Island (pop., 2007 est.: 491,666) and state, Australia. It is 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 (68,401 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, lead, and silver 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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