 The regatta of 6 February 1934 was the first to be called the Royal Hobart Regatta, the title being conferred by King George V.

On 1 December 1838, the first Hobart Town Anniversary Regatta was held in Hobart, Tasmania to celebrate the Tasmanian Anniversary of the 17th-century European discovery of the island by Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who made the first reported European sighting of the island on 24 November 1642.It was decided that the annual anniversary regatta should be celebrated by the wearing of a sprig of silver wattle blossom tied with British Navy blue ribbon.It was begun by the then Governor of Tasmania, Sir John Franklin.