George Town is a city on the north coast of the Australian state of Tasmania . The small town with 4,257 inhabitants (2016) is located on the east bank of the Tamar River which flows into the Bass Strait nearby .
With the landing of Lieutenant Colonel William Paterson in 1804 , the European settlement of northern Tasmania began at this point, which he called Port Dalrymple . George Town is the third oldest place in Australia , which describes itself as the oldest small town ('town') of Australia. A short time later, Paterson moved about 45 km further upstream and founded Launceston . In 1811 the governor of the colony Lachlan Macquarie decided to found a city again in the original place and named it after the British King George III. to name.
