In 1818, Britain expropriated 50 acres overlooking Hobart to use as "John Hangan’s farm, Rowland Loane’s lost cause, the Government Garden, the Royal Society’s Gardens, Hobart Botanical Gardens and, from 1967, the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens." This land has been used to grow food, experiment with trial crops, introduce exotic food to the colony, classify and propagate plants, and most importantly provide refuge for endangered species. Convict and native labor used on this land to stretch budgets well into the 20th century.
