect some of the more Hobart-specific items could be moved or replicated into a History of Hobart article as well. --Chuq 11:52, 23 May 2004 (UTC)

This article is a timeline of the history of Tasmania.

pre 1800

Although various tribes of Tasmanian Aborigines have lived in Tasmania for thousands of years, the first record of the island by a European is in 1642, when it was sighted by Abel Tasman, of the Dutch East India Company. He names it Van Diemen's Land after Dutch East Indies governor-general Antony van Diemen.

In the 1790s both British and French explorers visit the island, including Captain William Bligh, Bruny d'Entrecasteaux (for whom Bruny Island and d'Entracasteaux Channel are named), John Hayes (of the British East India Company) who named the Derwent River, and Nicolas Baudin.

In 1798, George Bass and Matthew Flinders become the first to circumnavigate Van Diemen's Land. Bass climbs at least part of Mount Wellington (then known as Table Mountain) on Christmas Day.

The first Tasmanian settlement by Europeans was in 1803, when Lieutenant John Bowen's party, lands at Risdon Cove. He names the location Hobart, however when Lieutenant-Colonel David Collins' party lands at Sullivan's Cove in 1804, the Risdon Cove settlement is abandoned and moved. The new settlement takes the name Hobart Town.

The first cemetery opens that year, in the area which is now known as St David's Park.

A similar situation occurs on the Tamar River at the north of the state - In 1806 - Colonel William Paterson relocates York Town, from the Port Dalrymple settlement founded two years earlier, to the site of modern Launceston.

Early development in the south includes a whaling station at Ralphs Bay, the first in Australia; a flour mill, built in 1810, which is now known as the City Mill Building; and the building of the first church (St David's), and the first newspaper. In 1811, Governor Lachlan Macquarie planned and prompted construction of the city streets and public buildings, including the first Post Office and Anglesea Barracks (which today is Australia's longest continuously occupied military building). The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens and first hospital opened a few years later.

Exploration in the 1800s also includes a settlement at New Norfolk, discovery of Macquarie Island, and in 1807, the first land journey from Launceston to Hobart, by Lieutenant Thomas Laycock. The 180 km journey took nine days. In 1812, Government House in Hobart takes control of whole island. The first weekly mail service begins between Hobart and Launceston five years later. It took a few more years before, Governor Lachlan Macquarie chooses sites for the towns of Perth, Campbell Town, Ross, Oatlands and Brighton, which still remain major towns in the Midlands region to this day.

Many bushrangers, particular Michael Howe, caused problems for the administration in the early years. In 1815 Lieutenant-Governor Thomas Davey temporarily declared martial law against all bushrangers, mainly escaped convicts.

Both ports (Hobart and Port Dalrymple) became open to trading ships in 1813 the first ships of free settlers arrived not long afterwards. The colony's first horse races were believed to have taken place at New Town in 1815.

In 1820s various officials and convicts and free settlers established Macquarie Harbour penal settlement on the West Coast. Some pastoral farmers also establish a site at Emu Bay - now Burnie.

The decade was also significant for Van Diemen Land's independence - in 1825 Van Diemen's Land became a colony independent of NSW with appointed Executive Council and Legislative Council.

Richmond Bridge, Australia's oldest existing bridge, was opened in the same year.

The settlers' vilification of Aborigines became stronger, when in 1830 the administration launched a military campaign across most of colony to round up Aborigines; in seven weeks two are shot and two are captured. This comes after Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur excludes Aborigines from settled areas. This happens despite "protector" George Augustus Robinson, who tried to reconcile with Aborigines at Bruny Island. Robinson assists with resettling them at Wybalenna, Flinders Island, gradually over the next few years.

More transportation infrastructure is developed, when a regular mail service with Sydney is started in 1828, and the Bridgewater causeway starts development in 1830. The first regular Hobart-Launceston coach service begins two years later.

Tasmania's best known penal settlement, at Port Arthur is established in 1830. Another Tasmanian icon, the Cascade Brewery, was started on in 1832.

There were two notable Tasmanian explorers in the mid 1830s - the Henty brothers, John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner all set voyage for Port Phillip, Victoria - now the site of Melbourne, Australia's second largest city. At the same time, British naturalist Charles Darwin visits Hobart in HMS Beagle, and a few years later Captain James Ross's Antarctic expedition paid a visit.

Hobart was proclaimed a city in 1842. This was also the peak year for convict arrivals, due to New South Wales ending transportation of convicts a few years earlier. Transportation to Van Diemen's Land did not happen until 1853 &emdash; 50 years after the first settlement at Risdon Cove.

Around 1850, Tasmania celebrated many firsts; the first Australian colony to enact legislation to protect native animals; the first use of general anaesthetic in the southern hemisphere; Launceston was host for first Australian inter-colonial cricket match; and one of Tasmania's most famous exports, apples, are sold to the United States of America and New Zealand for the first time.

Gold is also discovered near Fingal, which is the start of the states long and prosperous mining industry.

In 1856, the colony is granted responsible self-government and the name is officially changed to Tasmania.

In the late 1850s, the Hobart-Launceston telegraph line opens, and Hobarts Marine Board, Australia's oldest port authority, meets for the first time. Government House at its present site at the Domain, is occupied for first time, by Governor Henry Young and Lady Young.

The early 1860s saw economic depression hit the state, as well as an increased military presence in Tasmania; volunteer corps of infantry, cavalry and artillery formed, and some British troops leave Hobart for Maori war in New Zealand.

After flooding in 1862, Hobart's post office was moved to a rebuilt courthouse on corner of Macquarie St and Murray St. This was soon followed by the opening of the Tasmanian Museum, which still exists today, the Hobart Town Hall, and the Tasmanian Public Library. St David's Cathedral was finally consecrated in 1874.

Hobart's famous jam factory was opened in 1867 by George Peacock (later operated by Henry Jones and Co under the name IXL). The first royal visit took place in 1868 by Prince Alfred (Duke of Edinburgh).

The next decade saw the death of William Lanney ("King Billy"), reputedly the last full blood Tasmanian Aboriginal man, in 1869; and Truganini, described as last Tasmanian full blooded Aborigine, in 1876. King Billy's body was used for scientific study.

Tasmania's first submarine link to Melbourne was established in 1869. This enables direct telegraphic communication to England to begin in 1872. Transportation was also enhanced when, during the 1860s, the rail link from Hobart, to Launceston, to Deloraine was built, culminating with the Hobart-Launceston link opening in 1876.

Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life, set mainly in Tasmania, was first published in 1874.

Just as the closing of the Port Arthur penal settlement in 1877 saw the end of the convict industry for Tasmania, discoveries of tin at Mt Bishcoff and Mt Heemskirk on the west coast and gold at Beaconsfield gave rise to the states mining industry, one that would boost population, employment and morale in the state for many years to follow. Future discoveries included gold at Pieman River on the west coast, silver-lead at Zeehan, and both gold and copper at Mt Lyell.

Tasmania's communication abilities advanced further in the 1880s, with the first telephone line from Hobart city centre to Mt Nelson signal station, and the opening of first Hobart and Launceston telephone exchanges in 1883. Hobart Stock Exchange opened in 1882. They would have to wait until 1903 for the first Hobart to Launceston telephone line.

In 1881 Hobart officially replaced 'Hobart Town' as capital's name

In the 1880s the government became responsible for schooling (with the Education Department being created) and health, as well as the Tasmanian Museum and Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. They also took over the Hobart-Launceston rail line operations in 1890. Education in particular flourished over the next ten years, with the founding of The Friends School, the first technical school, and most importantly of all the University of Tasmania, first opened at the Domain in 1890.

Tasmania's second city, Launceston, was proclaimed in 1888.

Commercial developments in the 1890s include the FitzGeralds department store, bought by Harris Scarfe a century later. Private companies also started an electric tramway in Hobart (the first in an Australian capital city), and the My Lyell Mining and Railway Co. In 1896 entrepreneur George Adams launched the Tattersalls lottery venture in Hobart; this was held to dispose of assets of failed Bank of Van Diemen's Land, which collapsed in 1891.

Tasmania also hosted two International Exhibitions in this time period - Launceston in 1891 and Hobart in 1894.

In 1895 Launceston becomes the first city in the southern hemisphere to get electric light, after the first Tasmanian hydro-electric station opened at Duck Reach on South Esk River. This also began in Hobart, in 1898. Hydro-electricity later became a huge industry in the state.

The whaling industry which was once a huge employer for Tasmanians, ended its operations in 1900. Macquarie Island becomes a Tasmanian dependency the same year.

The major political change occurring in Tasmania at this time was federation with the other colonies. Tasmanians voted very much in favour of this at both referendums. In 1901, Tasmania was proclaimed a state of the Commonwealth of Australia by administrator Sir John Dodds. The first elections were held the same year.

Tasmania had another royal visit in 1903 by the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York (future King George V and Queen Mary).

In 1904, flora and fauna reserves were declared at Schouten Island and Freycinet Peninsula. These were precursors to the creation of an authority to manage parks and reserves, which was formed in 1915, and the very next year the first national parks declared at Mt Field and Freycinet. One of the larger national parks, Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, is proclaimed in 1922.

Further developments in communication occurred when, after telegraphy experiments, the first wireless telegraphy service was opened between Devonport and Queenscliff, Victoria by Marconi Co.

The Hare-Clark voting system extended to all of Tasmania, and in 1909 the first statewide use of the system elects the first Labor government, lasting only a week, led by John Earle.

In 1910, the Great Lake hydro-electric project starts, taking six years until the first stage, Waddamana, is opened, and another four until the Miena dam is complete. In the meantime, the company is bought by the state government. It remains in that form until 1929 when legislation is enacted to create the Hydro-Electric Commission, replacing the government department. The HEC remaining fully government run until 1998.

The start of Hobart's role as an Antarctic base is first felt, with Douglas Mawson's ship Aurora docking in Hobart on his way to Antarctica in 1911, and Norwegian Roald Amundsen arrives in Hobart on return from his successful South Pole expedition.

In 1913 the term "free by servitude" referring to ex-convicts, appears for the last time in official documents, after being used for more than 100 years.

Many jobs in the south were created when, in 1917, both the Electrolytic Zinc Company works at Risdon and Australian Commonwealth Carbide's plant at Electrona were established. The Electrolytic Zinc Co makes the first superphosphate at Risdon in 1925.

In the 1920s, the state is host to two royal visits. The first is in 1922 by the Prince of Wales - the future King Edward VIII. The second, in 1927, is by Duke and Duchess of York (future King George VI and Queen Elizabeth).

A couple of major electoral changes are also made. In 1922 legislation is passed to enable women to stand in state elections. Voting in state elections becomes compulsory as of 1928 (federal voting became compulsory in 1924).

In 1923 Labor's Joseph Lyons, becomes state premier. He goes on to, in 1932, become Prime Minister of Australia - the first, and as of 2004 the only, Tasmanian to do so. Lyons died in office in 1939. In 1943 his widow, Enid Lyons (later Damn Enid), is elected first woman member of the House of Representatives, winning seat of Darwin (now Braddon).

In 1923, the Hobart Symphony Orchestra performs their first concert. A year later, a private company starts the first Tasmanian radio station, 7ZL with regular broadcasts from the Mercury building. Both of these go on to be affiliated with what is now the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Orchesta, formed in 1936.

An inquiry into a bridge linking Hobart city with eastern shore was first proposed in 1927. It took until 1938 to start construction, and in 1943 the floating-arch pontoon bridge, the Hobart Bridge, opens.

Hobart's famous Cadbury's Claremont factory opens in 1928 and produces its first chocolate.

Air transport in the state starts when Ivan and Victor Holyman start air service between Launceston and Flinders Island in 1932. The pair start Holyman Airways (a forerunner of Ansett Airlines) and launch the first Launceston-Melbourne service a couple of years later. However, it is plagued with safety problems. One plane, Miss Hobart, disappears over Bass Strait with 12 people, including Victor Holyman. The next year, another plane Loina crashes off Flinders Island. In 1936, the first commercial flights begin using the Cambridge Aerodrome.

Other new transport infrastructure includes the Lyell Highway, linking Hobart with the west coast, which opened in 1932, the Mount Wellington summit road, built as a depression relief work project and completed in 1937, and Hobart's first electric trolley buses in 1935. Hobart received its first automatic telephone system in 1929, and first submarine telephone cable service begins between Tasmania and Victoria via King Island in 1937. .

In 1934 the government led by Albert Ogilvie was elected, starting 35 years of continuous Labor governments. The following year, three-year state parliament terms were enacted. This was reversed in 1937 when the five-year terms returned.

In 1936, the last known thylacine (Tasmanian tiger) died at Hobart's Beaumaris Zoo. To this day there have been occasional unconfirmed sightings, but the animal has been declared extinct.

In 1938 production starts at APPM's Burnie paper mill, a huge employer for the area. The Royal Hobart Hospital opens on its current site in 1939.

1940-1959

1940 - Tasmanian soldiers leave for North African campaign with Australian 6th Division
1940 - German naval raiders Pinguin and Atlantis lay mines off Hobart and other Australian areas. Hobart closed to shipping because of mine threat; Bass Strait closed after mine sinks British steamer Cambridge.
1941 - Tasmanian soldiers leave for Malaya with Australian 8th Division
1941 - Australian Newsprint Mills' Boyer plant becomes first in world to produce newsprint from hardwood
1942 - January-March daylight savings introduced as wartime measure
1942 - Women 18 to 30 called up for war work
1943 - Japanese torpedo cruiser HMAS Hobart in Solomon Islands waters
1944 - University of Tasmania begins transfer to Sandy Bay site
1944 - State Library established
1945 - Rani wins first Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.
1946 - Australian National Airways plane crashes at Seven Mile Beach, killing 25.
1946 - Last horse-drawn Hobart cab ceases operation
1946 - Poliomyelitis epidemic
1947 - War-affected migrants begin arriving from Europe to work for Hydro-Electric Commission
1947 - Edward Brooker takes over as Labor premier after Robert Cosgrove's resignation to face corruption and bribery charges
1948 - Margaret McIntyre wins Legislative Council seat in May, becoming the first woman member of Tasmanian Parliament; airliner crash in NSW in September kills her and 12 others.
1948 - Robert Cosgrove resumes premiership after acquittal on corruption and bribery charges
1948 - ABC forms Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra on permanent basis
1948 - Fire destroys Ocean Pier
1948 - Antarctic research station established on Macquarie Island
1949 - Poliomyelitis epidemic
1949 - Government introduces compulsory X-rays in fight against tuberculosis
1949 - Tasmainan politician Dame Enid Lyons, widow of former prime minister Joseph Lyons, becomes first woman to reach federal ministry rank, as Executive Council vice-president
1949 - Government buys Theatre Royal

1951 - Brighton army camp gets first intake of national service trainees
1951 - Hartz Mountain National Park proclaimed
1951 - Serious bushfires
1951 - Italian and German migrants arrive to work under contract for Hydro-Electric Commission
1952 - First woman elected to Hobart City Council
1952 - Severe floods
1952 - Government ends free hospital scheme
1952 - Single state licensing body formed for hotels and clubs
1953 - Tasman Limited diesel train service begins between Hobart and northern towns
1953 - Housing Department created to manage public housing
1953 - Beaconsfield becomes first Australian centre to get fluoridated water
1954 - The Queen becomes first reigning monarch to visit state, accompanied by Prince Phillip, as part of 150th anniversary celebrations, she unveils monument to pioneer British settlers
1954 - Hobart Rivulet area damaged as severe floods affect southern and eastern Tasmania
1954 - Metropolitan Transport Trust formed
1954 - Tattersalls Lotteries moves headquarters from Hobart to Melbourne
1954 - Spouses of property owners get right to vote in Legislative Council elections
1955 - Royal commission appointed to inquire into University of Tasmania after request by Professor Sydney Orr
1955 - House of Assembly gets first two women members, Liberals Mabel Miller and Amelia Best
1955 - Hobart becomes first Australian city to get parking meters
1955 - Proclamation of Lake Pedder National Park (later extended to form South-West National Park).
1955 - First ingot poured at Bell Bay aluminium refinery
1955 - Labor Party's federal conference in Hobart brings ALP split over industrial groups to head, leading to formation of Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist), later Democratic Labor Party
1955 - Lactos cheese factory opens at Burnie
1956 - University of Tasmania Council dismisses Professor Sydney Orr, alleging improper conduct by him with female student; Orr launches unsuccessful court action against university for wrongful dismissal
1956 - Tasmania gets first woman mayor, Dorothy Edwards of Launceston
1957 - Water Act establishes Rivers and Water Supply Commission
1958 - Hobart waterside works block two Australian Labor Party (Anti-Communist) members, father Frank Hursey and son Denis, from working in dispute over their objection to paying union levy that would partly go to ALP; police guard Hurseys after court order; Supreme Court awards them damages
1959 - Princess of Tasmania becomes first roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry on Bass Strait run
1959 - High Court verdict in Hursey case upholds unions' right to levy members for political purposes, expel those who refuse to pay
1959 - Federal Government reduces claimant states to two, Tasmania and Western Australia

1960-1979

1960 - Severe floods in Derwent Valley and Hobart, with business basements under water and houses washed away
1960 - Television stations ABT-2 (ABC) and TVT-6 (now WIN) start programs from Mt. Wellington transmitters
1960 - New jail opens at Risdon
1960 - Hobart trams cease, succeeded by electric trolley buses
1960 - First meeting of Inland Fisheries Commission
1960 - Opening of new State Library headquarters
1960 - First city parking station opens in Argyle Street
1961 - Construction of Hobart-Sydney ferry terminal begins
1962 - Australian Paper Makers Ltd's Port Huon mill opens
1962 - TEMCO's Bell Bay ferro-manganese plant begins production
1962 - Government subsidises municipal fluoridation schemes
1963 - University of Tasmania completes move to Sandy Bay site; Universities Commission recommends medical school
1964 - Tasman Bridge opens for traffic, old pontoon bridge towed away
1964 - Hobart's water supply fluoridated
1964 - Glenorchy proclaimed city
1965 - First Tasmanians leave for Vietnam War under national service scheme
1965 - Ferry Empress of Australia makes first Sydney-Hobart voyage
1965 - Official opening of Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music
1965 - Bass Strait oil drilling begins
1966 - Hugh copper reserves found in Mt Lyell area
1966 - Savage River iron ore agreements involving $62 million signed
1967 - February Black Tuesday bushfires claim 62 lives - 53 in Hobart area - and destroy more than 1300 homes
1967 - Tasmanian joins other states in approving full constitutional rights for Aborigines
1967 - Hydro-Electric Commission tables plans in State Parliament to dam Lake Pedder in South-West
1967 - Daylight saving and breathalyser tests introduced
1968 - Full adult franchise introduced for Legislative Council elections
1968 - Hobart trolley buses cease, replaced by diesel vehicles
1968 - State abolishes death penalty
1968 - Savage River iron ore project officially opens
1968 - Batman Bridge across lower Tamar River opens
1969 - Tasmanians vote Labor Party out after 35 years in office, Liberal-Centre Party forms coalition government
1969 - Worst floods in 40 years hit Launceston
1970 - Parliament legislates for permanent daylight savings
1970 - State marine research laboratories at Taroona open
1970 - Electrolytic Zinc Company opens $6 million residue treatment plant
1971 - First woodchip shipment leaves Tasmanian Pulp and Forest Holdings' mill at Triabunna
1971 - APPM Ltd's Wesley Vale paper plant opens
1971 - First state Aboriginal conference held in Launceston
1972 - Conservationsts lose battle to prevent flooding of Lake Pedder in South-West for hydro-electric scheme
1972 - Liberal-Centre Party coalition government collapses
1972 - Tasmanian College of Advanced Education opens in Hobart
1972 - Ferry Princess of Tasmania makes last Tasmanian voyage
1972 - Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre opens at Tasmanian Aboriginal Information Centre
1973 - Coastal freighter Blythe Star sinks with loss of three men, seven survivors spend eight days adrift in lifeboat before coming ashore on Forestier Peninsula
1973 - Australia's first legal casino opens at Wrest Point
1973 - Sir Stanley Burbury, formerly chief justice, becomes first Australian-born governor of Tasmania
1974 - Three die when boller explosion demolishes laundry at Mt St Canice Convent, Sandy Bay
1974 - Tasmanian workers under state wages board awards get four weeks annual leave; woman awarded equal pay
1974 - Hobart suburban rail services cease
1975 - Freighter Lake Illawarra crashes into Tasman Bridge, causing 12 deaths and bringing down part of bridge; temporary Bailey bridge put across Derwent
1975 - Police academy completed at Rokeby
1975 - Hotels allowed to open for Sunday trading
1975 - TAB begins operating
1976 - Members of Aboriginal community ritually cremate Truganini's remains, scatter ashes in D'Entrecasteaux Channel
1976 - Tasmanian Wilderness Society formed
1976 - Freight equalisation scheme subsidises sea cargo to and from state
1977 - Repaired Tasman Bridge reopens to traffic
1977 - Royal visit, during which Aboriginal activist Michael Mansell presents the Queen with land rights claim
1977 - Tasmanian Film Corporation launched
1978 - Australian National Railways takes over Tasmanian rail system; Tasman Limited ceases operations, ending regular passenger train services in state
1978 - Hydro-Electric Commission proposes power scheme involving Gordon, Franklin and King rivers
1979 - Tasmanian College of Advanced Education moves to Launceston
1979 - State's first ombudsman begins duties
1979 - Hobart gets increased Saturday morning shopping
1979 - Government expands South-West conservation area to more than one-fifth of state's total area

1980-1999

1980 - Australian Antarctic Division headquarters completed at Kingston
1980 - Labor MHA Gillian James becomes first woman to become State Government minister
1980 - Australian Martime College opens at Beauty Point
1980 - Australian Heritage Commission includes Tasmania on National Estate register
1981 - Prebiscite on preferred new hydro-electric scheme shows 47% of voters favour Gordon-below-Franklin development, 8% prefer Gordon-above-Olga, with 45 per cent casting informal votes, including 'no dams' write-ins.
1981 - Devonport proclaimed city
1981 - Bushfires destroy 40 Zeehan homes
1982 - Proclamation of Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, including South-West, Franklin-Lower Gorden Wild Rivers and Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair national parks; conservationists blockade Gordon-below-Franklin hydro-electric dam work
1982 - Tasmanian's elect Liberals as government in their own right for first time in state's history
1983 - Federal regulations block Franklin dam construction; High Court rules in favour of federal sovereignty, ending Gordon-below-Franklin scheme
1983 - Tasmanian Aboriginal Land Council established
1983 - Visit by The Prince and Princess of Wales
1984 - Official opening of Bowen Bridge
1984 - Official opening of Wrest Point Convention Centre
1984 - Fire damages Theatre Royal
1984 - Atlantic salmon eggs introduced to Tasmania
1985 - Four-day cremation ceremony at Oyster Cove, south of Hobart, for Aboriginal remains recovered from museums
1985 - CSIRO Marine Laboratories open in Hobart
1985 - Last voyage by ferry Empress of Australia before replacement by Abel Tasman
1985 - Last Tasmanian drive-in theatres close in Hobart and Launceston
1985 - Municipal rationalisation advances with Launceston taking over St Leonards and Lilydale
1986 - Pope John Paul II holds mass for 32,000 people at Elwick racecourse during Hobart visit
1986 - Archeologists discover Aboriginal rock paintings in South-West believed to be 20,000 years old
1987 - Launching of Lady Nelson replica ship
1987 - High Court decision bans logging in Lemonthyme, southern forests
1987 - Antarctic supply ship Nella Dan sinks off Macquarie Island
1988 - International fleet of about 200 sailing, cruise and naval ships from about 20 countries calls at Hobart as part of Australian Bicentennial celebrations; more than 150 leave on race to Sydney
1988 - Clarence and Burnie proclaimed cities
1988 - Tasmanian Sporting Hall of Fame opens
1989 - State election ends with Labor-Green accord involving five independents; their no-confidence vote in Robin Gray's minority Liberal government gives Labor's Michael Field premiership
1990 - Sea Cat Tasmania, built in Hobart by InCat, begins summer crossings of Bass Strait
1990 - King Island scheelite mine closes
1990 - World Rowing Championships held on Lake Barrington, near Sheffield
1991 - Savings Bank of Tasmania and Tasmanian Bank amalgamate as Trust Bank
1991 - Port Huon paper mill, Electrona silicon smelter, Renison tin mine and Devonport Ovaltine factory close
1992 - Aborigines occupy Risdon Cove in protest over land claims
1992 - Royal Hobart Hospital nursing school closes, ending hospital-based nursing training in Tasmania
1992 - Seven women ordained as Anglican priests at St David's Cathedral
1992 - State's unemployment rate reaches 12.2% as jobs decline in public and private sectors; rallies of angry workers force temporary closure of House of Assembly
1993 - Christine Milne (Tasmanian Greens) becomes first woman leader of a Tasmanian political party
1993 - Spirit of Tasmania replaces Abel Tasman on Bass Strait ferry service
1993 - Tasmania's unemployment rate reaches 13.4%
1993 - State Government reduces total of municipalities from 46 to 29, number of departments from 17 to 12
1994 - End to 80 years of dam building as state's last power station, Tribute, opens near Tullah
1994 - HMAS Huon naval base decommissioned
1995 - All-day Saturday shop trading begins
1995 - Government announces legislation to transfer 3800ha of culturally significant land to Aboriginal community, including Risdon Cove and Oyster Cove
1995 - States unemployment rate falls to 9.6% as number of Tasmanians in work sets record
April 28 1996 - Gunman Martin Bryant kills 35 people and injures 20 more in shooting rampage at Port Arthur historic site; Surpreme Court sentences him to life imprisonment
1996 - Former federal Liberal minister Peter Nixon heads Commonwealth state inquiry into Tasmanian economy
1997 - Tasmania becomes first state to formally apologise to Aboriginal community for past actions connected with the 'stolen generation'.
1997 - Hobart Ports Corporation succeeds marine board
1997 - State Parliament repeals two century-old laws that together made all male homosexual activity criminal
1997 - Royal Hobart Hospital announces part privatisation
1997 - Official opening of Hobart's Aquatic Centre
1997 - Nixon report recommendations include single chamber State Parliament with 27 members, government asset sales
1997 - About 800 gaming machines introduced into 55 Tasmanian hotels, clubs amid predictions of major social problems
1998 - Federal Government sells Hobart and Launceston airports
1998 - Subsidiary Kendell Airlines takes over Ansett's Tasmanian services
1998 - Parliament reduced from 54 members to 40 - 25 Members of the House of Assembly and 15 Members of the Legislative Council
1998 - Legislation passed to separate Hydro-Electric Commission into three bodies - Aurora Energy, Transend Networks and Hydro Tasmania.
1998 - Bushfires destroy six houses in Hobart suburbs, burn out 3000ha
December 1998 - Storms and massive seas claim six lives in Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race
1999 - Wild winds and heavy rain caused chaos across Tasmania, one casualty being the Ferris Wheel at the Royal Hobart Regatta which blew over onto the Gee Whizzer ride. 113km/h winds in Hobart, 158km/h winds on Mount Wellington.
1999 - Tasmanian cricketer David Boon announced his retirement from Sheffield Shield cricket.
March 1999 - Tasmania is almost booked out for the millennium New Years Eve party - a once-in-1000-year event for Tasmania's key resorts, hotels, motels and restaurants
1999 - Albanian refugees from Kosovo housed at Brighton military camp, renamed Tasmanian Peace Haven
1999 - Legislation passed to give Aboriginal community control of Wybalenna, Flinders Island
1999 - Colonial State Bank of NSW takes over Trust Bank
1999 - Official opening of Port Arthur Visitor Centre
1999 - Queen Alexandra Hospital building leased to private operators
October 25 1999 - Labor part stalwart Eric Reece, hailed as Tasmania's greatest premier, died in Hobart, aged 90
1999 - Proclamation of Tasmanian Sea Mounts Marine Reserve, Australia's first deep-sea reserve
1999 - Tasmania voted the best temperate island in the world by the world's largest travel magazine, Conde Nast Traveler

2000 to present

January 1 2000 - Tasmania beamed to 43 television networks around the world to herald the new millennium
2000 - Queen Elizabeth II visits Hobart
2000 - Tasmania hosted its first Sorry Day at Risdon Cove
2000 - Olympic Torch comes to Tasmania
2000 - New Federation Concert Hall opens in Hobart
2001 - For the first time in 120 years, Tasmanian footballers take the national stage playing home and away VFL games
2001 - Tasmanian company Gunns clinched $335 million deal to become one of the giants of the Australian forestry industry
2001 - Impulse Airlines begins, cutting one way Hobart-Melbourne fares to $40, but is swallowed by Qantas
2001 - 10 Days on the Island begins. It is Tasmania's biggest cultural festival in a century
2001 - State Government announces $53 million jail to replace the old Risdon Jail
May 10 2001 - Centenary of Federation celebrated
2001 - New traffic laws introduced, drivers face automatic disqualification if travelling 38 km/h over the limit
2001 - Meningoccocal hits Tasmania with the first of many deaths
2002 - Tassie's house and land boom begins with East Coast blocks selling for almost three times the town's previous record
May 2002 - Tasmania's suburban street speed limit dropped to 50 km/h in a bid to increase road safety
2002 - Tasmania hit by drought
16 May 2002 - Death of Australia's last ANZAC, Tasmania's Alec Campbell, aged 103.
3 August 2002 - Tasmanian boxer Daniel Geale wins Tassie's only gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England.
2002 - Virgin Blue begins operating in Tasmania offering introductory $66 one-way fares to Melbourne
1 September 2002 - Tasmania's fast ferries Spirit of Tasmania I and II begin operation
12 October 2002 - Tasmanian Tim Hawkins killed in Bali bombing
2002 - Deregulated shop trading hours begin
January 2003 - People urged by Tas Fire Service to abandon their Australia Day long-weekend plans and prepare their homes for a potential firestorm as a number of fires pose the worst fire threat in 30 years
2003 - Official opening of restored Abt West Coast Wilderness Railway
2003 - Attempted hijack of a Qantas flight from Melbourne to Launceston
2003 - Federal Hotels gets exclusive control of state's gaming machines for 15 years with a further 5-year option.
2003 - Richard Butler becomes Tasmania's new governor
2003 - Tasmania passed some of the most progressive relationship laws in the world including same sex adoptions and registration of 'significant' relationships.
2003 - Engagement of Tasmania's Mary Donaldson to Denmark's Prince Frederik
13 January 2004 - Spirit of Tasmania III makes its first voyage from Sydney to Devonport
2004 - The State Government announces legislation to legalise brothels

Population:

1804 - 433
1842 - 57,471 (Colony's first official census)