Risdon Cove

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Risdon Cove was the site of the first British settlement in Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, the smallest Australian state.

Map of Hobart showing locations of Risdon and Sullivan's Cove.
Map of Hobart showing locations of Risdon and Sullivan's Cove.

In 1803 Lieutenant John Bowen was sent to establish a settlement in Van Diemen's Land. The Lady Nelson anchored at Risdon on the eastern shore of the Derwent River on Wednesday September 8 1803, five days before the whaler Albion arrived with Lt. Bowen on board.

In 1804 Lieutenant Colonel David Collins arrived in the Derwent from Port Phillip. Within a few days he rejected Risdon Cove as a suitable settlement site and moved his party across the river to Sullivan's Cove. The military and convicts disembarked from the Ocean near Hunter Island on the 20-21 February 1804 and thus beginning what is now Hobart. The free settlers were landed from the Lady Nelson at New Town Bay on 22 February.

Coordinates: 42°49′23″S, 147°19′09″E

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