Flinders Island
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The people of Flinders Island are proud of their history, and as a visitor it's easy to become part of the population of around 850 that make up the towns of Whitemark and Lady Barron, and the little settlements of Emita and Killiecrankie. You'll find people who still have time to stop and chat.
It's an island with a rich heritage, both sad and boisterous. The first Europeans were rough and ready sealers who hunted fur seals to near extinction. And the island's rocky shores and hidden reefs caused many a ship to founder and sink. The island was first identified by Europeans when Tobias Furneaux, the commander of Captain Cook's support ship, became separated from theEndeavour in fog and discovered the Furneaux group of islands on 19 March 1773. Flinders and its surrounding 51 islands are all that remain of the land bridge that once connected Tasmania to mainland Australia. Flinders is the largest of the Furneaux Group, which lies off Tasmania's north-east tip. It is an island of dramatic and varied landscapes, from the pink and grey granite cliffs of Mount Strzelecki and Mount Killiecrankie to the gentle, green farmland that rolls through the island. The main centres on Flinders Island are Whitemark, Lady Barron and Killiecrankie. Birdlife and wildlife are prolific: by the eastern lagoons and inlets, thousands of migratory birds rest on their long flights to breeding areas north of the Arctic Circle. Birdwatchers can seek out the more than 200 species visiting or living on the island's shores every day of the week. They range from the tiny superb wren to the giant wandering albatross. The island's dense coastal scrub shelters wallabies and wombats. The landscape is similar to Tasmania's eastern coastline, so you will find long white sandy beaches strewn with giant granite boulders dappled with orange lichen. You can fly to Flinders Island directly from Launceston, Tasmania or Moorabbin, Victoria. You can also access the island by ferry from Bridport in Tasmania and Port Welshpool in Victoria. 
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