| Flinders Island | |
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 Furneaux Group from space, April 1993 |
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Tasmania |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 1 333 km² (515 sq mi) |
| Highest point | Mount Strzelecki 756 m (2,480 ft) |
| Administration | |
 Australia |
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| State | Tasmania |
| LGA | Municipality of Flinders Island |
| Largest city | Whitemark (population 170) |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 897 (as of 2005) |
| Density | 0. The Furneaux Group is a group of 52 islands at the eastern end of Bass Strait, between Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. Tasmania is an Australian island and state of the same name It is located south of the eastern side of the Continent, being separated from it by Bass For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Tasmania is an Australian island and state of the same name It is located south of the eastern side of the Continent, being separated from it by Bass Australia has two tiers of subnational government state (or territory government and local government. Whitemark is the main settlement of Flinders Island, in the Australian state of Tasmania. 67/km² (1. 74/sq mi)/km² |
Flinders Island is an island in the Bass Strait, located 20 km from Cape Portland being the north-eastern tip of Tasmania, Australia. Bass Strait (bæs is a sea Strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland ( Victoria in particular The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand Tasmania is an Australian island and state of the same name It is located south of the eastern side of the Continent, being separated from it by Bass For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. It is the largest island in the Furneaux Group. The Furneaux Group is a group of 52 islands at the eastern end of Bass Strait, between Victoria and Tasmania, Australia.
Contents |
History
The Furneaux Group was first discovered by Europeans in 1773 when it was sighted by Tobias Furneaux, a support ship commander of Captain Cook's party. Captain Tobias Furneaux ( August 21, 1735 – September 19, 1781) was an English Navigator and Royal Navy officer Captain James Cook FRS RN ( – 14 February 1779) was an English Explorer, Navigator and In 1798-'99 British explorers Matthew Flinders and George Bass completed the first ever circumnavigation of Tasmania, proving it to be an island separate from the Australian mainland. British people, or Britons, are the native inhabitants of Great Britain and their descendants or citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Captain Matthew Flinders, RN (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814 was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age George Bass, British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia ( 30 January 1771 - 1803 was born at Aswarby a hamlet near Sleaford, Bass Strait was named in honour of George Bass, whereas the main island in the Furneaux Group was named after Flinders. Bass Strait (bæs is a sea Strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland ( Victoria in particular In the late 1700s, the island was settled by sealers and their mostly Aboriginal wives, but seal stocks soon collapsed, causing the last sealing permit to be issued in 1828. Sealing redirects here for other uses see Sealing (disambiguation. Many sealers' families chose to stay in the Furneaux Group, subsisting on cattle grazing and muttonbirding. Muttonbirding is a seasonal harvesting activity which may be recreational or commercial of the chicks of Petrels especially Shearwater species for food oil and
In 1833, the remnants of the Tasmanian Aboriginal population were exiled to Settlement Point (or Wybalenna, meaning Black Man's House) on Flinders Island. The Tasmanian Aborigines ( Aboriginal name Palawa) are the indigenous people of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. These 160 survivors were deemed to be safe from white settlers here, but the relocation scheme was short-lived and doomed to fail. In 1847 the remaining 45 Aboriginals were again relocated, this time to Oyster Cove on Tasmania's east coast. The Tasmanian Aborigines ( Aboriginal name Palawa) are the indigenous people of the island state of Tasmania, Australia.
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 to Flinders Island's eastern shore. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The Municipality of Flinders Island was instituted in 1903[1].
Geography and Nature
The island forms part of the state of Tasmania, and part of the Municipality of Flinders Island local government area. Local Government Areas of Tasmania, Australia This article also includes lists of towns suburbs and localities of Tasmania Note that Flinders Island is only one of the many islands included in the Municipal area, although Flinders Island itself is the only island with more than one permanent settlement and by far the largest in the Furneaux Group.
The island is approximately 62 km from north to south, and 37 km from east to west[2]. The island's total land area is 1333 km². With a height of 756 m, Mount Strzelecki in the south west is the island's highest peak. About a third of the island is mountainous and rugged with ridges of granite running the length of the island. Granite (ˈɡrænɪt is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, Felsic, igneous rock. The coastal areas are dominated by sandy deposits often taking the shape of dunes. In physical Geography, a dune is a Hill of Sand built by Aeolian processes. Many coastal lagoons punctuate the eastern shore, formed by dunes blocking further drainage. A lagoon is a body of comparatively shallow salt or Brackish water separated from the deeper Sea by a shallow or exposed sandbank, coral This drainage is mainly provided by many small streams, few of them permanently flowing, directly leading to the waters of Bass Strait or such a lagoon. Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of surface and sub-surface water from a given area
The coastal areas are mainly covered in scrub or shrubs, whereas the vegetation at a higher elevation consists of woodland, mainly eucalyptus species. Scrubland is a Plant community characterized by scrub Vegetation. A shrub or Bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of Woody plant, distinguished from a Tree Eucalyptus (From Greek ευκάλυπτος meaning "well covered" is a diverse Genus of Trees (and a few shrubs the members of which The total number of plant species in the Furneaux Group well exceeds 800, showing the great biodiversity of its ecosystem[1]. Biodiversity is the variation of Life forms within a given Ecosystem, Biome or for the entire Earth. An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants animals and micro-organisms( Biotic factors in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical ( Animal species include Bennett's Wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus), Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), Cape Barren Goose (Cereopsis novaehollandiae), Short-tailed Shearwater (Puffinus tenuirostris), Eastern Pygmy Possum (Cercartetus nanus), Potoroo (Potorous apicalis), Common Ringtail Possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus), Tasmanian Pademelon (Thylogale billardierii), and Cape Fur Seal (Arctocephalus pusillus)[3]. The Red-necked Wallaby ( Macropus rufogriseus) is a medium-sized Macropod, common in the more temperate and fertile parts of eastern Australia. The Common Brushtail Possum ( Trichosurus vulpecula, from the Greek for "furry tailed" and the Latin for "little fox" is the largest The Cape Barren Goose, Cereopsis novaehollandiae is a large Goose resident in southern Australia. The Short-tailed Shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris, or Yolla, more commonly known as the Muttonbird in Australia, is the most The Eastern Pygmy Possum ( Cercartetus nanus) is a Diprotodont Marsupial of south-eastern Australia A potoroo is any member of the genus Potorous. Classification SUBORDER MACROPODIFORMES Family The Common Ringtail Possum ( Pseudocheirus peregrinus, Greek for "false hand" and Latin for "pilgrim" or "alien" is an The Tasmanian Pademelon ( Thylogale billardierii) also known as the Rufous-bellied Pademelon or Red-bellied Pademelon, is the sole endemic The area surrounding Mount Strzelecki in the south west of the island constitutes Strzelecki National Park. Strzelecki National Park is a national park on Flinders Island, Tasmania ( Australia) 307 km north of Hobart.
Demographics
The population in 2005 was 897 people; the median age being 45. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. [4]
Settlements include Whitemark (which has the island's main airstrip and about 170 inhabitants (2005)) and Lady Barron (approx. Whitemark is the main settlement of Flinders Island, in the Australian state of Tasmania. 130 inhabitants), Blue Rocks, Emita, Killiecrankie, Lackrana, Leeka, Loccota, Lughrata, Memana, Palana, Ranga, Wingaroo, and Wybalenna[5][6] (all below Lady Barron's population figure). Blue Rocks (Australian postcode 7255 is a small Township on the mid western coast of Flinders Island, Tasmania.
Communications
Airlines of Tasmania runs a daily service from Launceston, Tasmania (40 minutes) and a three-weekly flight from Moorabbin, Victoria (90 minutes)[7]. Airlines of Tasmania is a small regional Airline based in Launceston, Australia. Launceston ( (short first vowel /ˈlɔːnsəstən/ is often incorrectly heard in other parts of Australia is a city in the north of the state of Tasmania, Australia Moorabbin is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria Australia located approximately 16 kilometers south-east of the Melbourne CBD. Both services terminate at Flinders Island Airport about 3 km north of Whitemark. Flinders Island Airport is a small regional airport located near the town of Whitemark on Flinders Island off the north-east coast of Tasmania,
Meteorological Facts
| Average Annual Temperature: | 10 to 18 °C (50 to 64 °F) |
| Average January Temperature: | 13 to 22 °C (60 to 71 °F) |
| Average July Temperature: | 6 to 13 °C (43 to 56 °F) |
| Days over 30 °C (86 °F): | 4. 8 |
| Days over 35 °C (95 °F): | 0. 8 |
| Days under 2 °C (35. 6 °F): | 21. 1 |
| Days under 0 °C (32 °F): | 5. 6 |
| Annual Rainfall: | 754 mm (29. 7 inches) |
| Average Annual Windspeed: | 21–25 km/h (13–15 mi/h)[8] |
Trivia
Plans have been approved by the Tasmanian government for the construction of a 500-room hotel and international golf course outside of Lady Barron.
References
- ^ a b Focus on Flinders website
- ^ Google Earth measurements
- ^ Focus on Flinders fauna page
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics
- ^ Hema Road Map of Tasmania, Hema Maps, 1990, ISBN 0 670 90403 1
- ^ Wilkins Tourist Maps' online map of the Furneaux Group
- ^ Focus on Flinders Airlines of Tasmania page
- ^ Whitemark climate averages
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