Whatever name has graced the wide lower reaches of what we know as the Derwent River, and whoever discovered it first, all agree it's a wonderfully beautiful part of the World. Our historical accounts point to the year 1803 as the first European settlement, and at first, Bowen and his party selected the dry Eastern Shore as the place to plant a British colony. It didn't take long before it was realised that the Western Shore provided superior conditions and so in 1804, the embyonic Town of Hobart was born.