It is easy to understand why Captain David Collins selected Sullivans Cove – named after the Under Secretary to the Colonies – for an English settlement in 1804. He christened the new colony Hobart Town. The location at the estuary of the Derwent River provided for inland transportation upstream for 120 miles. More important, this is a deep, natural harbor. The port is protected by Storm Bay as it widens downstream and flows beyond the Tasman Peninsula into the ocean. Explorer Sir John Hayes named the river in 1793. It means “valley thick with oaks.” The tall ship is the SV Rhona H, built in 1942. It is one of several schooner sightseeing craft available from Hobart’s waterfront.
