Launceston's firsts
Launceston can lay claim to many Australian 'firsts', including the first use of anaesthetic in the Southern Hemisphere, first Australian city to have underground sewers and the first Australian city to be lit by hydro-electricity.
1825 - First country newspaper - The Tasmanian established
1835 - First urban land use plan of its kind was established. This became the ANZ Banking Group
1847 - First use of anaesthetics in the Southern Hemisphere for surgical operation by Dr William Russ Pugh
1849 - First Chamber of Commerce formed - Launceston Chamber of Commerce
1851 - First, first-class cricket match held in Australia - Victoria v Tasmania
1860 - First Turf Club established at Mowbray Racecourse
1876 - First railway, between Launceston and Deloraine
1889 - First Tasmanian city created by parliament - Launceston
1890 - First Australian demonstrations of sound recording on wax cylinders
1895 - Launceston became the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to be lit by hydro-electric power. The first Australian river used to generate electric power was the South Esk River
1897 - First elections under the Hare-Clark system
1905 - First city in the British Empire to have a three phase, four wire electricity distribution system
1916 - First RSL Club in Australia to receive its Charter - Launceston RSL Club
1919 - First crossing of Bass Strait by air - Launceston to Melbourne
1920 - First laminated tennis racket in the world
1932 - First major airline, Ansett Australia, founded
1947 - First use of radioactive phosphorous for treatment
1948 - First female elected to a Legislative Council
1949 - First use of two-way radio in the control of taxis
1961 - First use of closed circuit television as a security measure - Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery when it exhibited 58 original Dutch paintings
1962 - First Australian city to add fluoride to its water supply
1983 - First authentic Scottish tartan produced in Australia
1998 - First breeding of a seahorse in captivity
2000 - First multimedia laboratory established