Country before Colonisation
Macquarie Point is located on Muwinina Country, the land of the first people of Nipaluna / Hobart. The knowledge and ingenuity of the Palawa people are fundamental to understanding the history and heritage of this place.
Click to read the Muwinina Palawa Pama Nipaluna Statement of Country to learn more about the Muwinina people, the original shoreline of Timtumili Minanya/Derwent River, and the survival of the Palawa community.
'As It Was' Collagraph by Allan Mansell
Changing shoreline and landscape
Since European settlement began in 1804, Macquarie Point has undergone significant change.
Paintings and written descriptions indicate that prior to colonisation, forested slopes led down to the water and were covered with tea trees and gums. Low cliffs and narrow beaches separated the land from the river.
A small waterway, now known as the Hobart Rivulet, entered the estuary at a cove. Just offshore was a small islet that could be reached on foot at low tide, which became known as Hunter Island. A causeway later connected it to the mainland with subsequent land reclamations absorbing the island into the Hobart waterfront.
Image source: View of Sullivan Cove, 1804, watercolour possibly by George William Evans, State Library of New South Whales (SLNSW), SV6B-Sull C-1, a128947r.