The University's Common Seal was originally the seal of the Tasmanian Council of Education, which was
established in 1859 to hold university entrance examinations ‘in imitation of the Oxford and Cambridge
annual local examinations’. The TCE awarded scholarships for higher school education, an Associate of
Arts award (equivalent to matriculation) and two annual scholarships for study at a British university. Its
elaborate seal, bearing an open book, a star and a rose, was designed by Bishop of Tasmania F.R. Nixon.
When the University of Tasmania was established in 1890 it took over the functions of the TCE and the
TCE's seal became the University's seal until 1901 when the University commissioned its own seal
bearing the words "University of Tasmania Common Seal 1890". Seals were and are used on official legal documents such as property transfers and letters to the Monarch.
The seal design without the border and inscription was also used on letter heads.
Depicts an open book enscribed with "Floreat Tasmania' (May Tasmania Prosper) on a diamond pattern