Why Tasmania Feels Like Scotland — But Better

Tasmania is often described as wild, remote, and severe. But that misses what makes it so unusual. In this narrated essay, Quillette Managing Editor Iona Italia explores Tasmania as a place of contradictions: rugged but hospitable, lonely but abundant, sublime from a distance and oddly intimate up close. From convict history and colonial expansion to wombats on mountain walkways and roses in Hobart gardens, Tasmania emerges as something stranger — and more beautiful — than the clichés allow. It feels familiar to European eyes, yet richer and less austere. Like Scotland, but warmer. Like wilderness, but generous. This is an essay about landscape, history, and why Tasmania feels like a place that shouldn’t quite exist — and yet does. Written and read by Iona Italia. 00:00 📜 England, Australia — and the Place That Doesn’t Fit 01:48 🌤️ A Temperate Island: Climate, Fire, and Abundance 03:55 ⚓ Convicts, Dogs, and an Unusual Freedom 05:44 ⚔️ Expansion, Dispossession, and Beauty 06:26 🏔️ Scotland — But Upgraded 09:09 🐨 Wildlife Everywhere 11:40 🏡 Hobart: England Intensified 14:11 🌊 Sea, Ruins, and Photogenic Horror 17:52 ⛰️ Gentle Wildness at the World’s Edge 📖 Originally published on Quillette. Read it here: https://quillette.com/2026/01/20/the-gentle-wildness-of-tasmania-travel-history-nature/ 📍 Written in Tasmania by Iona Italia ----- Quillette is an Australian-based online magazine that focuses on long-form analysis and cultural commentary. It is politically non-partisan, but relies on reason, science, and humanism as its guiding values. Quillette was founded in 2015 by Australian writer Claire Lehmann. It is a platform for free thought and a space for open discussion and debate on a wide range of topics, including politics, culture, science, and technology. Quillette has gained attention for publishing articles and essays that challenge modern orthodoxy on a variety of topics, including gender and sexuality, race and identity politics, and free speech and censorship. --- Quillette's revenue comes from our readers. We are a grassroots organisation that relies on voluntary subscriptions and community membership as our primary revenue stream. Support Quillette by becoming a subscriber: https://quillette.com/#/portal/signup Or donate send us a one-off tip: https://quillette.com/#/portal/support We made our website using Ghost, a powerful app for new-media creators to publish, share, and grow a business around their content. It comes with modern tools to build a website, publish content, send newsletters & offer paid subscriptions to members. Try it here: https://ghost.org/?via=claire91