Furneaux Group

Furneaux Group
	Furneaux Group
Etymology	Tobias Furneaux
Geography
Location	Bass Strait
Coordinates	40°06′54″S148°06′54″E / 40.11500°S 148.11500°E
Total islands	approx. 100
Major islands	Flinders Island, Cape Barren Island, and Clarke Island
Area	2,010.3 km2 (776.2 sq mi)
Administration
	Australia
State	Tasmania
Local government	Flinders Council
Demographics
Population	795

Last updated September 23, 2024

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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 these islands after leaving Adventure Bay in 1773 on his way to New Zealand to rejoin Captain James Cook.^[1] Navigator Matthew Flinders was the first European to explore the Furneaux Islands group, in the Francis in 1798, and later that year in the Norfolk.^[2]

The largest islands in the group are Flinders Island, Cape Barren Island, and Clarke Island. The group contains five settlements: Killiecrankie, Emita, Lady Barron, Cape Barren Island, and Whitemark on Flinders Island, which serves as the administrative centre of the Flinders Council. There are also some small farming properties on the remote islands.

After seals were discovered there in 1798, the Furneaux Group of islands became the most intensively exploited sealing ground in Bass Strait.^[3] A total of 29 islands in the Furneaux Group have been found to have some tangible link with sealing in the 19th century.^[4]

The Aboriginal matriarch, Dolly Dalrymple, was born on the Furneaux Islands. Her mother was one of two Aboriginal women who had been kidnapped from northern Tasmania by the sealer George Briggs.^[5]

King Island, at the western end of Bass Strait, is not a part of the group.

Administration

Islands in the Group

Island	Capital	Other cities	Area		Population
Island	Capital	Other cities	km²	sq mi	Population
Furneaux Group	Whitemark	Lady Barron, The Corner, Emita, Killiecrankie	2,010.3	776.2	795
Babel Island Group		5.01	1.93	0
Babel Island		4.4	1.7	0
Cat Island		0.39	0.15	0
Fifty Foot Rock		0.02	0.0077	0
Other		0	0	0
Storehouse Island		0.2	0.077	0
Badger Island Group	Badger Island	Mount Chappell Island	18.15	7.01	3
Badger Island	South East Point	13.5	5.2	1
Goose Island		1.09	0.42	0
Inner Little Goose Island		0.045	0.017	0
Little Badger Island		0.025	0.0097	0
Little Goose Island		0.036	0.014	0
Mount Chappell Island		3.45	1.33	2
Other	Beagle Island	North West Mount Chappell Islet	0.004	0.0015	0
Bass Pyramid	Bass Pyramid	0.025	0.0097	0
Big Green Island Group	Big Green Island	East Kangaroo Island	4.1	1.6	6
Big Green Island		1.57	0.61	4
Chalky Island		0.41	0.16	0
East Kangaroo Island		1.57	0.61	2
Isabella Island		0.14	0.054	0
Little Chalky Island		0.05	0.019	0
Mile Island		0.04	0.015	0
Other		0.14	0.054	0
Cape Barren Island	The Corner	478.4	184.7	67
Clarke Island		82	32	1
Craggy Island	Craggy Island	0.389	0.150	0
Flinders Island	Whitemark	Lady Barron	1,367	528	700
Franklin Sound Islands Important Bird Area	Great Dog	Tin Kettle	21.362	8.248	14
Anderson Island		1.66	0.64	0
Boxen Island		0.13	0.050	0
Briggs Islet		0.034	0.013	0
Doughboy Island		0.17	0.066	0
Great Dog Island	Great Dog Island	3.75	1.45	10
Lady Barron Island		0.01	0.0039	0
Little Anderson Island		0.13	0.050	0
Little Dog Island	Little Dog Island	0.83	0.32	0
Little Green Island		0.87	0.34	0
Long Island		3.13	1.21	0
Neds Reef		0.04	0.015	0
Other	Spences Islands	Big Black Reef, GVH Rock, Mid Woody Islet, Ram, Apple Orchard Point, Billy Goat Reefs, Fisher Island, Samphire Island	0.253	0.098	0
Oyster Rocks	East Oyster	West Oyster	0.07	0.027	0
Pelican Island		0.07	0.027	0
Puncheon Island	Puncheon Island	0.185	0.071	1
Tin Kettle Island	Tin Kettle	1.86	0.72	2
Vansittart Island	Bates Bay	House Bay	8.17	3.15	1
Inner Sister Island		7.48	2.89	0
Other	Little Island	Shag Rock	0	0	0
Outer Sister Island	Outer Sister Island	5.45	2.10	0
Pasco Island Group	Roydon Island	1.1	0.42	0
Marriott Reef		0.034	0.013	0
Middle Pasco Islands		0.084	0.032	0
North Pasco Island		0.28	0.11	0
Other		0.122	0.047	0
Roydon Island		0.37	0.14	0
South Pasco Island		0.21	0.081	0
Passage Island Group	Passage Island	4.47	1.73	2
Forsyth Island		1.67	0.64	0
Gull Island		0.085	0.033	0
Low Islets		0.02	0.0077	0
Moriarty Rocks		0.025	0.0097	0
Other	Battery Island	0.017	0.0066	0
Passage Island	Passage Island	2.53	0.98	2
Spike Island	Spike Island	Little Spike Island	0.123	0.047	0
Preservation Island Group	Preservation Island	2.37	0.92	2
Key Island		0.06	0.023	0
Night Island		0.026	0.010	0
Other		0.007	0.0027	0
Preservation Island	Preservation Island	Horseshoe Bay	2.08	0.80	2
Rum Island		0.197	0.076	0
Prime Seal Island Group	Prime Seal Island	12.8	4.9	0
Bird Island		0.015	0.0058	0
Low Islets	South Low	Middle Low, North Low	0.35	0.14	0
Other		0.075	0.029	0
Prime Seal Island	Peacock Bay	South Bay	12.2	4.7	0
Wybalenna Island		0.16	0.062	0
Sentinel Island		0.1	0.039	0
Wright Rock		0.094	0.036	0
Furneaux Group	Whitemark	Lady Barron, The Corner, Emita, Killiecrankie	2,010.3	776.2	795

Geology

The islands contain granite from the Devonian period, as well as unconsolidated limestone and sand from Cenozoic periods. During the last ice age, a land bridge joined Tasmania to the Australian mainland through this group of islands.

Related Research Articles

Bass Strait is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland. The strait provides the most direct waterway between the Great Australian Bight and the Tasman Sea, and is also the only maritime route into the economically prominent Port Phillip Bay.

Flinders Island, the largest island in the Furneaux Group, is a 1,367-square-kilometre (528 sq mi) island in the Bass Strait, northeast of the island of Tasmania. Today Flinders Island is part of the state of Tasmania, Australia. It is 54 kilometres (34 mi) from Cape Portland and is located on 40° south, a zone known as the Roaring Forties.

Cape Barren Island, officially truwana / Cape Barren Island, is a 478-square-kilometre (185 sq mi) 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 the smaller Clarke Island to the south. The highest point on the island is Mount Munro at 715 metres (2,346 ft). Mount Munro is named after James Munro, a former convict turned sealer who, from the 1820s, lived for more than 20 years with various indigenous women on nearby Preservation Island.

The Clarke Island, also known by its Indigenous name of lungtalanana, part of the Furneaux Group, is an 82-square-kilometre (32 sq mi) island in Bass Strait, south of Cape Barren Island, about 24 kilometres (15 mi) off the northeast coast of Tasmania, Australia. Banks Strait separates the island from Cape Portland on the mainland. Clarke Island is the third-largest island in the Furneaux Group, and Tasmania's eighth largest island.

Preservation Island is a low and undulating granite and calcarenite island, with an area of 207 ha, in south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Preservation Island Group, lying in eastern Bass Strait south-west of Cape Barren Island in the Furneaux Group, and is an important historic site.

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 Tasman Sea.

The Bass Pyramid, part of the Furneaux Group, is a small, two sectioned oval, steep-sided 100-square-metre (1,100 sq ft) unpopulated granite island, located in Bass Strait, lying north of the Flinders Island and south of the Kent Group, in Tasmania, Australia. A rock bridge connects the two sections.

The Passage Island, part of the Passage Group within the Furneaux Group, is a 253-hectare (630-acre) granite and dolerite island, located in Bass Strait south of Cape Barren Island, in Tasmania, in south-eastern Australia.

The Forsyth Island, part of the Passage Group within the Furneaux Group, is a 167-hectare (410-acre) granite island, located in Bass Strait south of Cape Barren Island, in Tasmania, in south-eastern Australia. With the Passage and Gull islands, the Forsyth Island forms part of the Forsyth, Passage and Gull Islands Important Bird Area (IBA), identified as such by BirdLife International because it supports over 1% of the world populations of little penguins and black-faced cormorants.

The Moriarty Rocks, part of the Passage Group within the Furneaux Group, are a group of two major unpopulated granite rocks, and several smaller ones, with a combined area of 2.46 hectares, located in Bass Strait, south of Cape Barren Island, west of the Low Islets, and west of the Spike and Clarke islands, in Tasmania, in south-eastern Australia. The rocks are contained within a nature reserve.

The Mount Chappell Island, part of the Badger Group within the Furneaux Group, is a 323-hectare (800-acre) unpopulated granite island with a distinctive central hill, located in Bass Strait, lying west of the Flinders and Cape Barren islands, Tasmania, south of Victoria, in south-eastern Australia.

The North West Mount Chappell Islet, part of the Badger Group within the Furneaux Group, is a 7,100-square-metre (76,000 sq ft) unpopulated mainly granite islet, in Bass Strait, lying west of the Flinders and Cape Barren islands, Tasmania, south of Victoria, in south-eastern Australia. The island is located within a conservation area and is part of the Chalky, Big Green and Badger Island Groups Important Bird Area.

The Anderson Island, also known as Woody Island, part of the Tin Kettle Island Group of the Furneaux Group, is a 166-hectare (410-acre) granite island, located in Bass Strait, lying northeast of Tasmania, in south-eastern Australia. Anderson Island lies between Flinders and Cape Barren Islands and is partly a pastoral lease used for grazing sheep and cattle. The island is joined at low tide to nearby Little Anderson and Tin Kettle Islands by extensive intertidal mudflats. The island is supposed to be named after John Anderson, a sealer living on the island by 1842.

Tin Kettle Island is a long, sandy island, with an area of 176 ha, in south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Tin Kettle Island Group, lying in eastern Bass Strait between Flinders and Cape Barren Islands in the Furneaux Group. The island is joined at low tide to nearby Anderson and Little Andersons by extensive intertidal mudflats. The island is farmed, mainly cattle grazing. The island is part of the Franklin Sound Islands Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because it holds over 1% of the world populations of six bird species.

Little Dog Island is a square, flat granite island, with an area of 83 ha, in south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Great Dog Island Group, lying in eastern Bass Strait between Flinders and Cape Barren Islands in the Furneaux Group. It is a game reserve. It was previously grazed, a usage now ceased. The island is part of the Franklin Sound Islands Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because it holds over 1% of the world populations of six bird species.

The Great Dog Island, also known as Big Dog Island, and part of the Great Dog Group within the Furneaux Group, is a 354-hectare (870-acre) granite island, located in Bass Strait, lying south of the Flinders Island and north of the Cape Barren Island, in Tasmania, in south-eastern Australia.

Vansittart Island, also known as Gun Carriage Island, is a granite island with an area of 800 hectares. The island is part of Tasmania's Vansittart Island Group, lying in eastern Bass Strait between Flinders and Cape Barren Islands in the Furneaux Group.

The Babel Island, part of the Babel Group within the Furneaux Group, is a 440-hectare (1,100-acre) 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 Matthew Flinders from the noises made by the seabirds there.

Prime Seal Island is a long island, with a high central ridge and an area of 1220 ha, in south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Prime Seal Island Group, lying in eastern Bass Strait west of Flinders in the Furneaux Group. Geologically, it is limestone overlying granite and has notable karst features, including caves. It is leased for farming and is extensively grazed by sheep and cattle as well as the native Tasmanian pademelons.

Woretemoeteryenner, also known as "Bung", "Pung", and "Margaret", was an Aboriginal Tasmanian woman who had children with George Briggs, an English convict. She worked as a sealer and kangaroo hunter. Woretemoeteryenner and her sisters are among the few Aboriginal Tasmanian people whose lives bridge the experience of Aboriginal people before and after European contact.

References

↑ Cumpston, J. S. (1973). First visitors to Bass Strait. Canberra: Roebuck Society. ISBN 0-9500858-8-X.
↑ Flinders, Matthew (1801). Observations on the coasts of Van Diemen's, Land on Bass's Strait and its islands, and on part of the coasts of New South Wales; intended to accompany the charts of the late discoveries in those countries.
↑ Kostoglou, Parry (1996). Sealing in Tasmania historical research project (First ed.). Hobart: Parks and Wildlife Service. pp. 90–1.
↑ Kostoglou, p.91.
↑ McFarlane, Ian (2005). "Dalrymple, Dolly (c. 1808 - 1864)". Australian Dictionary of Biography (Supplementary Volume ed.). Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943.

External links

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[1] Cumpston, J. S. (1973). First visitors to Bass Strait. Canberra: Roebuck Society. ISBN 0-9500858-8-X.

[2] Flinders, Matthew (1801). Observations on the coasts of Van Diemen's, Land on Bass's Strait and its islands, and on part of the coasts of New South Wales; intended to accompany the charts of the late discoveries in those countries.

[3] Kostoglou, Parry (1996). Sealing in Tasmania historical research project (First ed.). Hobart: Parks and Wildlife Service. pp. 90–1.

[4] Kostoglou, p.91.

[5] McFarlane, Ian (2005). "Dalrymple, Dolly (c. 1808 - 1864)". Australian Dictionary of Biography (Supplementary Volume ed.). Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943.

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