E34: The Geopolitics of Pre-Colonial Van Diemen's Land

The people of what we now call Tasmania had lived in complete isolation since rising seas carved out Bass Strait around 10,000 BC, transforming their homeland from a southern peninsula of the Australian continent into the world’s most isolated island.

European contact began in 1642 when Dutch explorer Abel Tasman claimed the land for the Netherlands. It was not until the 1770s, however, that a rapid succession of French and British visitors began to recognise its strategic value. When Bass and Flinders confirmed Van Diemen’s Land was a separate island in the late 1790s, the news soon reached Europe and sharpened French interest. The Baudin Expedition’s extended presence in Australian waters only heightened British suspicions in Sydney. In a decisive pre-emptive move, the British bumped the French out, raised the Union Jack, and established the first permanent settlement at Risdon Cove in 1803. The scene was set for the colonial era.

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The Hon. John Ruddick MLC is a member of the NSW Legislative Council. 

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