Geography The city of Hobart is located in the south eastern part of the island of Tasmania, at 42°S, 147°E. It is approximately 22 kilometres from the mouth of the Derwent River at Storm Bay. Hobart is built around Sullivans Cove, a small bay formed where the Hobart Rivulet and the Derwent River join. The location was chosen as a location for a settlement due to the deep-water harbour that allows easy access for shipping, the sheltered anchorage that Sullivans Cove provides, and the freshwater supply from Hobart Rivulet. The main part of the city runs along the western shore of the Derwent River in a north–south direction, but the eastern shore residential suburbs are also extensive. The eastern shore has many low hills and a small mountain ridge known as the Meehan Range. The western shore is partially flat at sea level but rises steeply away from the shore to the foothills. Deep gullies are situated between the hill ridges, most of which reach to around 500–800 m in height. Mount Wellington is the most prominent feature of the Wellington Range. The Derwent Valley stretches northwards and is flat farmland and rolling green hills that follows the winding course of the river. Prehistory The prehistory of the Hobart region is poorly understood. At the time of settlement by the British, it is estimated that approximately 1000 to 5000 people lived in Tasmania, divided into eight tribal groups. It was the semi-nomadic Mouheneener tribe, a sub-group of the Nuenonne, or 'South-East' tribe, who were first affected by European settlement, as Hobart Town was founded in their traditional hunting grounds. The Nuenonne had no permanent settlements at Sullivans Cove, or anywhere else in Tasmania, living as nomadic hunter-gatherers. Early Europeans described the Nuenonne as living in crude bark huts established around a fire at movable camping grounds as they travelled about their region. The French described them as a friendly peaceful people who lived a happy, simple life. The best description of them came from Captain James Cook RN, on his visit to the Derwent River in 1777. Cook described the Nuenonne as: During the first visits to Tasmania by European explorers, the Nuenonne, normally in parties of about eight men, were often very welcoming, greeting explorers from the shore with friendly shouts and exchanging food and water for trinkets. At first they thought the Europeans were spirits who arrived on