Furneaux Group

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Furneaux Group
Furneaux Group Map.svg
Relief Map of Tasmania.png
Red pog.svg
Furneaux Group
Etymology Tobias Furneaux
Geography
Location Bass Strait
Coordinates 40°06′54″S148°06′54″E / 40.11500°S 148.11500°E / -40.11500; 148.11500
Total islandsapprox. 100
Major islands Flinders Island, Cape Barren Island, and Clarke Island
Area2,010.3 km2 (776.2 sq mi)
Administration
State Tasmania
Local government Flinders Council
Demographics
Population795

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]

Contents

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

IslandCapitalOther citiesAreaPopulation
km2 sq mi
Furneaux Group Whitemark Lady Barron, The Corner, Emita, Killiecrankie 2,010.3776.2795
Babel Island Group 5.011.930
Babel Island 4.41.70
Cat Island 0.390.150
Fifty Foot Rock 0.020.00770
Other000
Storehouse Island 0.20.0770
Badger Island Group Badger Island Mount Chappell Island 18.157.013
Badger Island South East Point 13.55.21
Goose Island 1.090.420
Inner Little Goose Island 0.0450.0170
Little Badger Island 0.0250.00970
Little Goose Island 0.0360.0140
Mount Chappell Island 3.451.332
Other Beagle Island North West Mount Chappell Islet 0.0040.00150
Bass Pyramid Bass Pyramid 0.0250.00970
Big Green Island Group Big Green Island East Kangaroo Island 4.11.66
Big Green Island 1.570.614
Chalky Island 0.410.160
East Kangaroo Island 1.570.612
Isabella Island 0.140.0540
Little Chalky Island 0.050.0190
Mile Island 0.040.0150
Other0.140.0540
Cape Barren Island The Corner 478.4184.767
Clarke Island 82321
Craggy Island Craggy Island 0.3890.1500
Flinders Island Whitemark Lady Barron 1,367528700
Franklin Sound Islands Important Bird Area Great Dog Tin Kettle 21.3628.24814
Anderson Island 1.660.640
Boxen Island 0.130.0500
Briggs Islet 0.0340.0130
Doughboy Island 0.170.0660
Great Dog Island Great Dog Island 3.751.4510
Lady Barron Island 0.010.00390
Little Anderson Island 0.130.0500
Little Dog Island Little Dog Island 0.830.320
Little Green Island 0.870.340
Long Island 3.131.210
Neds Reef 0.040.0150
Other Spences Islands Big Black Reef, GVH Rock, Mid Woody Islet, Ram, Apple Orchard Point, Billy Goat Reefs, Fisher Island, Samphire Island 0.2530.0980
Oyster Rocks East Oyster West Oyster 0.070.0270
Pelican Island 0.070.0270
Puncheon Island Puncheon Island 0.1850.0711
Tin Kettle Island Tin Kettle 1.860.722
Vansittart Island Bates Bay House Bay 8.173.151
Inner Sister Island 7.482.890
Other Little Island Shag Rock000
Outer Sister Island Outer Sister Island 5.452.100
Pasco Island Group Roydon Island 1.10.420
Marriott Reef 0.0340.0130
Middle Pasco Islands 0.0840.0320
North Pasco Island 0.280.110
Other0.1220.0470
Roydon Island 0.370.140
South Pasco Island 0.210.0810
Passage Island Group Passage Island4.471.732
Forsyth Island 1.670.640
Gull Island 0.0850.0330
Low Islets 0.020.00770
Moriarty Rocks 0.0250.00970
Other Battery Island 0.0170.00660
Passage Island Passage Island2.530.982
Spike Island Spike Island Little Spike Island 0.1230.0470
Preservation Island Group Preservation Island 2.370.922
Key Island 0.060.0230
Night Island 0.0260.0100
Other0.0070.00270
Preservation Island Preservation Island Horseshoe Bay2.080.802
Rum Island 0.1970.0760
Prime Seal Island Group Prime Seal Island 12.84.90
Bird Island 0.0150.00580
Low Islets South Low Middle Low, North Low 0.350.140
Other0.0750.0290
Prime Seal Island Peacock Bay South Bay12.24.70
Wybalenna Island 0.160.0620
Sentinel Island 0.10.0390
Wright Rock 0.0940.0360
Furneaux Group Whitemark Lady Barron, The Corner, Emita, Killiecrankie 2,010.3776.2795

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.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bass Strait</span> Sea strait between the Australian mainland and Tasmania

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flinders Island</span> Island to the north of Tasmania, Australia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Barren Island</span> Island in Tasmania, Australia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarke Island (Tasmania)</span> Island in Tasmania, Australia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Preservation Island</span> Island in Tasmania, Australia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Portland</span> Cape on the north-eastern tip of Tasmania, Australia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Passage Island (Tasmania)</span> Island in Tasmania, Australia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forsyth Island</span> Island in Tasmania, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moriarty Rocks</span> Island in Tasmania, Australia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anderson Island (Tasmania)</span> Island in Tasmania, Australia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tin Kettle Island</span> Island in Tasmania, Australia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Dog Island</span> Island in Tasmania, Australia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Dog Island (Tasmania)</span> Island in Tasmania, Australia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vansittart Island</span> Island in Tasmania, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Babel Island</span> Island in Tasmania, Australia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prime Seal Island</span> Island in Tasmania, Australia

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

  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.