List of illustrations; Note on currency and measurements; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. The alienation of land and spread of settlement; 2. Ambitious, avaricious men: an examination of land grantees, 1804¿1823; 3. 'A very comfortable situation': a social history of land settlement; 4. The 'best kind of property': farmers and livestock in early Van Diemen's Land; 5. Agriculture; 6. A 'luscious abundance': colonial gardens and gardening; 7. 'If it moves, shoot it': the impact of European settlement on the environment; 8. Farming in a convict colony: the problems of the bush; 9. A 'sadistic frenzy': European-Aboriginal contact; Conclusion; Appendices; Abbreviations; Notes; Select bibliography; Index.