David CollinsPrint Page 
The monument commemorates the first Governor of Tasmania, David Collins (1756 -1810). The inscription on the monument states the date of his death as the 28th March 1810. The correct date of death is the 24th March 1810. His grave was beneath the altar of the first St David`s Church which was erected in 1810.
A plaque was added to the monument in 1988 which shows the correct date of death.
In February 1803 Collins received his commission as Lieutenant-Governor of a settlement to be formed in Bass Strait. He sailed in the Calcutta with about 330 convicts and arrived in Port Phillip on 9 October 1803. He chose a bad spot for the settlement on the south shore and found the soil poor, and that there was little water.
Better water was found on the east shore near the present site of Frankston, but Collins decided that the country was to inhospitable and on 30 January he sailed for Tasmania and arrived in the Derwent on 15 February 1804. On 18 February Collins selected for the settlement the present site of Hobart. It is generally agreed no better choice could have been made, and three days later Collins stepped ashore and began his reign as lieutenant-governor.
David Collins BurialLocation
| Address: | Davey Street, St David`s Park, Hobart, 7000 |
|---|---|
| State: | TAS |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -42.885853 Long: 147.328264 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Government - Colonial |
| Link: | http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/adbonli… |
Dedication
| Approx. Monument Dedication Date: | 1838 |
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Sacred to the memory of David Collins Esqr.
Lieutenant Governor of this Colony and Lt Colonel of the Royal Marine Forces.
On the first establishment of the Colony of New South Wales he was employed as Deputy Judge Advocate and in the year 1803 he was intrusted by His Majesty’s Government with the command of an xxpedition destined to form a settlement at Port Philip on the South Coast of New Holland but which was subsequently removed to Van Diemen’s Land.
Under his direction as Lieutenant-Governor the site of this Town was chosen and the foundation of its first building laid in 1804.
He died here on the 28th March 1810
Aged 56 years
And this monument long projected was erected to his memory in 1838 by direction of His Excellency Sir John Franklin KCHKR
Site of the first church erected in 1810 in Van Dieman`s Land built over the grave of Lieutenant Governor Collins whose body rested beneath the altar.
Lt. Col. David Collims
Arrived First Fleet 26. 1. 1788
Died 24. 3. 1810
Fellowship of First Fleeters
1988
