In 1773 Captain Tobias Furneaux was sent on a mission to discover if there was a navigable strait from east to west through the island group. Due to heavy winds, Furneaux was blown off course and his assertion that there was no such route was to slow the development of shipping to Tasmania for 25 years.

Captain Cook named the island group the Furneaux Islands after Tobias Furneaux, who is generally regarded to have been the first European to sight the islands. The Furneaux Group consists of Flinders Island, Cape Barren Island and the smaller Clarke, Chappell, Mt Chappell, Sister and Goose Islands, as well as some other smaller off lying islands.

In 1797, the Sydney Cove was wrecked on the shores of Cape Barren Island and the rescuing ship from Sydney had one Matthew Flinders on board. Flinders and his explorer partner George Bass were to become the most famous pioneers of their time.

Flinders met George Bass on HMS Reliance in 1797, and the pair immediately struck up a friendship. Together they explored Botany Bay, Georges River and the Illawarra coastline. Governor Hunter, upon hearing of their exploits, decided to send them on the mission that Furneaux had failed with in 1773. Despite the stormy conditions, the journey was a success and in recognition of the fact Governor King named one of the islands after Lieutenant Flinders. Flinders went on to survey the Australian coastline and was one of the first people to use the word Australia. He died on 18th July 1814, in poverty, receiving no assistance from the Navy.

Captain Charles Bishop, one of the crew that had accompanied Flinders on his mission to the Furneaux Islands, established a sealing camp at Kent Bay on the Cape Barren Islands. With the arrival of the sealers, who were a tough and coarse lot, came the extinction of the fur seal population and the subsequent departure of the men and ships. The remainder of the settlers who had Aboriginal wives remained, and the hybrid race called themselves the Straitsmen.

The area was mainly a sealing ground in the early days, and it was not until the 1830s that settlement began with the remaining population of the Tasmanian Aboriginals being brought to live at Settlement Point.

Between 1831 and 1847, George Augustus Robinson attempted to establish an Aboriginal reserve at Wybalenna (meaning "Blackmans Houses"), however the settlement was doomed to failure and a few years later was abandoned. The Chapel in Wybalenna, owned by the National Trust, is the only remaining building that can be directly associated with the native Aboriginal people.

One of the first permanent settlers on the island was Mr George Boyes, who arrived in 1888 and built a house at Palana named the Hermitage. At Whitemark wharves were constructed, with a police station and court house being established a few years later. A Municipal Council was in operation by 1908.

By 1917, a population of 600 resided on the island. Communication was by means of a Morse Code Wireless Station until 1932 when the first air service between Launceston and Flinders Island was established. An airport was constructed in 1935 and is one of the busiest in Tasmania today.

In the 1950s a Soldier/Farmer Scheme was initiated with a total of 33,559 hectares of land being cleared and sown for pastureland. By 1965 eighty such farmers were working the land.

Today Flinders Island is a perfect place for visitors to relax, unwind and escape the stresses of city living. It is the largest island of the Furneaux Group in the Bass Strait.


Natural Attractions

The walking trails of Mt Strzelecki in the Strzelecki National Park can be explored by visitors who wish to study the native fauna and flora (such as the Cape Barren geese and the migrating muttonbirds), or who wish to search for Killiecrankie diamonds (white topaz).

The trails are also ideal for those who are happy to just collect shells along the numerous secluded beaches that dot the island's coastline, or admire the rugged cliffs and rocks at places such as Trousers Point.

Walker's Hill provides a spectacular vista of the island and the ocean. Bushwalking guides can be obtained from the information centre, and these will provide you with a comprehensive listing of all walks available on the island.

Logan Lagoon Wildlife Sanctuary has an abundance of wildlife around when it is wet. Amongst the locals here you may find Cape Barren geese. The sanctuary has in fact been added to the List Of Wetlands Of International Importance.

Patriarchs Wildlife Sanctuary is located on the east coast of the island. Here you will encounter heathland, swamps, lagoon and a whole host of birdlife. There are views to Babel Island which is a muttonbird reserve, and Cat Island which is home to a number of gannets.

The island has a wonderfully diverse range of wildlife and birds, which will be a major attraction for any nature enthusiast visiting the island. Muttonbirds (short-tailed Shearwaters or Puffinus tenuirostris) return in their thousands every September to nest. They cover as many as 30,000 kilometres in their yearly wanderings which take in the Philippines, Japan, the Kamchatka region and Bering Sea, Alaska and America before they once more return to the Bass Strait.

The Cape Barren Goose or Cerepsis novaehollandiae is believed to be the second rarest goose species in the world and is native to the southern shores and islands, including Flinders Island, of Australia. You will also find wombats, pygmy possums, echidnas, wallabies, brush-tailed possums, pademelons, potoroos, marsupial mice, little mountain dragons, and blotched blue tongues in the area.

There are many beautiful beaches on the island where you can walk, swim, beachcomb or just enjoy the beach all to yourself. Do consult with somebody from the locality to learn about rips and tides.

Museums and Historic Sites

Visit historic Settlement Point, or Wybalenna as it is known as today, and view the Wybalenna Chapel, one of the last memorials to the Tasmanian Aborigines. It was used as a shearing shed for numerous years until the National Trust restored it in 1973.

Emita Museum displays items pertaining to the history and development of the Island and charts the influences of the various groups of pioneer settlers and visitors who have contributed to the island's heritage. It is open on weekends and during the summer holidays from 1pm.

Other Attractions

Boats can be chartered for cruises or fishing trips around the island. Scenic Joy Flights are an unforgettable way of seeing the whole island and the surrounds. Scuba diving, fishing, bowls and tennis are some of the activities the visitor can indulge in on Flinders Island. Enjoy a game of golf on the 9 hole course at Flinders Island Sports Club. Flinders Island Adventures organise tours for scuba divers, bushwalkers and fishermen and have added extras such as evening Muttonbird viewing tours and 4WD adventure tours.

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