Tasmania (redirected from Styx forest)

Tasmania (tăzmā`nēə), island state (1991 pop. 359,286), 26,383 sq mi (68,332 sq km), SE Commonwealth of Australia. It is separated from Australia by the Bass Strait and lies 150 mi (240 km) south of the state of Victoria. Tasmania includes many offshore islands, among which are Bruny, the Hunter Islands, the Furneaux Group, King Island, and Macquarie Island. The Indian Ocean is to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. Hobart is the state capital. The only other city with a population of more than 50,000 is Launceston.

Tasmania is geologically similar to the Australian continent and was once connected to it. The climate is equable and the rainfall moderate. The island is mountainous with considerable forestation; Legge Tor (5,160 ft/1,573 m) is the highest peak. Great Lake in the interior is the largest lake and the reservoir of an important hydroelectric plant. Tasmania has the highest proportion of national park land of all Australian states; a little less than half the island is protected.

Sawmilling and woodchipping industries are important. Agriculture is confined almost exclusively to small farms; among the crops grown are opium poppies for medicinal drugs. The raising of sheep for wool in the east and dairy farming in the northwest are also important. The mining of copper, zinc, tin, lead, and iron has increased in recent years. The state's major manufactures are metals and metal products. Tourism also is growing in significance, due in part to better ferry connections to the continent.

The island was explored in 1642 by the Dutch navigator Abel Tasman, who named it Van Diemen's Land. Capt. James Cook visited the island in 1777 and, in 1803, Great Britain took possession and established a penal colony. The indigenous population, which had been on the island some 35,000 years, numbered about 5,000 at the time of colonization; they were subsequently decimated, with only a few mixed-race survivors. Governed by New South Wales until 1825, Tasmania was then constituted as a separate colony. The transportation of convicts ended in 1853 as a result of local opposition. In the 1850s the British established constitutional self-government in the colony and the name was officially changed to Tasmania. In 1901, Tasmania was federated as a state in the Commonwealth of Australia. The nominal head of the state government is the governor, appointed by the British crown on advice of the cabinet; however, actual executive powers are exercised by the premier and the cabinet, who are responsible to the bicameral state parliament.

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Tasmania

 formerly Van Diemen's Land

Island (pop., 2005 est.: 485,199) and state, Australia. Located off the southeastern corner of the continent and separated from it by Bass Strait, the state has an area of 26,410 sq mi (68,400 sq km) that also includes numerous smaller islands. Hobart is the capital. Originally inhabited by Australian Aboriginals, the island was explored and named Van Diemen's Land by Abel Janszoon Tasman in 1642. Taken by the British in the early 1800s and made a colony in 1825, it was used as an auxiliary penal settlement until the 1850s. It was granted self-government and renamed Tasmania in 1856; it became a state of the Australian Commonwealth in 1901. Chief economic activities include copper, zinc, tin, and tungsten mining; livestock raising, especially sheep for wool; and tourism. Several natural areas, collectively called the Tasman Wilderness, were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1982 (extended in 1989).

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Tasmania

an island in the S Pacific, south of mainland Australia: forms, with offshore islands, the smallest state of Australia; discovered by the Dutch explorer Tasman in 1642; used as a penal colony by the British (1803--53); mostly forested and mountainous. Capital: Hobart. Pop.: 479 958 (2003 est.). Area: 68 332 sq. km (26 383 sq. miles)