City Australia and Oceania
Hobart
Hobart is a city on the island of Tasmania in Australia. It sits beside a wide river, near a big mountain.
Hobart is the capital of Tasmania, the island state of Australia. It lies on the Derwent estuary, and kunanyi / Mount Wellington dominates its skyline. The City of Hobart calls it Australia's second-oldest city. About 233,736 people lived in the Hobart urban area in mid-2025.
Hobart, capital of Tasmania, grew from a sheltered cove on the Derwent estuary where Europeans arrived in the summer of 1804 (City of Hobart). Australian Bureau of Statistics estimate for 30 June 2025: 233,736 (significant urban area), about 41% of Tasmania's people.
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Hobart
Hobart is a city in Australia. It is on Tasmania, an island south of the Australian mainland.
Hobart is the capital of Tasmania.
Hobart is the capital of Tasmania, the island state of Australia. The City of Hobart calls it Australia's second-oldest city, older than Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that 233,736 people lived in the Hobart urban area on 30 June 2025, about four in every ten people in Tasmania.
City of Hobart: Australia's second-oldest city, established when Sydney was only a couple of decades old; older than Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.
Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates via City Population (Hobart significant urban area): 178,277 (1991), 198,534 (2011), 207,396 (2016), 230,040 (2021), 233,736 (30 June 2025); Tasmania 576,261 (2025), so Hobart holds about 40.6%.
- Country
- Australia (capital of the state of Tasmania)
- People in Hobart (urban area, estimate 30 June 2025)
- 233,736
- Share of Tasmania
- about 41% of the state's 576,261 people (2025 estimates)
- Age
- Australia's second-oldest city (City of Hobart)
A city on a river
This picture was taken from high up. You can see houses, a wide blue river and a long bridge. Hills rise behind.
This photo of Hobart was taken from high above on 13 December 2010. Below a dark, forested hill, the city's streets and buildings spread down to the wide blue Derwent River. A long bridge, the Tasman Bridge, crosses the river at the left, and more houses cover the far shore, with hills and more water behind.
The City of Hobart says people have always admired this setting: a sheltered cove, a deep-water port and a skyline of forested hills.
Commons: own work by Diego Delso (Poco a poco), CC BY-SA 3.0, Quality image; 'Hobart, Tasmania, Australia', 13 December 2010; the current version is the photographer's own reworked development (2020) of his 2011 upload; categories include the Derwent River and the Tasman Bridge.
City of Hobart: from the very beginning residents and visitors marveled at Hobart's location: houses growing away from a sheltered cove facing one of the world's great deep-water ports, with a skyline of forested hills dominated by kunanyi / Mount Wellington.
- Photo
- Hobart and the Derwent River from high above, 13 December 2010
- Tasman Bridge
- a highway bridge over the Derwent River (Wikidata)
- The setting
- a sheltered cove, a deep-water port and forested hills (City of Hobart)
Australia's second-oldest city
Aboriginal people lived here for a very, very long time. Then people from Europe came in 1804. Many old stone buildings still stand in Hobart.
The City of Hobart says the Mouheneenner Aboriginal people lived here for hundreds of generations before Europeans arrived in the summer of 1804. Hobart began as a busy international port, giving shelter to ships tossed by storms.
Much of the past lives on in the streets, the City of Hobart says, with a collection of colonial buildings not matched anywhere else in Australia, many built of local sandstone.
City of Hobart: home of the Mouheneenner Aboriginal people for hundreds of generations before Europeans arrived in the summer of 1804 and changed their world forever; Hobart began as a busy international port sheltering storm-tossed ships; local sandstone, convict labor and government investment left imposing public buildings, Georgian and Gothic churches and small cottages; the Theatre Royal (1836) is the country's oldest operating theater; the botanical gardens (1818) are still on their original site; the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery was founded in 1846.
Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates (urban area): 178,277 (1991), 198,534 (2011), 233,736 (2025).
- First people
- the Mouheneenner Aboriginal people, for hundreds of generations (City of Hobart)
- 1804
- Europeans arrived in the summer of 1804 (City of Hobart)
- Old buildings
- a collection of colonial buildings not matched anywhere else in Australia (City of Hobart)
Port, bridge and mountain road
Ships come to Hobart's deep harbor. Cars cross the river on a long bridge, and people walk on trails in the hills.
Hobart grew up around a sheltered cove facing a deep-water harbor on the Derwent estuary, and the City of Hobart says it began as a busy international port. Today the Tasman Bridge, a highway bridge, carries traffic across the Derwent River.
The city's bush-clad hills, the estuary and the mountain are just a short journey from the center, and people explore them on many tracks.
City of Hobart: houses growing away from a sheltered cove facing one of the world's great deep-water ports; Hobart began as a busy international port that sheltered storm-tossed ships and their crews; the Derwent estuary, bush-clad hills and the much-loved mountain are a short journey from the city and can be explored on many tracks.
Wikidata (from the city point Q40191): Tasman Bridge (Q2302289, highway bridge over the Derwent River) 2.93 km NE; Salamanca Place (Q1015935, historic precinct and marketplace) 1.30 km ESE.
- Port
- faces one of the world's great deep-water ports (City of Hobart)
- Tasman Bridge
- about 2.9 km northeast of the city's Wikidata point
- Nature close by
- the Derwent estuary, bush-clad hills and the mountain, explored on many tracks (City of Hobart)
Cool and breezy, with rain all year
Hobart has cool winters and mild summers. A little rain falls in every month.
In the World Meteorological Organization's averages for Hobart for 1981 to 2010, the average daily high is 22.2 °C in January and 12.3 °C in July.
Rain is spread through the year: about 571 millimeters in all, with every month between 36.0 and 60.5 millimeters. August is the wettest month and May the driest. The City of Hobart says wind and weather from the Southern Ocean and Antarctica often roll over the city.
WMO World Weather Information Service, Hobart (42.89° S, 147.33° E; Bureau of Meteorology), 1981–2010: mean daily maximum 12.3 °C (July) to 22.2 °C (January); mean daily minimum 4.9 °C (July) to 12.6 °C (January, February). Precipitation sums to 571.4 mm; August (60.5 mm) is the wettest month and May (36.0 mm) the driest, so the wettest month gets less than twice the driest. The monthly rain-day counts add up to about 148. City of Hobart: the bracing influence of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, as wind and weather roll over the city.
- Average daily highs (WMO, Hobart, 1981–2010)
- 12.3 °C (July) to 22.2 °C (January)
- Average daily lows (same table)
- 4.9 °C (July) to 12.6 °C (January and February)
- Rain in a year (sum of the monthly averages)
- about 571 mm
Gardens, museums and a theater
Hobart has a very old theater. It has a garden full of plants, too. Its museums have lots of art.
The City of Hobart says the Theatre Royal, opened in 1836, is the oldest working theater in Australia, and the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, founded in 1818, are still where they started. The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, founded in 1846, has a fine collection of colonial art.
Hobart also opened Australia's first public library, the City of Hobart says, and today local craftspeople work in wood, leather, glass, ceramics and metal.
City of Hobart: Australia's earliest literature was produced here and the nation's first public library opened here; the Theatre Royal (1836) is the country's oldest operating theater; the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens (1818) remain in their original location; the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (1846) has a fine collection of colonial art; the Museum of Old and New Art is called one of the world's leading contemporary art galleries; craftspeople work in wood, leather, glass, ceramics, metal and jewelry.
Wikidata (from the city point): Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (Q7687474) 1.26 km E; Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens (Q2171140) 2.31 km NNE.
- Theatre Royal
- opened 1836, the country's oldest operating theater (City of Hobart)
- Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens
- founded in 1818 and still in their original location (City of Hobart)
- Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery
- founded in 1846, with a fine collection of colonial art (City of Hobart)
Hobart on the map
Find Australia on the globe. Look below it for a big island. That is Tasmania, and Hobart is in its southeast.
Hobart lies at about 42.9° south and 147.3° east, on the Derwent estuary in southeastern Tasmania. The City of Hobart says the city grew around a sheltered cove facing a deep-water port, with forested hills behind.
Measured from the city's center point on Wikidata, the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery is about 1.3 kilometers east, Salamanca Place about 1.3 kilometers east-southeast, the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens about 2.3 kilometers north-northeast and the Tasman Bridge about 2.9 kilometers northeast.
Hobart lies at about 42.88° S and 147.32° E (Wikidata point Q40191; the Natural Earth/sheet point is 4.11 km NNW of it). From the Wikidata point: Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery 1.26 km E; Salamanca Place 1.30 km ESE; Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens 2.31 km NNE; Tasman Bridge 2.93 km NE. The WMO station point (42.89° S, 147.33° E) is 1.32 km SE of the Wikidata point.
- Latitude
- about 42.9° south
- Longitude
- about 147.3° east
- Water
- the Derwent estuary (City of Hobart)
Amazing facts
-
Hobart has a theater that opened almost 200 years ago, and it still puts on shows!
The Theatre Royal, opened in 1836, is Australia's oldest operating theater, the City of Hobart says.
City of Hobart: the Theatre Royal (1836) is the country's oldest operating theater.
-
Hobart is older than Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.
The City of Hobart calls Hobart Australia's second-oldest city, older than Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.
City of Hobart: second-oldest city, established when Sydney was only a couple of decades old.
-
Australia's very first public library opened in Hobart.
The City of Hobart says Hobart opened Australia's first public library.
City of Hobart: Hobart produced Australia's earliest literature and opened the nation's first public library.
-
In Hobart, it rains a little in every month of the year.
In the WMO table, every month in Hobart gets between 36.0 and 60.5 millimeters of rain.
WMO table for Hobart (1981–2010): monthly precipitation from 36.0 mm (May) to 60.5 mm (August).
Words to know
- estuary
- the wide mouth of a river where fresh water meets the sea
- cove
- a small, sheltered bay
- colonial
- from the time when a place was ruled by a faraway country
- sandstone
- a rock made of sand grains pressed together, often used for building
- botanical garden
- a garden where many kinds of plants are grown, studied and shown
- estimate
- an official count worked out from records instead of asking everyone
Discovery challenge
-
Hobart is the capital of which island?
Hobart is the capital of which Australian state?
Hobart is the capital of which island state of Australia?
- Tasmania
- New Zealand
- Fiji
Show the answer
Tasmania
Tasmania!
Tasmania.
Tasmania.
-
What is the name of the river in Hobart?
Hobart lies on the estuary of which river?
The Tasman Bridge crosses which river in Hobart?
- Derwent
- Nile
- Thames
Show the answer
Derwent
The Derwent!
The Derwent.
The Derwent River.
-
When did the Theatre Royal open?
In which year did Hobart's Theatre Royal open?
The City of Hobart calls the Theatre Royal the country's oldest operating theater; when did it open?
- 1836
- 1936
- 1736
Show the answer
1836
1836!
1836.
1836.
-
Which kind of building did Hobart have first in all of Australia?
The City of Hobart says Hobart opened Australia's first what?
According to the City of Hobart, which public institution did Hobart open first in Australia?
- Public library
- Airport
- Zoo
Show the answer
Public library
A public library!
A public library.
The nation's first public library.
-
Which month is the rainiest in Hobart?
In the WMO table, which month gets the most rain in Hobart?
WMO table for Hobart (1981–2010): which month has the highest precipitation, 60.5 mm?
- August
- May
- February
Show the answer
August
August!
August.
August (60.5 mm).
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Hobart on the Derwent estuary in southeastern Tasmania.
- Explain why a sheltered cove with deep water made a good place for a port town.
- Describe what old buildings, gardens and theaters can tell us about a city's past.
- Read a Southern Hemisphere climate table with rain spread through the year.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why do you think sailors were glad to find a sheltered harbor after a stormy voyage?
- Why is it important to remember the Aboriginal people who lived here long before 1804?
- How is a city's weather shaped by the ocean around it?
Try at home or in class
- Age line: on a strip of paper, mark 1804, 1818, 1836 and 1846, then today. Which is closest to now?
- Share math: 233,736 of 576,261 Tasmanians lived in Hobart in 2025. Is that more or less than half?
- Rain chart: make a bar chart of Hobart's monthly rain and compare the wettest and driest months.
Key vocabulary: estuary, cove, colonial, sandstone, botanical garden, estimate
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Welcome (About Council) , City of Hobart
- Australia: Agglomerations (significant urban areas) , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Australian Bureau of Statistics
- Hobart: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- File:Hobart-Tasmania-Australia16.JPG (Diego Delso, December 2010) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.