Located 20 km north of Cape Portland (north east tip of Tasmania) by sea and 151 km from Launceston by air, Flinders Island is the largest of the Furneaux group of islands which lie at the eastern end of Bass Strait separating Tasmania from Victoria. It is about 29 km wide at its widest point and 64 km long.

The island was probably part of the land bridge which joined Tasmania to the mainland. Bass strait was formed as a result of the melting of ice after the last ice age and consequently Flinders and Cape Barren became islands and the Aborigines of Tasmania were cut off from their mainland counterparts.

The island was first identified by Europeans when Tobias Furneaux, the commander of Captain Cook’s support ship, became separated from the Endeavour in fog and discovered the Furneaux group of islands on 19 march 1773.

George Bass and Matthew Flinders, resolved the issue of Van Diemen’s Land’s status, when, between October 1798 and June 1799, they circumnavigated the island. The strait which separates Tasmania from the mainland was named after Bass and this, the major island, was named after Flinders by Governor King.

Flinders Island is a mountainous place which, has seen changing land use over the last 200 years.

The first settlers in the Furneaux group were sealers. The sealing industry started after the survivors of the Sydney Cove (wrecked at Preservation island) reported large numbers of fur seal in the area. One of the first sealers to operate around the Furneaux group was Captain Charles Bishop in the 80 ton brig Nautilus. Bishop established the first settlement south of Sydney at Kent Bay on the southern side of Cape Barren Island.

The sealers that were left behind to harvest seals while the boats transported products from the seals back to markets, often kidnapped Australian and Tasmanian Aboriginal women to work for them and become their wives. The last sealing licences were issued in 1828, after the collapse of the sealing industry a few of the sealers and their wives settled on the islands around the Furneaux group. These settlers leased the outer islands where they survived on grazing and mutton birding.

In 1833 the remnants of the Tasmanian Aboriginal population ( a mere 160 people) were exiled to live at Settlement Point (named by the aboriginals as Wybalenna- black mans house’s) on Flinders Island, with the misguided belief that they would be protected from the rape and abuses of the white settlers in Tasmania. By 1847 the settlement had been deemed as a failure and was abandoned the remaining 45 Aborigines were sent to Oyster Cove on the east coast of Tasmania.

The first freehold land was selected in 1888 by George Boyes (31 acres at Palana) prior to this Flinders Island was leased to individual persons. The first council was elected in 1908 after which there was an increase in population mainly based on agricultural and fishing industries.

In the early 1950s a solider settlement scheme was initiated clearing and draining land on the east coast of Flinders Island, (approximately 33,559 hectares) this greatly increased the island’s productivity. Settlers for this scheme mainly came for Tasmania and central New South Wales.

The average minimum temperature in winter is 6.0 degrees and the average maximum temperature in summer is 22.5 degrees. For the summer months it is not uncommon for the temperature to hover around the low thirties.

Winds are predominantly westerly which can blow for several days at a time, particularly during late winter and spring. Sea breezes occur during the summer months. The coastal waters can be exposed to strong and variable winds and high seas at all times of the year.

About half the Island’s area is coastal sand dunes and related soil deposits. These form a broad plain on the eastern side of Flinders Island and a narrow strip on the Western coast. Estuarine beds of sands, clays and gravels can be found in many low lying areas on the islands. The highest peaks are Mount Strezelecki on Flinders Island which rises to 756 metres and Mount Munro on Cape Barren Island to 687 metres. Many other peaks exceed 400 metres.

The many small streams flowing directly to the coast form the dominant drainage pattern. Flinders Island has its largest drainage system towards the east coast from the agricultural lands that drain into Foochow Inlet, Middle Inlet, Patriarch Inlet and Camerons Inlet. Because of the steepness and short distance of the catchments, many of the smaller streams only flow after good rainfalls.

Many coastal lagoons exist along the eastern coastline of Flinders Island and Cape Barren Island due to the sand dunes blocking drainage to the coast. Only a small number of streams flow permanently. On Cape Barren Island most of the streams flow to the north and south into coastal bays.

The variation in rainfall, altitude, geology and landform has led to a considerable variety in the soil and vegetation types found on the islands. Deep calcareous sandy soils occur along the coastal dunes and narrow flats mostly support scrub vegetation with some shrubland, woodland and low forest. The undulating plains such as those found on the western side of Flinders Island and Cape Barren Island have deep, mostly uniform sand and duplex soils. These soils mostly carry eucalypt woodland and scrub vegetation with some forest. On the higher granite based slopes, the soil types are mostly mottled duplex soils carrying peppermint eucalypt forest and woodland vegetation. On many of the smaller islands there is tussock grassland and coastal heathland similar to the larger islands. These islands can provide a refuge for species and plant communities which have been destroyed by fire, grazing and recreational activities in the past. Between 800 and 900 species of plants have been recorded in the Furneaux islands, once again reflecting the diversity of physical conditions found throughout the Group. The Island have scientific significance in that they represent a boundary for some species - being the southern most location for some species yet being the northern most for others.