Fact of the Day : Which island used to be called Van Diemen's land? (from The Oxford Companion to Australian History)
Van Diemen's land, also known as Vandemonia, the island south of mainland Australia, was named in 1642 by Abel Tasman after Antonio van Diemen, the governor-general of the Dutch East Indies. Following British colonisation, Van Diemen's Land was settled in 1803 and became a separate colony in 1825. In 1851 its Legislative Council was changed into a partially elected body with power to draw up a constitution for self-government; this took place in 1856.
The colony's name was changed to Tasmania in 1853. This move was strongly supported by Rev. John West, a leader of the anti-transportation movement, who used the word Tasmania in the title of his 1852 history in the expectation that it would dispel the notoriety associated with convictism and penal servitude. Helen Doyle
How to cite this entry: Helen Doyle "Van Diemen's land" The Oxford Companion to Australian History. Ed. Graeme Davison, John Hirst and Stuart Macintyre. Oxford University Press, 2001. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. 26 December 2011
