Elizabeth Street and the Union Bank of Australia, Hobart, Tasmania

Elizabeth Street and the Union Bank of Australia, Hobart, Tasmania

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This scene is that of a business center in Hobart, Tasmania. Hobart is the capital and largest city of the island. It is situated in the southeastern corner of the island. The city has enjoyed an increasing prosperity ever since its founding by Colonel Collins in 1804. This bank is one of the larger of the five banks in the city. The advocates of municipal government point with pride to this city as the living example of the working-out of their theories. Tasmania, itself, in an island a little smaller than Ireland. It is situated in a southerly direction from Australia and was first sighted by the Dutch navigator, Tasman, in 1642. Tasmania originally was called Van Dieman's Land, and in fact on some maps both names are still given. The ownership of the island has passed through many hands since its discovery. It is now a possession of Great Britain. The island is spoken of as a "land of mountain and flood, with picturesque scenery." Its center is a mass of hills, covered with forests and large upland lakes. This island experiences a great range of temperature; the eastern side is generally dry while the opposite is true of the western coast. Hobart has a mean temperature of fifty-four degrees with an average of twenty-two inches rainfall. Mining rather than agriculture is the chief occupation of the island, as the nature of the land makes the latter impractical. The island enjoys a thriving commerce, exporting as it does its metals and wool and in return receiving manufactured goods. The population of Tasmania has steadily increased and in 1900 it was close to 200,000.

1 gelatine silver print stereograph (8 x 16 cm) mounted on card (9 x 18 cm)

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