Editing Tasmania (section)

=={{anchor|Etymology}}Toponymy==
Tasmania is named after [[Dutch people|Dutch]] [[explorer]] [[Abel Tasman]], who made the first reported European sighting of the island on 24 November 1642. Tasman named the island '''Anthony van Diemen's Land''' after his sponsor [[Anthony van Diemen]], the Governor of the [[Dutch East Indies]]. The name was later shortened to '''Van Diemen's Land''' by the British. It was officially renamed "Tasmania" in honour of its first European discoverer on 1 January 1856.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/php/BecomingTasmania/BTAppend2.htm |title=Appendix 2: Select chronology of renaming |last1=Newman |first1=Terry |year=2005 |work=Becoming Tasmania – Companion Web Site |publisher=[[Parliament of Tasmania]] |access-date=26 August 2011 |archive-date=22 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110422111627/http://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/php/BecomingTasmania/BTAppend2.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Tasmania was sometimes referred to as "Dervon", as mentioned in the [[Jerilderie Letter]] written by the notorious Australian [[bushranger]] [[Ned Kelly]] in 1879. The colloquial expression for the state is "Tassie". Tasmania is also colloquially shortened to "Tas", mainly when used in business names and website addresses. TAS is also the [[Australian postal abbreviations|Australia Post abbreviation]] for the state.

In the constructed [[palawa kani]] language, the main island of Tasmania is called "Lutruwita",<ref name=":4">{{cite news |title=Tasmanian Aboriginal place names |publisher=Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre |url=http://tacinc.com.au/tasmanian-aboriginal-place-names/ |access-date=30 November 2019 |archive-date=19 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191119003129/http://tacinc.com.au/tasmanian-aboriginal-place-names/ |url-status=live }}</ref> a name originally derived from the [[Bruny Island Tasmanian language]]. [[George Augustus Robinson]] recorded it as ''Loe.trou.witter'' and also as  ''Trow.wer.nar'', probably from one or more of the [[Eastern Tasmanian languages|eastern]] or [[Northeastern Tasmanian languages]]. However, he also recorded it as a name for [[Cape Barren Island]]. In the 20th century, some writers used it as an Aboriginal name for Tasmania, spelled "Trowenna" or "Trowunna". It is now believed that the name is more properly applied to Cape Barren Island,<ref name=":4" /> which has had an official [[dual naming|dual name]] of "Truwana" since 2014.<ref>{{cite news |title=Aboriginal and Dual Names of places in lutruwita (Tasmania) |publisher=Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre |url=http://tacinc.com.au/official-aboriginal-and-dual-names/ |access-date=30 November 2019 |archive-date=19 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191119033057/http://tacinc.com.au/official-aboriginal-and-dual-names/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

A number of [[palawa kani]] names, based on historical records of aboriginal names, have been accepted by the Tasmanian government. A dozen of these (below) are 'dual-use' (bilingual) names, and another two are unbounded areas with only palawa names.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tacinc.com.au/official-aboriginal-and-dual-names/|title=Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre – Official Aboriginal and Dual Names of places|website=tacinc.com.au|access-date=23 September 2019|archive-date=25 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925075102/http://tacinc.com.au/official-aboriginal-and-dual-names/|url-status=live}}</ref>

;Bilingual names
{{columns-list|colwidth=13em|
* Kanamaluka / [[Tamar River]]
* Kunanyi / [[Mount Wellington (Tasmania)|Mount Wellington]]
* Laraturunawn / Sundown Point
* Nungu / West Point
* Pinmatik / [[Rocky Cape, Tasmania|Rocky Cape]]
* Takayna / [[The Tarkine]]
* Taypalaka / [[Green Point, Tasmania|Green Point]]
* Titima / [[Trefoil Island]]
* Truwana / [[Cape Barren Island]]
* Wukalina / [[Mount William National Park|Mount William]]
* Yingina / [[Great Lake (Tasmania)|Great Lake]]
}}

;Palawa names
* Larapuna: an unbounded area centred on the [[Bay of Fires]]
* [[Narawntapu National Park]] (formerly Asbestos Range National Park)
* Putalina: an unbounded area centred on Oyster Cove (including the community of [[Oyster Cove, Tasmania|Oyster Cove]])

There are also a number of archaeological sites with Palawa names. Some of these names have been contentious, with names being proposed without consultation with the aboriginal community, or without having a connection to the place in question.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://andaman.org/BOOK/chapter52/8-Tasmania-ancient/8-Tasmania-ancient2/archaeology2.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115205007/http://andaman.org/BOOK/chapter52/8-Tasmania-ancient/8-Tasmania-ancient2/archaeology2.htm|archive-date=15 November 2010|title=archaeology|date=15 November 2010}}</ref>

As well as a diverse First Nations geography, where remnants are preserved in rough form by European documentation, Tasmania is known as a place for [[Place names considered unusual|unorthodox place-names]].<ref>{{cite web |title=QUIRKY PLACE NAMES OF TASMANIA |url=https://www.discovertasmania.com.au/about/articles/quirky-place-names-of-tasmania |website=Discover Tasmania |access-date=31 August 2021 |archive-date=1 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901000432/https://www.discovertasmania.com.au/about/articles/quirky-place-names-of-tasmania |url-status=live }}</ref> These names often come about from lost definitions, where descriptive names have lost their old meanings and have taken on new modern interpretations (e.g. 'Bobs Knobs'). Other names have retained their original meaning, and are often quaint or endearing descriptions (e.g. [[Paradise, Tasmania|'Paradise']]).