Risdon Cove

Risdon Cove is a historic foreshore reserve on the eastern shore of the River Derwent at Risdon in the City of Clarence, Tasmania. It marks the site of the first British settlement in Van Diemen's Land established in September 1803 by Lieutenant John Bowen. The open reserve features a memorial, interpretive signage, walking track and foreshore with views across the Derwent.

Visitors can expect an open, natural foreshore reserve with grassed areas, a small beach and rocky shoreline on the River Derwent. The site includes a memorial monument, interpretive panels explaining the 1803 settlement, a short walking track along the cove, picnic tables and car parking. The setting is quiet and exposed with views across the river to Mount Wellington/kunanyi and surrounding hills. There are no commercial developments on site.

Risdon Cove was the site of the first British settlement in Van Diemen's Land, established on 13 September 1803 by Lieutenant John Bowen with soldiers, convicts and free settlers sent from Sydney. The settlement was intended to secure British claims to the island. It was abandoned in 1804 when the settlement was moved to Sullivan's Cove on the western shore, which became Hobart. The site also includes the location of an encounter on 3 May 1804 involving colonists and Aboriginal people.

The cove lies within the traditional lands of the Mouheneener people and holds significance for Tasmanian Aboriginal people as a place of long occupation and early contact history. Today it is managed as a historic reserve with memorials and interpretation that acknowledge both Aboriginal heritage and early colonial settlement.