Flinders Island, the largest island in 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 ...

, is a island in the

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The ...

, northeast of the island of

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. Today Flinders Island is part of the state of Tasmania,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It is from

Cape Portland Cape Portland, officially Luemerrernanner / Cape Portland, is both a geographical feature and a locality near the north-eastern tip of Tasmania, Australia. The cape points west across Ringarooma Bay, where the Ringarooma River empties into the ...

and is located on 40° south, a

zone Zone, Zones or The Zone may refer to: Places Military zones * Zone, any of the divisions of France during the World War II German occupation * Zone, any of the divisions of Germany during the post-World War II Allied occupation * Korean Demilit ...

known as the

Roaring Forties The Roaring Forties are strong westerlies, westerly winds that occur in the Southern Hemisphere, generally between the latitudes of 40th parallel south, 40° and 50th parallel south, 50° south. The strong eastward air currents are caused by ...

History

Prehistory

Flinders Island was first inhabited at least 35,000 years ago, when people made their way from Australia across the then land-bridge which is now

. A population remained until about 4,500 years ago, succumbing to thirst and hunger following an acute

El Niño EL, El or el may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities * El, a character from the manga series ''Shugo Chara!'' by Peach-Pit * Eleven (''Stranger Things'') (El), a fictional character in the TV series ''Stranger Things'' * El, fami ...

climate shift.

European Arrival

Some of the south-eastern islands of the

were first recorded in 1773 by British navigator

Tobias Furneaux Captain Tobias Furneaux (21 August 173518 September 1781) was a British navigator and Royal Navy officer, who accompanied James Cook on his second voyage of exploration. He was one of the first men to circumnavigate the world in both direction ...

, commander of , the support vessel with

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

on Cook's second voyage. In February 1798, British navigator

Matthew Flinders Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer, navigator and cartographer who led the first littoral zone, inshore circumnavigate, circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then ...

charted some of the southern islands, using one of the schooner ''

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

''' open boats. Later that year, Flinders returned and finished charting the islands in the ''

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

''; he then went on to complete the first circumnavigation of Tasmania (1798–99), accompanied by

George Bass George Bass (; 30 January 1771 – after 5 February 1803) was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia. Early life Bass was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George B ...

, proving Tasmania to be an island separated from the Australian mainland by Bass Strait, later named in honour of George Bass.

Etymology

James Cook named the islands Furneaux's Islands, after Tobias Furneaux. Flinders named the largest island in the group "Great Island". He also named a group of mountains on Flinders Island, the "Three Patriarchs". The small island just to the east, Flinders named "

Babel Island The Babel Island, part of the Babel Group within the Furneaux Group, is a granite island, located in Bass Strait, lying off the east coast of Flinders Island, Tasmania, south of Victoria, Australia. The privately owned island was named by Matt ...

" from the noises made by the seabirds there.

Phillip Parker King Phillip Parker King (13 December 1791 – 26 February 1856) was an early explorer of the Australian and Patagonian coasts. Early life and education King was born on Norfolk Island, to Philip Gidley King and Anna Josepha King ''née'' Coo ...

later named the largest island Flinders Island, after Matthew Flinders. Flinders named

Mount Chappell Island The Mount Chappell Island, part of the Badger Group within the Furneaux Group, is a unpopulated granite island with a distinctive central hill, located in Bass Strait, lying west of the Flinders and Cape Barren islands, Tasmania, south of ...

after his wife Ann née Ann Chappelle. There are three islands named "Flinders' Island"—the large island on the east side of Bass Strait, named by Phillip Parker King; an island in the

Investigator Group The Investigator Group is an archipelago in South Australia that consists of Flinders Island and five island groups located off the western coast of the Eyre Peninsula. It is named after by her commander, Matthew Flinders when he explored ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, named by Matthew Flinders after his young brother Samuel Flinders (midshipman on the ); and an island in the Flinders Group north of

Cooktown, Queensland Cooktown is a coastal town and suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached h ...

was named after Matthew Flinders.

Settlement

In the late 18th century, the island was often frequented by

sealers Sealer may refer either to a person or ship engaged in seal hunting, or to a sealant; associated terms include: Seal hunting * Sealer Hill, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica * Sealers' Oven, bread oven of mud and stone built by sealers around 1800 ...

and Aboriginal women, the majority of whom had been kidnapped from their mainland tribes. Seal stocks soon collapsed, causing the last sealing permit to be issued in 1828. Many sealers' families chose to stay in the Furneaux Group, subsisting on cattle grazing and

muttonbirding Muttonbirding is the seasonal harvesting of the chicks of petrels, especially shearwater species, for food, oil and feathers by recreational or commercial hunters. Such hunting of petrels and other seabirds has occurred in various locations sin ...

Wybalenna Aboriginal Establishment

From 1831, the remnants of the Tasmanian Aboriginal population were exiled firstly to "The Lagoons" just south of what is now the town of

Whitemark Whitemark is a rural residential locality on Flinders Island in the local government area (LGA) of Flinders in the North-east LGA region of Tasmania. The 2021 census recorded a population of 308 for the state suburb of Whitemark. It is the mai ...

, and then in 1833 to the

Wybalenna Aboriginal Establishment The Wybalenna Aboriginal Establishment was an internment facility built at Flinders Island by the colonial British government of Van Diemen's Land to accommodate forcibly exiled Aboriginal Tasmanians (Palawa). It was opened in 1833 and ceased ...

at Settlement Point. Wybalenna is translated as "dwellings" or more colloquially "Black Man's Houses" from the language of the Ben Lomond people. These ~180 survivors were deemed to be safe from white settlers here, but conditions were poor with around 130 Aboriginal people dying at Wybalenna alone. This forced relocation scheme was therefore short-lived. In 1847, after a campaign by the Aboriginal population against their Commandant, Henry Jeanneret, which involved a petition to Queen Victoria, the remaining 47 Aboriginal people were again relocated, this time to Oyster Cove Station, an ex-convict settlement 56 kilometres south of Tasmania's capital,

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

. Land on the neighbouring

Cape Barren Island Cape Barren Island, officially truwana / Cape Barren Island, is a island in Bass Strait, off the north-east coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is the second-largest island of the Furneaux Group, with the larger Flinders Island to the north, and ...

was formally reserved for the Aboriginal community in 1881.

Soldier settlement schemes

From the late 19th century freehold land was given out, but it was not until the 1950s that a proper settlement scheme was initiated, mainly drawing settlers from mainland Tasmania and central

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

to Flinders Island's eastern shore. The Municipality of Flinders Island was instituted in 1903.

Geography and nature

The island forms part of the state of Tasmania, and part of the Municipality of Flinders Island

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

. Flinders Island is only one of the many islands included in the Municipal area. Of these islands Flinders Island is the only island with more than one permanent settlement, and is by far the largest in the Furneaux Group. The island is about from north to south, and from east to west. with a total land area of . Mount Strzelecki in the south west is the island's highest peak at . About a third of the island is mountainous and rugged with ridges of

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

running the length of the island. The coastal areas are dominated by sandy deposits often taking the shape of

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

s. Many coastal

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

s punctuate the eastern shore, formed by dunes blocking further drainage. This

drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils can prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic conditions that harm root gro ...

is mainly provided by many small streams, few of them permanently flowing directly leading to the waters of Bass Strait or such a lagoon. North west Flinders Island aerial

The coastal areas are mainly covered in scrub or

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s, whereas the vegetation at a higher elevation consists of woodland, mainly

eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

species. The total number of plant species in the Furneaux Group well exceeds 800, showing the great

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

of its

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

. Native bird species include the

Cape Barren goose The Cape Barren goose (''Cereopsis novaehollandiae''), sometimes also known as the pig goose, is a species of goose endemic to southern Australia. It is a distinctive large, grey bird that is mostly terrestrial and is not closely related to oth ...

(''Cereopsis novaehollandiae'') and the

short-tailed shearwater The short-tailed shearwater or slender-billed shearwater (''Ardenna tenuirostris''; formerly ''Puffinus tenuirostris''), also called yolla or moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in A ...

(''Puffinus tenuirostris''). Marsupial mammals are represented by

Bennett's wallaby The red-necked wallaby or Bennett's wallaby (''Notamacropus rufogriseus'') is a medium-sized macropod marsupial (wallaby), common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Red-necked wallabies have been i ...

(''Macropus rufogriseus''),

brushtail possum The brushtail possums are the members of the genus ''Trichosurus'' in the Phalangeridae, a family of marsupials. They are native to Australia (including Tasmania) and some small nearby islands. Unique among marsupials, they have shifted the hyp ...

(''Trichosurus vulpecula''),

eastern pygmy possum The eastern pygmy possum (''Cercartetus nanus'') is a diprotodont marsupial of south-eastern Australia. Occurring from southern Queensland to eastern South Australia and also Tasmania, it is found in a range of habitats, including rainforest, ...

(''Cercartetus nanus''),

potoroo Potoroo is a common name for species of ''Potorous'', a genus of smaller marsupials. They are allied to the Macropodiformes, the suborder of kangaroo, wallaby, and other rat-kangaroo genera and is the only genus in the tribe Potoroini. All three ...

(''Potorous apicalis''),

common ringtail possum The common ringtail possum (''Pseudocheirus peregrinus'', Greek for "false hand" and Latin for "pilgrim" or "alien") is an Australian marsupial. It lives in a variety of habitats and eats a variety of leaves of both native and introduced plants ...

(''Pseudocheirus peregrinus'') and

Tasmanian pademelon The Tasmanian pademelon (''Thylogale billardierii''), also known as the rufous-bellied pademelon or red-bellied pademelon, is the sole species of pademelon found in Tasmania, and was formerly found throughout southeastern Australia. This pademel ...

(''Thylogale billardierii''). The

cape fur seal The brown fur seal (''Arctocephalus pusillus''), also known as the Cape fur seal, and Afro-Australian fur seal, is a species of fur seal. Description The brown fur seal is the largest and most robust member of the fur seals. It has a large an ...

(''Arctocephalus pusillus'') is the sole placental mammal commonly found on Flinders. It is the only remaining habitat of a subspecies of common wombat, V. u. ursinus, which is listed as vulnerable by the

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...

and

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

.Vombatus ursinus ursinus – Common Wombat (Bass Strait)
/ref> The area surrounding Mount Strzelecki in the south west of the island constitutes Strzelecki National Park. The island also supports a population of feral

turkeys The turkey is a large bird in the genus ''Meleagris'', native to North America. There are two extant turkey species: the wild turkey (''Meleagris gallopavo'') of eastern and central North America and the ocellated turkey (''Meleagris ocell ...

(''Meleagris gallopavo'').

Climate

Flinders Island has a mild

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(''Cfb'') that is strongly moderated by the Bass Strait. The summers are drier and less cloudy than the winters, and annual average rainfall totals less than .

Central Flinders Island Important Bird Area

A 30 km² tract of land on the island, lying mainly to the north and east of Whitemark, has been identified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) because it contains three breeding colonies of the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

forty-spotted pardalote The forty-spotted pardalote (''Pardalotus quadragintus'') is one of Australia's rarest birds and by far the rarest pardalote, being confined to a few colonies in the south-east corner of Tasmania, mainly on Maria Island and Bruny Island. Desc ...

and habitat used by

flame robin The flame robin (''Petroica phoenicea'') is a small passerine bird native to Australia. It is a moderately common resident of the coolest parts of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Like the other two red-breasted ''Petroica'' robins ...

s. It also supports populations of several of Tasmania's restricted-range

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

bird species, including the green rosella,

yellow-throated honeyeater The yellow-throated honeyeater (''Nesoptilotis flavicollis'') is a species of passerine bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It is similar in behaviour and appearance to the white-eared honeyeater and is endemic to Australia, Australia's i ...

black-headed honeyeater The black-headed honeyeater (''Melithreptus affinis'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is one of two members of the genus ''Melithreptus'' Endemism, endemic to Tasmania. Its natural habitats are temperate forest and Mediterra ...

strong-billed honeyeater The strong-billed honeyeater (''Melithreptus validirostris'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is one of two species of the genus '' Melithreptus'' endemic to Tasmania. Its natural habitat is temperate forest. Taxonomy The st ...

, Tasmanian thornbill,

black currawong The black currawong (''Strepera fuliginosa''), also known locally as the black jay, is a large passerine bird Endemism in birds, endemic to Tasmania and the nearby islands within the Bass Strait. One of three currawong species in the genus ''Str ...

and dusky robin.

Eastern Flinders Island Important Bird Area

A 187 km² strip of land extending the full 70 km length of Flinders Island's eastern coastline has also been identified as an IBA. it supports small numbers of

fairy tern The fairy tern (''Sternula nereis'') is a small tern which is native to the southwestern Pacific. It is listed as " Vulnerable" by the IUCN and the New Zealand subspecies is "Critically Endangered". Fairy terns live in colonies along the coastli ...

s, large numbers of

hooded plover The hooded plover or hooded dotterel (''Charadrius cucullatus'') is a species of bird in the family Charadriidae. It is endemic to southern Australia, where it inhabits ocean beaches and subcoastal lagoons. Taxonomy The hooded plover was Species ...

s and over 1% of the world populations of

chestnut teal The chestnut teal (''Anas castanea'') is a dabbling duck found in Australia. It is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974. Taxonomy The chestnut teal was described by the English naturalist Thomas Campbell Eyton in 1838 under ...

pied oystercatcher The pied oystercatcher (''Haematopus longirostris'') is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird native to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. The similar South Island pied oystercatcher (''H. finschi'') occurs in New Zealand. ...

s and

sooty oystercatcher The sooty oystercatcher (''Haematopus fuliginosus'') is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird endemic to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. It prefers rocky coastlines, but will occasionally live in estuaries. All of its fea ...

Demographics

The population in 2011 was 700 people; the median age being 45. Settlements include

(which has the island's main airstrip and about 155 inhabitants (2011) and Lady Barron (approx. 110 inhabitants), Blue Rocks, Killiecrankie, Wingaroo and Wybalenna (all below Lady Barron's population figure). The 2016 census shows that the population is rising. The population of the Local Government Area, i.e. Flinders and Cape Barren Islands is 906; up from 776 in the 2011 Census and to 1010 in 2019. The population of the 7255 postal code area, i.e. Flinders, is 833 up from 702 in 2011, a rise of over 16% for the Municipality and over 18% for Flinders over the 5-year period. The median age of people in the Municipality has risen from 52 to 53, and the number of families has increased from 218 to 243.

Communications

As of 4 October 2010,

Sharp Airlines Sharp Airlines is a regional airline founded in Hamilton, Victoria, Hamilton, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia in 1990. Sharp operates scheduled airline services in the southern states of Australia. Its main bases are Essendon Airport, ...

has been operating services between Essendon, Flinders Island and Launceston. Using 19-seat Metroliners, they fly between

Essendon Airport Essendon Fields Airport , colloquially known by its former name Essendon Airport, is a public airport serving scheduled commercial, corporate-jet, charter and general aviation flights. It is located next to the intersection of the Tullamarin ...

and

Flinders Island Airport Flinders Island Airport is a small regional airport located northwest of Whitemark on Flinders Island off the north-east coast of Tasmania, Australia. The airport is owned and operated by the Flinders Council. The airport site has a total ...

three return flights a week (65 minutes) and

Launceston Airport Launceston Airport is a regional airport on the outskirts of Launceston, Tasmania. The airport is located in the industrial area of Western Junction, 15 kilometres from Launceston city centre. It is Tasmania's second busiest after Hobart Airpo ...

and

at least daily (25 minutes). The Tasmanian Aeroclub, Kirkhope Aviation and Vortex Air also offer charter services between Launceston, Flinders Island and Victoria (as well as surrounding Islands). A ferry service delivering food and perishable goods is operated to the island weekly by Furneaux Freight between

Bridport, Tasmania Bridport is a small town on the north-east coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is part of the Dorset Council (Australia), Dorset Council and takes its name from Bridport in Dorset, England. At the 2016 Australian census, 2016 census, Bridport had a ...

and

Lady Barron, Tasmania Lady Barron is a small settlement on the southern end of Flinders Island, in the local government area of Flinders in the North-east region of Tasmania. It is located about south-east of the town of Whitemark. The 2016 census determined a pop ...

and also monthly from

Port Welshpool, Victoria Port Welshpool is a town in the South Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. It is located 191 km south-east of Melbourne, on Corner Inlet and in 2006 had a population of 191. Jetty The jetty was reconstructed prior to World War II t ...

. Australian telecom provider Telstra offers the only mobile phone service on the island, providing 3G and 4G coverage across both Flinders and Cape Barren Island. Internet access is limited to either a satellite dish connection or to use the 3G/4G network.

References

{{Authority control Important Bird Areas of Tasmania Islands of Bass Strait Islands of North East Tasmania