Flinders Island

Flinders Island, the largest island in the Furneaux Group, lies in Bass Strait off northeastern Tasmania. It is named after Matthew Flinders, who sailed through Bass Strait in 1797.

The Furneaux Islands are named after Captain Furneaux, commander of Cook's supply ship Adventure, who discovered the group of 42 islands. They are probably a remnant of a land bridge linking Tasmania with the Australian mainland. Seal-hunters established settlements on the islands at an early stage. Off the rocky coasts are numerous wrecks.

In the 1830s Flinders Island was used as a place of internment for the last Tasmanian Aborigines on the main island, whose numbers thereafter fell sharply. The last survivors were finally removed to Oyster Cove