Editing Van Diemen's Land (section)

===Early colonisation===
Around 1784–1785, [[Henri Peyroux de la Coudrenière]], a serial entrepreneur in colonial schemes, wrote a "memoir on the advantages to be gained for the Spanish crown by the settlement of Van Diemen's Land".<ref>{{cite journal|last = Liljegren|first = E. R.|date = 1939|title = Jacobinism in Spanish Louisiana, 1792–1797|journal = Louisiana Historical Quarterly|volume = 22|issue = 1|pages = 47–97|issn = 0095-5949}}</ref> After receiving no response from the Spanish government, Peyroux proposed it to the French government, as "Mémoire sur les avantages qui résulteraient d'une colonie puissante à la terre de Diémen" but nothing came of his scheme.<ref>Paul Roussier, "Un projet de colonie française dans le Pacifique à la fin du XVIII siecle", ''La Revue du Pacifique'', Année 6, No.1, 15 Janvier 1927, pp.726–733.[http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5544204w/f732.tableDesMatieres]; Robert J. King, "Henri Peyroux de la Coudrenière and his plan for a colony in Van Diemen's Land", ''Map Matters'', Issue 31, June 2017, pp.2–6.[http://www.australiaonthemap.org.au/news/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813030104/http://www.australiaonthemap.org.au/news/|date=13 August 2021}}</ref>

Sealers and whalers based themselves on the Tasmanian islands from 1798.

In August 1803, [[New South Wales]] Governor [[Philip Gidley King|Philip King]] sent Lieutenant [[John Bowen (colonist)|John Bowen]] to establish a small military outpost [[Risdon Cove|on the eastern shore]] of the [[River Derwent (Tasmania)|Derwent River]] to forestall any claims to the island arising from the activities of the French explorers.

From 24 September 1804 until 4 February 1813, there were two administrative divisions in Van Diemen's Land, [[Cornwall Land District|Cornwall County]] in the north and [[Buckingham Land District|Buckingham County]] in the south. The border between the counties was defined as the [[42nd parallel south|42nd parallel]] (now between [[Trial Harbour]] and [[Friendly Beaches Reserve|Friendly Beaches]]). Cornwall County was administered by [[William Paterson (explorer)|William Paterson]] while Buckingham County was administered by [[David Collins (lieutenant governor)|David Collins]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/tpl/InfoSheets/Constitutional_Events.htm |title=Constitutional Events |publisher=Tasmanian Parliamentary Library |access-date=11 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item-sdid-26.html |title=Colonel Collins' Commission 14 January 1803 (NSW) |publisher=Museum of Australian Democracy |access-date=11 June 2019}}</ref>

Major-General [[Ralph Darling]] was appointed Governor of New South Wales in 1825. In the same year he visited [[Hobart|Hobart Town]]. On 3 December of 1825, he proclaimed the establishment of the independent colony, of which he became governor for three days.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article29213910 |title=150th Anniversary of Australia |newspaper=[[The Mercury (Hobart)|The Mercury]] |location=Hobart, Tasmania |date=26 January 1938 |access-date=26 January 2012 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

In 1836, the new governor, [[John Franklin|Sir John Franklin]], sailed to Van Diemen's Land, together with [[William Hutchins]] (1792-1841), who was to become the colony's first Archdeacon.<ref>{{cite book |date=2004 |last=Lewis |first=Donald M |title=Dictionary of Evangelical Biography |publisher=Hendrikson Publishers |location=Peabody, Mass, USA |page=587 |ISBN=1565639359}}</ref>

In 1856, the colony was granted [[Responsible government|responsible self-government]] with its representative parliament, and the name of the island and colony was officially changed to Tasmania on 1 January 1856.<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101010250/http://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/php/BecomingTasmania/BTAppend2.htm |archive-date=1 January 2019 |last=Newman |first=Terry |work=Becoming Tasmania Companion Web Site |url=http://www.parliament.tas.gov.au/php/BecomingTasmania/BTAppend2.htm |publisher=Parliament of Tasmania |title=Appendix 2 Select chronology of renaming}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140126023743/http://www.vandiemensland.com/about/ |archive-date=26 January 2014 |website=VanDiemensLand.com |url=http://www.vandiemensland.com/about/ |title=About Van Diemen's Land}}</ref>