Maritime Museum of Tasmania
The island state of Tasmania has a long and rich history of association with the sea, going back well before the time of British invasion and settlement on the island. The indigenous Tasmanians were known to have strong affiliations with the sea, and surrounding islands.
The British of course arrived by sea, and since the time of their first arrival in 1803, Tasmania has had a continuous history or sailing, maritime trade, fishing and other maritime activities. The museum sets out to chart, document and display materials and artefacts related to that history.
Maritime enthusiasts first began to argue that the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery should include a room dedicated to Tasmania's maritime history in the 1930s. However it wasn't until 1972, when six volunteers decided to create a dedicated museum, that the Maritime Museum of Tasmania was born. It was originally housed in St. George's Church, Battery Point, and opened in 1973, with an official opening in 1974.
British colonisation of Tasmania
The first British colonies on Tasmania appeared circa 1803. Small numbers of whalers and sealers set up communities along the Northern Coast and the Bass Strait islands. The whalers and sealers began to trade with the native aborigines along the North Coast. Most of the goods traded were seal skins, dogs and aboriginal women. Sporadic skirmishes over land and women occurred between the settlers and the aborigines, but few records of the conflict exist. In late 1803 to early 1804 colonisation of Tasmania began to formalise. The governor of New South Wales built military outposts along the River Derwent in southern Tasmania, and also on the Tamar River in the north to prevent French interests in the area. These outposts began to grow into small communities as new settlers and convicts came from Great Britain. Communities around Hobart and Launceston were established, which would eventually become the largest settlements on Tasmania, and railways connecting the towns were built. The early colonies on Tasmania constantly suffered from lack of food.