From Penal Colony to Separate Colony: The Origins of Van Diemen’s Land

The establishment of Van Diemen’s Land (modern-day Tasmania) as a British penal colony in 1803-1804 marked a grim chapter in Australia’s colonial history. Originally an extension of New South Wales, this remote island became a dumping ground for Britain’s most hardened criminals. The deaths of its early administrators—Lieutenant-Colonel David Collins (founder of Hobart) in 1810 and Lieutenant-Governor William Paterson (founder of Launceston) shortly after—left a leadership vacuum filled by eccentric and often brutal successors.

Collins, author of An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales, had documented Australia’s early colonial experience with surprising candor. His successor, the Trafalgar veteran Thomas Davey, arrived wearing a short shirt with his coat draped over his arm—a symbol of the lax discipline that would characterize his chaotic rule. Davey’s revelries with convicts and sudden violent punishments drew the ire of Governor Lachlan Macquarie, leading to his forced resignation.

The Brutal Regime of George Arthur

By 1825, when Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur took full control, Van Diemen’s Land had earned its reputation as “the convict’s hell.” The British Parliament severed its administrative ties to New South Wales, creating a local legislature and judicial system designed to maximize control. Arthur’s regime became synonymous with institutionalized cruelty:

– The Macquarie Harbor Penal Station (1821-1833): Dubbed “Hell’s Gates,” this remote western coast settlement housed the “worst of the worst.” Prisoners in yellow uniforms marked with black arrows labored in freezing Antarctic winds, chained to rocks while disease ravaged their ranks.
– Port Arthur’s Infamous Prison: Established in 1830 on the Tasman Peninsula, this facility used armed guards and trained dogs to patrol its narrow land connection—the “Dog Line”—creating an inescapable fortress.
– Whipping Culture: Colonial masters could have assigned convicts flogged for minor infractions like “smiling insolently.” Of 17,000 convicts in 1833, 12,000 had been formally punished.

The Rise of Bushrangers and the Black War

As oppression intensified, so did resistance:

### The Bushranger Epidemic
Escaped convicts like Matthew Brady formed armed gangs that terrorized settlements. By 1825, nearly 100 mounted outlaws roamed freely, burning farms and freeing prisoners. Arthur responded with shoot-on-sight policies and mass hangings (100+ executions in 1825-26), yet romanticized legends of these figures persisted.

### The Genocide of the Palawa (Tasmanian Aboriginal People)
The so-called “Black War” (1824-1832) saw systematic violence against Indigenous Tasmanians, whose population plummeted from thousands to just 203 survivors. Key events included:

– Massacres and Retaliation: Colonists killed Palawa at waterholes and campfires, while warriors attacked isolated farms. Thomas Davey himself admitted in 1813: “Who are the savages—we who tear children from their parents, or they who fight to reclaim them?”
– Arthur’s Failed “Black Line” Campaign (1830): A 5,000-man human chain meant to drive remaining Palawa to the Tasman Peninsula captured just one man and a boy at a cost of £30,000.
– George Augustus Robinson’s Mission: This Methodist builder-turned-conciliator learned Indigenous languages and negotiated surrenders. His 1835 relocation of survivors to Flinders Island—where they succumbed to disease—marked the effective end of Palawa sovereignty.

Political Prisoners and Unlikely Figures

Beyond common criminals, Van Diemen’s Land hosted fascinating exiles:

– Irish Rebels: Smith O’Brien, John Mitchel, and other 1848 uprising leaders published newspapers and enjoyed parole. Mitchel famously escaped to America in 1853.
– Dorset Labor Activists: George Loveless and four others, transported for forming a farmworkers’ union in 1834, became symbols of class injustice.
– Jørgen Jørgensen: The self-proclaimed “Protector of Iceland” (a Danish adventurer who briefly ruled Iceland in 1809) later served as a colonial constable while writing theological treatises.

From Van Diemen’s Land to Tasmania

By the 1850s, residents rejected the island’s penal association. When self-government was established in 1853, the name “Tasmania”—honoring Dutch explorer Abel Tasman—officially replaced Van Diemen’s Land. The ruins of Port Arthur stand today as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, memorializing this complex legacy of cruelty, resistance, and cultural annihilation that shaped Australia’s island state.

The story of early Tasmania remains a sobering study in colonial violence, where institutionalized punishment, racial conflict, and desperate rebellion intersected on the edge of the known world. Its echoes persist in contemporary debates about justice, Indigenous rights, and historical memory.