Launceston is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania in Australia at the junction of the North Esk and South Esk rivers where they become the Tamar River. With a population of over 100,000, Launceston is the second largest city in Tasmania, after the state capital Hobart. Settled by Europeans in 1806, Launceston is one of Australia's oldest cities and is home to many historic buildings. Like many Australian places, it was named after a town in the United Kingdom, in this case, Launceston in Cornwall. Many of the buildings in the City's central business district were constructed in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Launceston's many well-preserved Victorian and Georgian buildings, including the Launceston synagogue, together with its diverse collection of art-deco architecture, such as Holyman House and Lucks Corner, the former Star Theatre in Invermay and the former Launceston General Hospital, give the city an unusual period ambience. The Cataract Gorge is Launceston's largest tourist attraction and is in close proximity to the city. It is home to the longest single span chairlift in the world, stretching 308m (1,010 ft) across the gorge. The Tasmania Zoo, which is known for its wildlife conservation work, including a breeding program for Tasmanian Devils, is located near the city. Launceston Aquatic, a $26.3 million regional aquatic centre, was completed in 2009.

Accommodation in Launceston’s university residences

The city is home to a campus of the University of Tasmania, which opens its residences to guests during the university vacation periods in the summer and in the winter. It should be understood that these residences and colleges are designed primarily for students and not children or adults expecting a high level of luxury. However, with this in mind, they do meet a level of comfort that we expect most visitors to be happy with, and we will welcome any feedback where this is not the case.

Getting around Launceston

The car is by far the most dominant form of transport in Launceston, with the city having 721 km of urban and rural roads, even though much of the CBD has narrow one-way streets. Launceston is serviced by the Metro Tasmania public bus service, run by the Tasmanian government. Due to its central location, Launceston is the hub of five of the state's major highways: the Midland Highway is the primary route to Hobart; the Bass Highway is the primary route to Devonport and Burnie; and the Tasman Highway is an alternate scenic route to Hobart via Scottsdale, the East Coast, the West Tamar Highway and East Tamar Highway. The city is served by the small Launceston Airport, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south-east of the city. There are currently direct flights to and from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

The first inhabitants of the area of Launceston were largely nomadic Tasmanian Aborigines, believed to have been part of the North Midlands Tribe. Walter George Arthur, who petitioned Queen Victoria in 1847 while interned with other Tasmanian Aborigines on Flinders Island, lived for several years around Launceston, as one of numerous homeless children, before being taken into custody by George Augustus Robinson, who sent him to the Boy's Orphan School in Hobart in 1832. The first white visitors did not arrive until 1798, when George Bass and Matthew Flinders were sent to explore the possibility that there was a strait between Australia and Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania). They originally landed in Port Dalrymple (the mouth of the Tamar River), 40 kilometres (25 mi) to the north-west of Launceston.

The first significant colonial settlement in the region dates from 1804, when the commandant of the British garrison Lt. Col. William Paterson, and his men set up a camp where George Town now stands. A few weeks later, the settlement was moved across the river to York Town, and a year later they eventually settled in Launceston. Initially the settlement was called Patersonia, however, Paterson later changed the name to Launceston in honour of the New South Wales Governor Captain Philip Gidley King, who was born in Launceston, Cornwall. The name still survives in the tiny hamlet of Patersonia 18 kilometres (11 mi) north-west of Launceston. By 1827, Launceston's population had climbed to 2,000 and the town had become an export centre, mainly for the colony's northern pastoral industry.

Tin was discovered at Mount Bischoff in 1871 in north-western Tasmania, starting a minerals boom. Gold mining commenced approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) away in Beaconsfield in 1877. During the following two decades Launceston grew from a small town into an urban centre. In 1889, Launceston was the second town in Tasmania to be declared a city, after state capital Hobart.