I suspect that, although Van Diemen's Land was indeed the old name for the island of Tasmania, the name was used in much convict folksong and folklore for Australia in general ~~ "That Fatal Shore", as one of the songs calls it, used as the title [The Fatal Shore] for Robert Hughes 1987 distinguished history of convict transportation to Australia.
~~ Perhaps it provided better rhymes and was rhythmically easier. Can anyone think of any examples of songs where this appears to be so, apart from VDL which, in many versions, seems to me to take as its subject Australian Transportation in general. Or does anyone disagree with this proposition?

~Michael~