The Kent Group are a grouping of six granite

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

s located in Bass Strait, north-west of the

Furneaux Group The Furneaux Group is a group of approximately 100 islands located at the eastern end of Bass Strait, between Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. The islands were named after British navigator Tobias Furneaux, who sighted the eastern side of t ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

, Australia. Collectively, the group is comprised within the Kent Group National Park. The islands were named Kent's Group by

Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...

, "in honour of my friend captain William Kent, then commander of '' Supply''" when Flinders passed them on 8 February 1798 in ''

Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) Places * Rural ...

'' (on her way to salvage ''

Sydney Cove Sydney Cove ( Eora: ) is a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, one of several harbours in Port Jackson, on the coast of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cove is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central Sydney locat ...

'')., entry for 8 February 1798 The largest island in the group is Deal Island; the others, in order of descending size, are Erith Island, Dover Island, North East Isle, South West Isle and Judgement Rocks.

History

Seal hunting took place on the islands from at least 1803.

Shipwrecks

Murray Pass, named for the explorer John Murray, between Deal and Erith Islands has long been used by ships to shelter from gales in Bass Strait, but it is a dangerous, partly open,

roadstead A roadstead (or ''roads'' – the earlier form) is a body of water sheltered from rip currents, spring tides, or ocean swell where ships can lie reasonably safely at anchor without dragging or snatching.United States Army technical manual, TM 5 ...

, and many ships have been wrecked after sudden changes in wind direction and speed. Others have hit the island either while attempting to shelter or through poor navigation in darkness or bad weather, several with heavy loss of life. They include:Broxam & Nash, ''Tasmanian Shipwrecks'', Volumes 1 and 2, Navarine Publishing, Canberra, 1998 and 2000, and * 1816, '' Brothers'',

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoo ...

, 40 tons, Captain William Hovell, one life lost. * 1819, '' Daphne'',

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part ...

, 151 tons, Captain John Howard, no lives lost. * 1819, '' John Palmer'',

, 37 tons, Captain Bastian, two lives lost (one ex ''Daphne'') * 1831, ''Ionia'', snow, 226 tons, Captain Buck. ?Three lives lost. * 1850, ''Ida'', schooner, 50 tons, no loss of life. * 1851, ''White Squall'', schooner, 104 tons, Captain Chattock, no loss of life. * 1852, ''

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , Do ...

'', brig, 82 tons, Captain Birdwood, no loss of life. * 1852, ''Mary'', brig, 308 tons, no loss of life. * 1855, ''Elizabeth Mason'', schooner, 79 tons, Captain McIntyre, no loss of life. * 1856, ''Kendall'', schooner, 157 tons, Captain Read, no lives lost. * 1862, ''Reindeer'', schooner, 104 tons, Captain Morris, all hands (about 8) lost. * 1863, ''General Jessup'',

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, b ...

, 193 tons, Captain Hodge, no loss of life. * 1866, ''Boscarne'', schooner, 63 tons, Captain Black, no loss of life. * 1875, ''Essie Black'', barque, 281 tons, Captain Sivier, all hands (about 10) lost. * 1877, ''Bulli'', iron steamship, 524 tons, Captain Randell, no loss of life (a popular dive wreck). * 1921, ''Karitane'', steel steamship, 1376 tons, Captain Spain, no loss of life. * 1930, ''Ida N'', new fishing boat, 25 tons, Captain Busk, no lives lost. * 1961, ''St Nicholas'', newly completed fish carrier, 45 tons, no loss of life.

References

{{Islands of Tasmania , state=collapsed Islands of Bass Strait Shipwrecks of Tasmania Islands of Northern Tasmania Seal hunting

History

Shipwrecks

See also

References