...is the original name for
Tasmania, an island off the
south coast of
Australia. It was discovered in 1642 by
Abel Tasman who named it for the then governor of
Batavia.
In the 19th century the island was settled by the British and became part of the colony of Australia.
The main settlement was Hobart. The island was used as a destination for the transportation of convicts.
The name changed to Tasmania in the 1850s and in 1901, when the Commonwealth of Australia was formed, Tasmania became a separate state.
When I was 10 I won a geography competition because I needed a different country starting with V and Van Diemen's Land was that country! This was a consequence of my secret past as a philatelist :)