Dear sotonian-ga;
Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting question.
The settlement once located in Tasmania that you are referring to was
actually called ?Risdon Cove?. The first people to live there were the
semi-nomadic Moomaire-mener Aborigines, who, with their close allies
from the east coast, formed the Oyster Bay Clan.
Tasmania, as it is known today, was actually discovered in November
1642 by Dutchman, Abel Janszoon Tasman, who originally named the
island ?Van Deiman?s Land? after his employer. In terms of
colonization however, it would be come 161 years later that the
British would settle the island in a race to do it before the French
and to thwart further French expansion.
British explorer, Captain John Hayes with two ships, the ?Duke of
Clarence? and the ?Duchess of Bengal?, spent several weeks in Southern
Tasmania some time between 1792 and 1794. Captain Hayes was the one
who is actually credited with naming both the Derwent River and also
Risdon Cove, presumably in an effort to chart the area, and supposedly
(according to only one account that I know of) chose the name Risdon
after his second officer William Bellamy Risdon. The exploration
party did not settle however, or even make landfall that we know of,
and they eventually moved on.
In early September 1803 another small British party aboard the vessels
?Lady Nelson?, under the command of Lieutenant George Courtoys, and
the ?Albion? under the command of Captain Eber Bunker (with 23 year
old Lieutenant John Bowen aboard) of the Royal Navy landed at a cove
on the Eastern Shore of the River Derwent to found a British colony in
Van Diemen's Land. Bowen had been commissioned to found penal colony
there and to hold Van Diemen's Land against any possible French
claims. In his company upon arrival at Risdon Cove were 49 people,
including 24 convicts and 6 free settlers.
What appears to be a disputed account says that on May 3, 1804 a group
of armed soldiers on a kangaroo hunt came upon 300 unarmed Aborigines
and fired on them for sport. Other accounts say the natives were well
armed and initially provoked the attack against hunters they saw as
trying to take their land. At any rate, what we do know is that what
followed was a gruesome massacre that enraged the native inhabitants
and sparked a number of bloody clashes between the Europeans and the
Aborigines. Risdon Cove Historic Site on Hobart's eastern shore marks
the site of the first official settlement by Lt. John Bowen in
September 1803. It was here that initial clashes between Aborigines
and European settlers took place. Risdon Cove proved unsuitable and
the colonists quickly abandoned the site after just five months due to
the lack of fresh water and the poor landing place. They re-located to
Sullivans Cove on the western shore of the Derwent in 1804, in what is
today known as Hobart (originally named ?Hobart Town?, after the
British statesman Lord Robert Hobart). By then the population was made
up of 178 convicts, 25 marines, 15 women, 21 children, 13 free
settlers and 10 civil officers. The settlement at Risdon Cove,
although abandoned, was the seed, which led to the colonization of
Tasmania.
?It is claimed that penal colony of Van Diemens Land was the best
documented colony ever settled. The State Archives contains amazing
records from the very beginning of the colony. If you are interested
in genealogy, you may want to unlock the secrets of your own family
tree. State Library of Tasmania Building, 91 Murray Street, Hobart.
Phone: 03 6233 7462?
HISTORIC ATTRACTIONS IN TASMANIA
http://www.tasmaniatravel.com/misctext/hilite7.html
A memorial to Bowen and to those who settled with him in 1803 was
erected at the location of the original settlement known as Risdon
Cove in 1904 and is still there, but just about everything else
pertaining to Bowen has been removed and/or neglected. The settlement
itself of course, which was in existence for only 5 months, has long
since perished and only the sketchy history of it remains.
I hope you find that my research exceeds your expectations. If you
have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating
and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again
in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.
Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher
INFORMATION SOURCES
BRIEF HISTORY OF CLARENCE TASMANIA
http://www.ccc.tas.gov.au/clarence/about/history/
HISTORY TIMELINE FOR VAN DIEMEN?S LAND
http://www.labyrinth.net.au/~saul/history/tasmania.html
JOHN BOWEN
http://members.iinet.net.au/~rwatson1/bowen/bowen.htm
LADY NELSON
http://www.tased.edu.au/tasonline/ladynel/corframe.htm
(Read the Lieutenant Bowen?s Log of the Lady Nelson on its voyage to Rison Cove)
TOURISM TASMANIA
http://www.tourismtasmania.com.au/org/study_kit/factsheet.html
ADELAIDE DARWIN CANBERRA HOBART
http://www.vacations-australia.info/smallcityLK.htm
MANY DEEDS OF TERROR
http://evatt.labor.net.au/publications/papers/110.html
A TALLY OF THOSE KILLED DURING THE FIGHTING BETWEEN ABORIGINES AND
SETTLERS IN VAN DIEMEN?S LAND 1803-34
http://www.historians.org.au/forumsupport/Casualties-VDL.PDF
THE FIRST DAYS
http://ink.news.com.au/mercury/resources.htm
(A personal diary?s account of the first days at Risdon Cove)
THE VOYAGE TO THE RIVER DERWENT - 1803
A JOURNAL OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF H. M. BRIG LADY NELSON, LIEUT. GEO.
CURTOYS, COMMANDER, JUNE - OCTOBER 1803.
http://www.tased.edu.au/tasonline/ladynel/curtoys.htm
SEARCH STRATEGY
SEARCH ENGINE USED:
Google ://www.google.com
SEARCH TERMS USED:
LADY NELSON, ALBION, RISDON, RISDON COVE, BELLAMY, HOBART, TASMANIA,
DUKE OF CLARENCE, VAN DIEMENS LAND, JOHN BOWEN, DUCHESS OF BENGAL |
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