Tasman Peninsula

Lore & Background

The original name for the area is Turrakana. The Aboriginal inhabitants were the Pydairrerme people, whose territory covered what is now the Tasman and Forestier peninsulas. They were part of the larger Paredarerme language group, whose territory covered a large area of the east coast of Tasmania. The area was named after Dutch explorer Abel Tasman after colonisation, but was dual named as of March 2021. The first European settlement was Port Arthur in the early 1830s. It was selected as a penal settlement because it was geographically isolated from the rest of the colony but more easily reachable by sea than Macquarie Harbour. It had excellent supplies of timber for shipbuilding and a deep sheltered harbour for British warship repairs. Its inaccessibility was enhanced by having Eaglehawk Neck lined with guards and guard dogs to prevent convict escapes. A small number did escape, including the bushranger Martin Cash. The Coal Mines Historic Site, near the north tip west of the peninsula, was originally the site of a convict-operated coal mine.

Reader's Guide

The region also includes the Coal Mines Historic Site. In the modern era, tourism is a major industry, with attractions such as the Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park at Taranna and the Tasman National Park, which features the highest sea cliffs in the Southern Hemisphere, rising 300 metres above the Tasman Sea at Cape Pillar. The peninsula is also a key area in the battle to save the Tasmanian devil from devil facial tumour disease (DFTD), due to its isolation from the Tasmanian mainland where DFTD has killed more than half of all devils. The rare Cape Pillar sheoak is found only in the Tasman National Park, restricted to the Cape Pillar area and Tasman Island. The peninsula forms part of the South-east Tasmania Important Bird Area, important for the endangered swift parrot and forty-spotted pardalote. Bushwalking is popular, particularly at Cape Raoul and Cape Pillar at the extreme south-west and south-east ends of the peninsula.

Did You Know?

• Eaglehawk Neck, connecting the Tasman and Forestier Peninsulas, is less than 30 metres wide at its narrowest point.
• The highest sea cliffs in the Southern Hemisphere are at Cape Pillar on the Tasman Peninsula, rising 300 metres above the Tasman Sea.
• The rare Cape Pillar sheoak is a shrub or small tree found only in the Tasman National Park, restricted to the Cape Pillar area and Tasman Island.
• The peninsula was dual named Turrakana / Tasman Peninsula as of March 2021.
• The Huon Channel & Peninsula Steamship Company, which serviced the area from 1900–1930s, owned the MV Cartela, which is still extant.

Geography & Isolation

The Tasman Peninsula juts into the Tasman Sea in south-east Tasmania, roughly 75 km by road from Hobart via the Arthur Highway. What makes its geography striking is how thoroughly it is cut off: it connects to the mainland only through two narrow strips of land. Eaglehawk Neck, barely 30 metres wide at its tightest, links it to Forestier Peninsula, while East Bay Neck near Dunalley ties Forestier to the rest of the state. On every other side, water encircles the land—Norfolk Bay to the north, Frederick Henry Bay to the northwest, Storm Bay wrapping the west and south, and the open Tasman Sea to the east. The eastern shore is predominantly limestone and Jurassic dolerite, producing dramatic features like Tasman's Arch, the Blow Hole, and the Tessellated Pavement at Eaglehawk Neck. Further south, Cape Pillar's sea cliffs rise 300 metres above the ocean, making them the highest in the Southern Hemisphere. Surf breaks at Cape Raoul, Roaring Beach, and Shipstern Bluff draw ocean-goers, while the rugged terrain rewards bushwalkers exploring the peninsula's many headlands.

Convict History & the Steamship Era

In the early 1830s, Port Arthur was established as a secondary penal settlement, chosen for its deliberate remoteness, abundant shipbuilding timber, and a deep sheltered harbour suitable for British warship repairs. Its inaccessibility was reinforced by lining Eaglehawk Neck with armed guards and dogs to deter convict escapes—though a few, including bushranger Martin Cash, still slipped through. A convict-operated coal mine also functioned near the peninsula's north-western tip, now preserved as the Coal Mines Historic Site. Between the convict era and the modern tourism boom, local livelihoods centred on timber and fishing; the rugged terrain and soil limited large-scale agriculture, though orcharding persisted in suitable pockets. The region remained profoundly isolated until regular river steamer services to Hobart began in the 1880s, a development boosted by overseas steamships calling into Hobart and the growing draw of Port Arthur as a destination. The Huon Channel & Peninsula Steamship Company dominated local transport from 1900 through the 1930s, operating vessels including the still-extant MV Cartela.

Conservation & Wildlife

Although the peninsula is most widely recognised for its convict heritage, it has become a frontline in one of Australia's most urgent wildlife crises. The Tasmanian devil, devastated by devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) on the mainland—where the contagious cancer has eliminated more than half of the population—finds its best hope in the peninsula's natural isolation from the mainland. The Tasmanian Devil Conservation Park at Taranna, working alongside government and university scientists, leverages this geographic barrier to maintain a healthy wild devil population. The region also shelters the rare Cape Pillar sheoak, a shrub or small tree found only within Tasman National Park near Cape Pillar and on Tasman Island. BirdLife International has designated the area part of the South-east Tasmania Important Bird Area, citing its critical role in conserving woodland species including the endangered swift parrot and the forty-spotted pardalote. Much of the rugged eastern coastline now falls within Tasman National Park, protecting both the dramatic geology and the fragile ecosystems it supports.

Indigenous Heritage & Dual Naming

Long before European colonisation, the Pydairrerme people inhabited the land now encompassing both the Tasman and Forestier peninsulas. They belonged to the broader Paredarerme language group, whose territory stretched across a substantial portion of Tasmania's east coast. The original name for the area is Turrakana, a designation that carried deep cultural significance for its traditional custodians. For nearly two centuries after the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman's era, the peninsula bore only his name in official records. That changed in March 2021, when the area received dual naming as Turrakana / Tasman Peninsula, formally acknowledging the Pydairrerme heritage alongside the colonial label. The local government area, governed by the Tasman Council, spans 660 square kilometres and includes small towns such as Nubeena, Koonya, Premaydena, Highcroft, and Stormlea. The dual naming represents a meaningful step in recognising the deep Aboriginal connection to this landscape, where the Pydairrerme people lived, hunted, and maintained their cultural practices long before the first European settlers arrived in the 1830s.