van diemens land

Tasmania hits the news for the wrong reasons

@JudyEv (382440)

Rockingham, Australia

June 17, 2025 8:13pm CST

A few days ago a policeman was shot dead in Tasmania. This is significant as it is the first police officer to be shot there since 1922, over a century ago. I wonder how many other countries can say that. Tasmania is an Australian state. It’s the world’s 26th largest island and was once often left off of Australian maps. It is separated from the mainland by Bass Strait and is about 240 kilometres (150 miles) south of the mainland. Population is just over half a million which really surprised me. Around 40% of the populace lives in the Greater Hobart region. Hobart is the capital. Abel Tasman was the first to discover the island but it was first called Van Diemen’s Land after Tasman’s patron. It is sometimes known as the ‘Apple Isle’ due to its shape and the fact that apples are one of its agricultural exports. It is also popular as an eco-tourism destination, with its stunning scenery. It was also the first country in the world to found an environmental political party.

26 people like this

21 responses

@marguicha (230365)

• Chile

18 Jun

I have seen Tasmania in channels that show nature (animals and plants). It is a pity that now news have changed to violence.

9 people like this

show previous comments

@marguicha (230365)

• Chile

19 Jun

@JudyEv I am glad that this is not usual.

2 people like this

@snowy22315 (209132)

• United States

18 Jun

Thanks, for the info.

6 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 Jun

You're welcome.

3 people like this

Lenore Plassman

@sallypup (69220)

• Centralia, Washington

18 Jun

Fascinating. You should be a tour guide. You have me itching to go tour Tasmania.

6 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 Jun

We toured Tasmania with a caravan. It is a beautiful country with some very lovely scenery and interesting towns.

3 people like this

@noni1959 (13061)

• United States

18 Jun

That's so awful for the killing. Very interesting article and love the photo.

4 people like this

show previous comments

@noni1959 (13061)

• United States

20 Jun

@JudyEv I've heard of the Tasmania Devil and silly me didn't realize that is where they are from.

I would love to visit Australia some day.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

21 Jun

@noni1959 I hope you get here one day. And come to the West 'cause west is best.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 Jun

I'm glad you enjoyed it. We really enjoyed touring Tasmania.

3 people like this

Show more comments

@innertalks (23744)

• Australia

18 Jun

The Police officer was 57, and had worked 25 years on the job. It was a senseless killing, and let's hope the perpetrator is punished to the full extent of the law, and not just bailed quickly, as most criminals are here.

5 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 Jun

At least they know who did it. I hope he gets properly punished too.

3 people like this

@Kandae11 (57230)

•

18 Jun

It looks beautiful in that picture. Condolences to the policeman's family, friends and colleagues.

5 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 Jun

Thanks. It's very sad. His family would have been expecting him home after his shift.

4 people like this

@rebelann (117269)

• El Paso, Texas

18 Jun

It's beautiful. I love the rugged mountains

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 Jun

They are very rugged indeed. It's not the type of country we're used to.

3 people like this

@FourWalls (86855)

• United States

18 Jun

I’m so sorry that happened. I wish we could go a 103 hours without a cop being shot (or shot at) in America, never mind 103 years. I’ve been watching things on Tasmania since we discussed the Tasmanian Devil (real versus the cartoon character) a few days ago.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 Jun

We toured there with our caravan back in 2018. I did a lot of discussions on it at the time. The country reminded me of England and Ireland - very verdant and lush.

4 people like this

@LadyDuck (502729)

• Italy

18 Jun

I do not know how many other countries can say they never had a policeman killed. The only one I know is Monte Carlo.

3 people like this

show previous comments

@LadyDuck (502729)

• Italy

18 Jun

@JudyEv And in some countries policemen also receive a poor salary.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 Jun

It is a shame that it is such a rare thing. The police take their lives in their hands every day.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Jun

@LadyDuck They once commanded a great deal of respect too but that isn't always the case nowadays.

1 person likes this

Show more comments

@Fleura (35092)

• United Kingdom

18 Jun

I hadn't realised it was quite so far away from the mainland. I guess it looks closer on maps because the rest of Australia is so big that the scale has to be small! I hadn't heard about the policeman, how sad. The news here is all full of the Middle East and Trump.

4 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 Jun

That's dominating our news too. We're further away from it all but it's still very worrying.

3 people like this

@franxav (14597)

• India

18 Jun

Sad we have to see such sad things in the world . In our country India, this goes as a common news. There are gangsters in every city and policemen are their natural enemies.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 Jun

With such large populations, it wouldn't be unusual for policemen to lose their lives.

2 people like this

@LindaOHio (222726)

• United States

18 Jun

Such a pity that the policeman was shot. Thank you for the information about the "state".

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 Jun

There wouldn't be too many countries who hadn't had a policeman shot in the last 100 years.

2 people like this

@LindaOHio (222726)

• United States

19 Jun

@JudyEv No there wouldn't be...It happens in the US far too often.

1 person likes this

@Beestring (15372)

• Hong Kong

18 Jun

I'm sorry for the incident. It is such a beautiful place.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 Jun

It's a very sad situation but at least they have the killer.

3 people like this

Emmanuel Adelakun

@ogbenishyna44 (1757)

•

18 Jun

Wow, I do hope peace is restored. Australia is such a beautiful and relatively quiet country.

3 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

18 Jun

I'm sure it was just a one-off thing. Yes, we are lucky in Australia to not have a lot of unrest.

3 people like this

@GardenGerty (169568)

• United States

18 Jun

That is sad and so totally unusual. Do they know who did it and why?

2 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Jun

He was trying to serve an eviction notice to a young man and his family so doubly sad all round.

1 person likes this

@allknowing (153529)

• India

18 Jun

You brought Tasmania to life in this post.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Jun

Thanks. It's a lovely island and doesn't deserve to be ignored.

2 people like this

@RasmaSandra (98106)

• Daytona Beach, Florida

18 Jun

So sorry to hear that violence has started in Tasmania, Time to train ninja tasmanian devils,

2 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Jun

It mostly seems quite a law-abiding country so it's very unfortunate that this has happened.

2 people like this

@BACONSTRIPSXXX (18159)

• Torrington, Connecticut

18 Jun

Looks scenic and peaceful

2 people like this

show previous comments

@BACONSTRIPSXXX (18159)

• Torrington, Connecticut

26 Jun

@JudyEv Id love to visit one day

2 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

27 Jun

@BACONSTRIPSXXX I hope you're able to. I'm sure you'd enjoy it.

1 person likes this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Jun

Tasmania has many lovely areas like this.

2 people like this

Show more comments

@Shiva49 (28394)

• Singapore

18 Jun

People are the same everywhere but why kill when everything looks so pristine and favorable for a peaceful life? It is a huge estate for me and I may even feel like a fish out of water there as the silence could be deafening after having lived in crowded cities.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

26 Jun

We are used to very few noises around us but now we live in the city too and close to a small airfield so there are always planes coming and going.

2 people like this

@Ronrybs (21492)

• London, England

19 Jun

I hope they got the criminal. I guess nowhere is truly safe

2 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

19 Jun

I think the policement was delivering an eviction notice of some sort so it's pretty awful all round.

2 people like this

@JudyEv (382440)

• Rockingham, Australia

21 Jun

@Ronrybs The shooter had a young family I think which is no reason to shoot the messenger but it's still very sad.

2 people like this

@Ronrybs (21492)

• London, England

20 Jun

@JudyEv Similar thing happened when I was in Yorkshire, a good few years back

2 people like this

Show more comments