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The Clarke Island (also known by its Indigenous name of ''Lungtalanana Island''), part of the Furneaux Group, is an island in
Maritime Archaeology Monograph and Reports Series No.2 - Investigation of a Survivors Camp from the Sydney Cove Shipwreck
." Master of Maritime Archaeology Thesis. Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, South Australia. 2004. Accessed 30 December 2009. A party of seventeen men set off on 28 February 1787 in the ship's longboat to reach help at Port Jackson, away. This was led by first mate Hugh Thompson, and included William Clark the supercargo, three European seamen and twelve lascars. Ill fortune struck again and they were wrecked on the mainland at the northern end of Ninety Mile Beach. Their only hope was to walk along the shore all the way to Sydney, a distance of over . They had few provisions and no ammunition, and fatigue and hunger lessened their number as they marched. Along the way they encountered various Aboriginal Tasmanians, some friendly and some not. The last of the party to die on the march was killed by a man Dilba and his people near Hat Hill. Those people had a reputation around Port Jackson for being ferocious.
The root fungus pathogen, ''Phytophthora cinnamomi'', known to be able to kill Australian native plants was found in the island in an isolated case, in 2002.
Introduced animals still inhabiting the island include rabbits, cats and rats.
On 10 May 2005, the government released Crown lands on both Cape Barren and Clarke Island to be overseen by the local Aboriginal association. This marked the first official handover of Crown land to an Aboriginal community in Tasmania. , Clarke Island had one permanent resident. Current infrastructure is limited and ageing.
Preliminary Report on the Furneaux Group of Islands
" Mineral Resources Tasmania, Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources, State Government of Tasmania. 17 October 1935. Accessed 30 December 2009. The highest elevation point is , located on a northwestern point of the island.Blake, F.
The Furneaux Group of islands
" Mineral Resources Tasmania, Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources, State Government of Tasmania. 22 August 1947. Accessed 30 December 2009. To the East of the Island are a collection of white beaches in the Rutherford Cove area.
Bass Strait
Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...
, south of Cape Barren Island, about off the northeast coast of Tasmania, Australia. Banks Strait separates the island from Cape Portland on the mainland.
Off its west coast lies the shipwreck of ''HMS Litherland'', which sank in 1853 and was discovered in 1983. Clarke Island is Tasmania's eighth largest island.
History
Clarke Island/Lungtalanana was uninhabited prior to European settlement. ''Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove (Eora: ) is a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, one of several harbours in Port Jackson, on the coast of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cove is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central Sydney locatio ...
'' ran aground between Preservation Island and Rum Island on 28 February 1797.Nash, M.Maritime Archaeology Monograph and Reports Series No.2 - Investigation of a Survivors Camp from the Sydney Cove Shipwreck
." Master of Maritime Archaeology Thesis. Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, South Australia. 2004. Accessed 30 December 2009. A party of seventeen men set off on 28 February 1787 in the ship's longboat to reach help at Port Jackson, away. This was led by first mate Hugh Thompson, and included William Clark the supercargo, three European seamen and twelve lascars. Ill fortune struck again and they were wrecked on the mainland at the northern end of Ninety Mile Beach. Their only hope was to walk along the shore all the way to Sydney, a distance of over . They had few provisions and no ammunition, and fatigue and hunger lessened their number as they marched. Along the way they encountered various Aboriginal Tasmanians, some friendly and some not. The last of the party to die on the march was killed by a man Dilba and his people near Hat Hill. Those people had a reputation around Port Jackson for being ferocious.
Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...
and George Bass had feared for their safety when they encountered Dilba the previous year.
In May 1797 the three survivors of the march, William Clark, sailor John Bennet and one lascar had made it to the cove at Wattamolla
Wattamolla, also known as Wattamolla Beach, is a cove, lagoon, and beach on the New South Wales coast south of Sydney, within the Royal National Park.
History
Wattamolla is the local Aboriginal name of the area, meaning "place near running wa ...
and, on 15 May 1797, with their strength nearly at an end they were able to signal a boat out fishing, which took them on to Sydney.
On the march Clark had noted coal in the cliffs at what is now called Coalcliff between Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
and Wollongong. This was the first coal found in Australia. On arrival at Port Jackson, the men informed Governor Hunter of the Sydney Cove and its remaining crew. Hunter despatched the ''Francis
Francis may refer to:
People
*Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome
*Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
*Francis (surname)
Places
* Rural M ...
'' and the '' Eliza'' to salvage the ship and take the remaining crew and cargo to Port Jackson.
On the first salvage trip, the crew of the ''Francis'' discovered wombats on the island and a live animal was taken back to Port Jackson. Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...
travelling on board the ''Francis'' on its third and final salvage trip also decided to take a wombat specimen from the island to Port Jackson. Governor Hunter later sent the animal's corpse to Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences.
Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James ...
at the Literary and Philosophical Society to verify it as a new species. The island was named Clarke island after William Clark.
Sealing is believed to taken place on the island early in the 19th century.
Recent developments
The root fungus pathogen, ''Phytophthora cinnamomi'', known to be able to kill Australian native plants was found in the island in an isolated case, in 2002.
Introduced animals still inhabiting the island include rabbits, cats and rats.
On 10 May 2005, the government released Crown lands on both Cape Barren and Clarke Island to be overseen by the local Aboriginal association. This marked the first official handover of Crown land to an Aboriginal community in Tasmania. , Clarke Island had one permanent resident. Current infrastructure is limited and ageing.
Topography
A prominent feature of Clarke Island is a central plateau that rises . This inland highland provides a limited water catchment from which water flows directly to the sea.Blake, F.Preliminary Report on the Furneaux Group of Islands
" Mineral Resources Tasmania, Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources, State Government of Tasmania. 17 October 1935. Accessed 30 December 2009. The highest elevation point is , located on a northwestern point of the island.Blake, F.
The Furneaux Group of islands
" Mineral Resources Tasmania, Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources, State Government of Tasmania. 22 August 1947. Accessed 30 December 2009. To the East of the Island are a collection of white beaches in the Rutherford Cove area.
See also
* List of islands of TasmaniaReferences
{{Islands of Tasmania Furneaux Group Islands of Bass Strait Islands of North East Tasmania Seal hunting Private islands of Tasmania