DOCSLIB.ORG

Tasmania and the Tasmanians

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Tasmania and the Tasmanians TASMANIA AND THE TASMANIANS “So long as the past and present are outside one another, knowledge of the past is not of much use in the problems of the present. But suppose the past lives on in the present: suppose, though encapsulated in it, and at first sight hidden beneath the present’s contradictory and more prominent features, it is still alive and active; then the historian may very well be related to the non-historian as the trained woodsman is to the ignorant traveller.” — R.G. Collingwood, AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1939, page 100 HDT WHAT? INDEX TASMANIANS TASMANIA 35,000 BCE Stone tools along the Nepean River near what is now Sydney, Australia, indicate that aboriginal humans had been present there since circa 45,000 BCE. At this point, as Cro-Magnons displaced Homo sapiens neandertalensis in Europe, a “Mouheneener” band of aboriginals arrived at what is now the Hobart vicinity on the island of Tasmania (Van Diemen’s Land). Twisted-fiber thread, jewelry, clay fertility figurines, and corrals were developed. Tally sticks appear at various locations around Eurasia and Africa (these are notched sticks or antlers, used to track how many domestic animals one has — the English word “score” refers to the notches cut into such tally sticks). The Late Wisconsin Glaciation began in North America (meaning that while there were Homo sapiens sapiens in Europe and in Tasmania, there were nothing human as yet in what was to become New England). In a human population in East Asia a mutation in a particular gene we now refer to as EDAR began to produce smaller breasts, thicker hair, distinctly different teeth, and an increased number of sweat glands (it may well be that the selective advantage offered by this mutation was increase in sweat). HDT WHAT? INDEX TASMANIANS TASMANIA 17TH CENTURY 1642 November 24 or December 13: Captain Abel Jansen Tasman, commanding 2 ships of the Dutch East India Company, sighted the west coast of the island we have known since 1853 as Tasmania. He named his discovery Van Diemen’s Land in honor of a superior in Batavia. He would sail south, then east, to the other side of the island, and anchor off a spot we now call Blackman Bay. He found evidence of human habitation but made no contact with the aborigines.1 THE VOYAGE OF CAPTAIN ABEL JANSEN TASMAN IN THE YEAR 1642 and NOTICES OF A SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY BY TASMAN. OF THE AMSTERDAM STADT-HOUSE MAP OF THE WORLD; AND OF THE NAMES HOLLANDIA NOVA AND ZEELANDIA NOVA * * * A CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE VOYAGES AND DISCOVERIES IN THE SOUTH SEA OR PACIFIC OCEAN. PART III. From the Year 1620, to the Year 1688. ILLUSTRATED WITH CHARTS AND OTHER PLATES. By JAMES BURNEY, CAPTAIN IN THE ROYAL NAVY. LONDON. 1813. * * * * * CONTENTS OF VOLUME III. CHAPTER IV. THE VOYAGE OF CAPTAIN ABEL JANSEN TASMAN IN THE YEAR 1642. Manuscript Journal of Captain Tasman’s Tasman sails from Batavia At the Island Mauritius Land discovered Is named Van Diemen’s Land Frederik Hendrik’s Bay Other Land discovered, and named Staten Land [since, New Zealand] Moordenaar’s Bay Drie Koningen Island Pylstaart Island Amsterdam Island 1. From this year into 1644, Tasman was reaching not only this island that would be called Tasmania, but also New Zealand. HDT WHAT? INDEX TASMANIANS TASMANIA Amamocka Island Island North of Amamocka Prins Willem’s Islands, and Heemskerk’s Shoals Onthona Java Marquen Islands Groene Islands Island St Jan Ant. Kaan’s Island. Cape Sta. Maria. Gerrit Denys Island. Vischer’s Island Salomon Sweert’s Hoek Coast of New Guinea Vulcan’s Island. Hooge Bergh Islands Jamna and Arimoa Islands Moa and Inson Willem Schouten’s Island Return to Batavia CHAPTER VII. NOTICES OF A SECOND VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY BY TASMAN. OF THE AMSTERDAM STADT-HOUSE MAP OF THE WORLD; AND OF THE NAMES HOLLANDIA NOVA AND ZEELANDIA NOVA. Second Voyage of Discovery by Tasman Extract from his Instructions Of the Name New Holland; 0n what occasion first applied to the Terra Australis Amsterdam Stadt-house Map of the World Zeelandia Nova * * * * * CHAPTER IV. THE VOYAGE OF CAPTAIN ABEL JANSEN TASMAN IN THE YEAR 1642. After the discovery of the Western coast of the _Terra Australis_ or _Great South Land_ by Theodoric Hertoge, which was in the year 1616, the Hollanders endeavoured at various opportunities to obtain further knowledge concerning the country and its extent, as well by their ships outward bound from Europe touching on different parts of the coast, as by vessels sent purposely from their Eastern settlements to make examination. Before the Presidentship of Governor Van Diemen, however, only the Northern and Western coasts had been visited: and to that time no limitation had been set by the track of any navigator to the extent Southward and Eastward of the _Terra Australis_. In 1642, the Governor and Council at _Batavia_ fitted out two ships to prosecute the discovery of the South Land, principally with a view to ascertain its extent. The command of this expedition was given to Captain Abel Jansen Tasman, and his Voyage proved to be one of the most importance to geography of any which had been undertaken since the first circumnavigation of the globe. The history of this Voyage will here be given in the Commander’s own words, or, to speak more precisely, in a translation of them from his Journal, concerning which some prefatory explanation HDT WHAT? INDEX TASMANIANS TASMANIA is necessary. In fact, all the published accounts of Tasman’s Voyage are derived from his own Journal. The earliest extant, or at present known to have been published, is a very abridged narrative in the Dutch language, entitled, _een kort verhael uyt het journael van den Kommander_ Abel Jansen Tasman _int’ ontdekken van t’onbekende Suit Landt int Jare 1642_; (i.e. _A short relation from the Journal of the Commander_ Abel Jansen Tasman, _in the Discovery of the Unknown South Land, in the year 1642_), which was published at Amsterdam, in 1674; by Dirck Rembrantz Van Nierop. Translations of this abridgment were soon after printed in most of the European languages. In 1726, Valentyn published the Voyage at greater length, accompanied with charts and views, in the IIId volume of his East Indian Descriptions. Mr. Dalrymple, from a comparison and examination of Valentyn with the accounts before published, drew up a narrative of the Voyage, which, with a selection of the charts and views from Valentyn, he published in his _Historical Collection of Discoveries in the Pacific Ocean_. Subsequent to the publication of Mr. Dalrymple’s _Historical Collection_, a manuscript Journal of Captain Tasman’s, with charts and views of the lands discovered by him, was brought to this country, and was purchased of the then possessor by Mr. Banks (the present Sir Joseph Banks) shortly after his return from the _South Sea_. In Sir Joseph’s Library it has been preserved not merely as a curiosity. To facilitate the means of information from so valuable a manuscript, he procured it to be translated into English; and the Dutch original with the English translation are kept on the same shelf in his Library. From these, with the permission of the Right honourable owner, the account of Abel Jansen Tasman’s Voyage is now offered to the public. The English translation was made in 1776, by the Reverend Charles Godfrey Woide, who was then Chaplain to His Majesty’s Dutch Chapel at St. James’s Palace, and afterwards Under Librarian to the British Museum, and is done with much care and judgment. Mr. Woide, in a note, expresses his opinion that this Journal is not in the handwriting of Captain Tasman, though he remarks the manner of spelling to be of the time of Tasman’s Voyage. He makes the three following objections. 1st. That where Tasman’s name appears as a signature, it is accompanied with the word ‘_Onderstout_’ (_Undersigned_). 2dly. He notices the entire omission of three days in the Journal; and 3dly, he points out some inaccuracies which appeared to him more like the mistakes of a transcriber than of a journalist. Mr. Woide has given too much weight to these objections. The word _Onderstout_ accompanying the signatures, was a formality not unusually practised by those who subscribed their names; as appears by an example in this same Journal, where the opinion of one of the steersmen being demanded, is delivered in writing, _’Onderstout by my, Pieter N. Duytz.’_ i.e. Undersigned by me, Pieter N. Duytz.[*] The charge of three days being omitted, is immaterial, from the circumstance of the ships being on the days in question (Sept. 22d, 23d, and 24th, 1642) at anchor in port. With respect to the distinction between the inaccuracies of a transcriber and of a journalist, it is to be observed, that the journalist is frequently his own transcriber. It is a common practice with Voyagers, with Commanders especially, to keep two Journals, the last written of which is a transcript from the HDT WHAT? INDEX TASMANIANS TASMANIA first, generally with additions or corrections as the journalist thinks proper, and this, the latter written, is considered, not as a copy, but as the fair Journal. Such, almost invariably, are the Journals transmitted by Sea Commanders to their superiors. The Manuscript in the library of Sir Joseph Banks, by the manner in which it is concluded (which will be seen in its place) has the appearance of being the Journal delivered by Captain Tasman to the Governor and Council at _Batavia_. But nothing is a more convincing proof of this being an original Journal than that the particulars of the navigation, from leaving _Batavia_ to Tasman’s arrival at the scene of new discovery (a part of his voyage which has little or nothing to attract curiosity, or to repay the trouble of copying at length) are noted down in as full and circumstantial a manner as the more important occurrences and remarks when on the coast of newly discovered countries.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Richard Bennett Sydney Hobart 50Th
    ACROSS FIVE DECADES PHOTOGRAPHING THE SYDNEY HOBART YACHT RACE RICHARD BENNETT ACROSS FIVE DECADES PHOTOGRAPHING THE SYDNEY HOBART YACHT RACE EDITED BY MARK WHITTAKER LIMITED EDITION BOOK This specially printed photography book, Across Five Decades: Photographing the Sydney Hobart yacht race, is limited to an edition of books. (The number of entries in the 75th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race) and five not-for-sale author copies. Edition number of Signed by Richard Bennett Date RICHARD BENNETT OAM 1 PROLOGUE People often tell me how lucky I am to have made a living doing something I love so much. I agree with them. I do love my work. But neither my profession, nor my career, has anything to do with luck. My life, and my mindset, changed forever the day, as a boy, I was taken out to Hartz Mountain. From the summit, I saw a magical landscape that most Tasmanians didn’t know existed. For me, that moment started an obsession with wild places, and a desire to capture the drama they evoke on film. To the west, the magnificent jagged silhouette of Federation Peak dominated the skyline, and to the south, Precipitous Bluff rose sheer for 4000 feet out of the valley. Beyond that lay the south-west coast. I started bushwalking regularly after that, and bought my first camera. In 1965, I attended mountaineering school at Mount Cook on the Tasman Glacier, and in 1969, I was selected to travel to Peru as a member of Australia’s first Andean Expedition. The hardships and successes of the Andean Expedition taught me that I could achieve anything that I wanted.
    [Show full text]
  • Convict Labour and Colonial Society in the Campbell Town Police District: 1820-1839
    Convict Labour and Colonial Society in the Campbell Town Police District: 1820-1839. Margaret C. Dillon B.A. (Hons) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D.) University of Tasmania April 2008 I confirm that this thesis is entirely my own work and contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University or any other institution, except by way of background information and duly acknowledged in the thesis, and to the best of my knowledge and belief no material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of the thesis. Margaret C. Dillon. -ii- This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. Margaret C. Dillon -iii- Abstract This thesis examines the lives of the convict workers who constituted the primary work force in the Campbell Town district in Van Diemen’s Land during the assignment period but focuses particularly on the 1830s. Over 1000 assigned men and women, ganged government convicts, convict police and ticket holders became the district’s unfree working class. Although studies have been completed on each of the groups separately, especially female convicts and ganged convicts, no holistic studies have investigated how convicts were integrated into a district as its multi-layered working class and the ways this affected their working and leisure lives and their interactions with their employers. Research has paid particular attention to the Lower Court records for 1835 to extract both quantitative data about the management of different groups of convicts, and also to provide more specific narratives about aspects of their work and leisure.
    [Show full text]
  • Expressions of Sovereignty: Law and Authority in the Making of the Overseas British Empire, 1576-1640
    EXPRESSIONS OF SOVEREIGNTY EXPRESSIONS OF SOVEREIGNTY: LAW AND AUTHORITY IN THE MAKING OF THE OVERSEAS BRITISH EMPIRE, 1576-1640 By KENNETH RICHARD MACMILLAN, M.A. A Thesis . Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy McMaster University ©Copyright by Kenneth Richard MacMillan, December 2001 DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (2001) McMaster University (History) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: Expressions of Sovereignty: Law and Authority in the Making of the Overseas British Empire, 1576-1640 AUTHOR: Kenneth Richard MacMillan, B.A. (Hons) (Nipissing University) M.A. (Queen's University) SUPERVISOR: Professor J.D. Alsop NUMBER OF PAGES: xi, 332 11 ABSTRACT .~. ~ This thesis contributes to the body of literature that investigates the making of the British empire, circa 1576-1640. It argues that the crown was fundamentally involved in the establishment of sovereignty in overseas territories because of the contemporary concepts of empire, sovereignty, the royal prerogative, and intemationallaw. According to these precepts, Christian European rulers had absolute jurisdiction within their own territorial boundaries (internal sovereignty), and had certain obligations when it carne to their relations with other sovereign states (external sovereignty). The crown undertook these responsibilities through various "expressions of sovereignty". It employed writers who were knowledgeable in international law and European overseas activities, and used these interpretations to issue letters patent that demonstrated both continued royal authority over these territories and a desire to employ legal codes that would likely be approved by the international community. The crown also insisted on the erection of fortifications and approved of the publication of semiotically charged maps, each of which served the function of showing that the English had possession and effective control over the lands claimed in North and South America, the North Atlantic, and the East and West Indies.
    [Show full text]
  • Hoorn Als Weltstadt Hoorn Als Eine Weltstadt Zu Bezeichnen Klingt Ein Wenig Verrückt, Aber Hoorn Hat Auch Am Anderen Ende Der Welt Seine Spuren Hinterlassen
    HOORN – KAP HOORN Hoorn als Weltstadt Hoorn als eine Weltstadt zu bezeichnen klingt ein wenig verrückt, aber Hoorn hat auch am anderen Ende der Welt seine Spuren hinterlassen. Im Jahr 1615 begab sich der Kaufmann Jacob Le Marie mit seinem Kapitän Willem Cornelisz.Schouten auf die Suche nach einem unbekannten Kontinent (Terra Australis, das unbekannte Südland) und einem neuen Seeweg nach Indien. Diese Reise brachte sie in die lebensgefährlichen Gewässer am südlichsten Punkt von Südamerika, wo es durchschnittlich an 200 Tagen im Jahr stürmt und Wellen von 8 Metern keine Seltenheit sind. Diese südlichste Landspitze wurde „Kap Hoorn“ genannt. Zu Beginn des 17. Jahrhunderts war für die niederländische Der Name deutete auf das primäre Zielgebiet: das große Seeschifffahrt das Befahren der damals bekannten Seewege Südland, welches sich nach Ansicht der führenden Geografen nach Asien (rund um das Kap der guten Hoffnung oder durch südlich von den drei Ozeanen be nden sollte. Feuerland sollte die Magelaen Straße) für die Niederländische Ostindien- ein Teil davon sein und über den Südpazi k bis in die Tropen Kompanie (VOC) reserviert. Der Entdecker einer neuen Route führen. In Hoorn (wo sich auch die Sponsoren befanden) hätte – für etliche Jahre – ein ähnliches Recht auf die durch ihn wurden zwei Schiffe ausgerüstet und stachen dann in See gefundene Route erworben. Der Kaufmann Isaac Le Maire unter Leitung vom Kaufmann Isaac zoon Jacop und Kapitän wollte es versuchen und gründete 1614 zu diesem Zweck die Willem Cornelisz. Schouten. Das kleinste der beiden Schiffe „Australische Kompanie“, auch “Süd-Kompanie“ genannt. „die Explorer-Hoorn“ geriet in einer Bucht von Patagonien, Stadswandeling A4_DU_2016_CS4.indd 1 17-03-16 19:56 während frisches Wasser und Lebensmittel besorgt wurden, in ist aber eine Seestraße.
    [Show full text]
  • Three Capes Track
    DRAFT DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN Three Capes Track Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment ISBN 978-0-9871899-2-9 (print version) ISBN 978-0-9871899-3-6 (pdf version) © State of Tasmania 2011 Cover image: Cape Pillar by Joe Shemesh Published by: Parks and Wildlife Service Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment GPO Box 1751 Hobart TAS 7001 Cite as: Parks and Wildlife Service 2011, Draft Three Capes Track Development Proposal and Environmental Management Plan, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, Hobart CONTENTS Forward ............................................................................................................................................................................................... i Executive Summary..........................................................................................................................................................................ii 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Project Overview ....................................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Current Status of the Proposal ............................................................................................................................... 6 1.3 Approvals Process
    [Show full text]
  • Tasman Peninsula
    7 A OJ? TASMAN PENINSULA M.R. Banks, E.A. Calholln, RJ. Ford and E. Williams University of Tasmania (MRB and the laie R.J. Ford). b!ewcastle fo rmerly University of Tasmama (EAC) and (ie,a/Ogle,Cl; Survey of Tasmania (E'W) (wjth two text-figures lUld one plate) On Tasman Peninsula, southeastern Tasmania, almost hOrizontal Permian marine and Triassic non-marine lOcks were inllUded by Jurassic dolerite, faulted and overiain by basalt Marine processes operating on the Jurassic and older rocks have prcl(iU!ced with many erosional features widely noted for their grandeur a self-renewing economic asset. Key Words: Tasman Peninsula, Tasmania, Permian, dolerite, erosional coastline, submarine topography. From SMITH, S.J. (Ed.), 1989: IS lllSTORY ENOUGH ? PA ST, PRESENT AND FUTURE USE OF THE RESOURCES OF TA SMAN PENINSULA Royal Society of Tasmania, Hobart: 7-23. INTRODUCTION Coal was discovered ncar Plunkett Point by surveyors Woodward and Hughes in 1833 (GO 33/ Tasman Peninsula is known for its spectacular coastal 16/264·5; TSA) and the seam visited by Captain scenery - cliffs and the great dolerite columns O'Hara Booth on May 23, 1833 (Heard 1981, p.158). which form cliffs in places, These columns were Dr John Lhotsky reported to Sir John Franklin on the first geological features noted on the peninsula. this coal and the coal mining methods in 1837 (CSO Matthew Flinders, who saw the columns in 1798, 5/72/1584; TSA). His thorough report was supported reported (1801, pp.2--3) that the columns at Cape by a coloured map (CSO 5/11/147; TSA) showing Pillar, Tasman Island and Cape "Basaltcs" (Raoul) some outcrops of different rock This map, were "not strictlybasaltes", that they were although not the Australian not the same in form as those Causeway Dictionary of (Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Impact of Sea Level Rise on Coastal Natural Values in Tasmania
    Impact of sea level rise on coastal natural values in Tasmania JUNE 2016 Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment Acknowledgements Thanks to the support we received in particular from Clarissa Murphy who gave six months as a volunteer in the first phase of the sea level rise risk assessment work. We also had considerable technical input from a range of people on various aspects of the work, including Hans and Annie Wapstra, Richard Schahinger, Tim Rudman, John Church, and Anni McCuaig. We acknowledge the hard work over a number of years from the Sea Level Rise Impacts Working Group: Oberon Carter, Louise Gilfedder, Felicity Faulkner, Lynne Sparrow (DPIPWE), Eric Woehler (BirdLife Tasmania) and Chris Sharples (University of Tasmania). This report was compiled by Oberon Carter, Felicity Faulkner, Louise Gilfedder and Peter Voller from the Natural Values Conservation Branch. Citation DPIPWE (2016) Impact of sea level rise on coastal natural values in Tasmania. Natural and Cultural Heritage Division, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, Hobart. www.dpipwe.tas.gov.au ISBN: 978-1-74380-009-6 Cover View to Mount Cameron West by Oberon Carter. Pied Oystercatcher by Mick Brown. The Pied Oystercatcher is considered to have a very high exposure to sea level rise under both a national assessment and Tasmanian assessment. Its preferred habitat is mudflats, sandbanks and sandy ocean beaches, all vulnerable to inundation and erosion. Round-leaved Pigface (Disphyma australe) in flower in saltmarsh at Lauderdale by Iona Mitchell. Three saltmarsh communities are associated with the coastal zone and are considered at risk from sea level rise.
    [Show full text]
  • Australian Natural HISTORY
    I AUSTRAliAN NATURAl HISTORY PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM, 6-B COLLEGE STREET, SYDNEY VOLUME 19 NUMBER 7 PRESIDENT, JOE BAKER DIRECTOR, DESMOND GRIFFIN JULY-SEPTEMBER 1976 THE EARLY MYSTERY OF NORFOLK ISLAND 218 BY JIM SPECHT INSIDE THE SOPHISTICATED SEA SQUIRT 224 BY FRANK ROWE SILK, SPINNERETS AND SNARES 228 BY MICHAEL GRAY EXPLORING MACQUARIE ISLAND 236 PART1 : SOUTH ERN W ILDLIFE OUTPOST BY DONALD HORNING COVER: The Rockhopper I PART 2: SUBANTARCTIC REFUGE Penguin, Eudyptes chryso­ BY JIM LOWRY come chrysocome, a small crested species which reaches 57cm maximum A MICROCOSM OF DIVERSITY 246 adult height. One of the four penguin species which BY JOHN TERRELL breed on Macq uarie Island, they leave for six months every year to spend the IN REVIEW w inter months at sea. SPECTACULAR SHELLS AND OTHER CREATURES 250 (Photo: D.S. Horning.) A nnual Subscription: $6-Australia; $A7.50-other countries except New Zealand . EDITOR Single cop ies: $1 .50 ($1.90 posted Australia); $A2-other countries except New NANCY SMITH Zealand . Cheque or money order payable to The Australian Museum should be sen t ASSISTANT EDITORS to The Secretary, The Australian Museum, PO Box A285, Sydney South 2000. DENISE TORV , Overseas subscribers please note that monies must be paid in Australian currency. INGARET OETTLE DESIGN I PRODUCTION New Zealand Annual Subscription: $NZ8. Cheque or money order payable to the LEAH RYAN Government Printer should be sent to the New Zealand Government Printer, ASSISTANT Private Bag, Wellington. BRONWYN SHIRLEY CIRCULATION Opinions expressed by the authors are their own and do not necessarily represent BRUCE GRAINGER the policies or v iews of The Australian Museum.
    [Show full text]
  • Barrett Et Al Quantitative Biological Baseline
    Quantitative biological baseline surveys of shelf rocky reef biota in Commonwealth MPAs off Tasmania Preliminary Final Report to the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts Neville Barrett1, Tara Anderson2, Brendan Brooke2, Cameron Bucannon2, Matt McArthur2, Ian Atkinson2, Scott Nichol2, Stefan Williams3, Justin Hulls1, Graham Edgar1, Nicole Hill1, Jan Seiler1 and Colin Buxton1 1. Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute, University of Tasmania, 2. Geosciences Australia, 3.University of Sydney June 2009 Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Methods ....................................................................................................... 2 Multibeam mapping of target areas ........................................................................... 2 Single beam mapping ................................................................................................. 3 Biological Data ........................................................................................... 4 Towed video ............................................................................................................... 4 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) ................................................................... 5 Remote Operated video (ROV) .................................................................................. 5 Baited underwater video (BUV)................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Overview of Tasmania's Offshore Islands and Their Role in Nature
    Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania, Volume 154, 2020 83 OVERVIEW OF TASMANIA’S OFFSHORE ISLANDS AND THEIR ROLE IN NATURE CONSERVATION by Sally L. Bryant and Stephen Harris (with one text-figure, two tables, eight plates and two appendices) Bryant, S.L. & Harris, S. 2020 (9:xii): Overview of Tasmania’s offshore islands and their role in nature conservation.Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 154: 83–106. https://doi.org/10.26749/rstpp.154.83 ISSN: 0080–4703. Tasmanian Land Conservancy, PO Box 2112, Lower Sandy Bay, Tasmania 7005, Australia (SLB*); Department of Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601 (SH). *Author for correspondence: Email: [email protected] Since the 1970s, knowledge of Tasmania’s offshore islands has expanded greatly due to an increase in systematic and regional surveys, the continuation of several long-term monitoring programs and the improved delivery of pest management and translocation programs. However, many islands remain data-poor especially for invertebrate fauna, and non-vascular flora, and information sources are dispersed across numerous platforms. While more than 90% of Tasmania’s offshore islands are statutory reserves, many are impacted by a range of disturbances, particularly invasive species with no decision-making framework in place to prioritise their management. This paper synthesises the significant contribution offshore islands make to Tasmania’s land-based natural assets and identifies gaps and deficiencies hampering their protection. A continuing focus on detailed gap-filling surveys aided by partnership restoration programs and collaborative national forums must be strengthened if we are to capitalise on the conservation benefits islands provide in the face of rapidly changing environmental conditions and pressure for future use.
    [Show full text]
  • Tasmanian Aborigines in the Furneaux Group in the Nine Teenth Century—Population and Land
    ‘I hope you will be my frend’: Tasmanian Aborigines in the Furneaux Group in the nine­ teenth century—population and land tenure Irynej Skira Abstract This paper traces the history of settlement of the islands of the Furneaux Group in Bass Strait and the effects of government regulation on the long term settlements of Tasma­ nian Aboriginal people from the 1850s to the early 1900s. Throughout the nineteenth century the Aboriginal population grew slowly eventually constituting approximately 40 percent of the total population of the Furneaux Group. From the 1860s outsiders used the existing land title system to obtain possession of the islands. Aborigines tried to establish tenure through the same system, but could not compete because they lacked capital, and were disadvantaged by isolation in their communication with gov­ ernment. Further, the islands' use for grazing excluded Aborigines who rarely had large herds of stock and were generally not agriculturalists. The majority of Aborigines were forced to settle on Cape Barren Island, where they built homes on a reserve set aside for them. European expansion of settlement on Flinders Island finally completed the disen­ franchisement of Aboriginal people by making the Cape Barren Island enclave depend­ ent on the government. Introduction In December 1869 Thomas Mansell, an Aboriginal, applied to lease a small island. He petitioned the Surveyor-General, T hope you will be my Frend...I am one of old hands Her, and haf Cast and have large family and no hum'.1 Unfortunately, he could not raise £1 as down payment. Mansell's was one of the many attempts by Aboriginal people in the Furneaux Group to obtain valid leasehold or freehold and recognition of their long term occupation.
    [Show full text]
  • Yellow Throat Turns 100! Editor YELLOW THROAT This Issue Is the 100Th Since Yellow Throat First Appeared in March 2002
    Yellow Throat turns 100! Editor YELLOW THROAT This issue is the 100th since Yellow Throat first appeared in March 2002. To mark the occasion, and to complement the ecological focus of the following article by Mike The newsletter of BirdLife Tasmania Newman, here is a historical perspective, which admittedly goes back a lot further than a branch of BirdLife Australia the newsletter, and the Number 100, July 2018 organisation! Originally described by French ornithologist General Meeting for July Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in 1817, and Life Sciences Building, UTas, named Ptilotus Flavillus, specimens of Thursday, 12 July, 7.30 p.m. the Yellow-throated Matthew Fielding: Raven populations are enhanced by wildlife roadkill but do not Honeyeater were impact songbird assemblages. ‘collected’ by John Future land-use and climate change could supplement populations of opportunistic Gould during his visit predatory birds, such as corvids, resulting in amplified predation pressure and negative to Tasmania with his effects on populations of other avian species. Matt, a current UTas PhD candidate, will wife Elizabeth in 1838. provide an overview of his Honours study on the response of forest raven (Corvus This beautiful image tasmanicus) populations to modified landscapes and areas of high roadkill density in south- was part of the eastern Tasmania. exhibition ‘Bird Caitlan Geale: Feral cat activity at seabird colonies on Bruny Island. Woman: Elizabeth Using image analysis and modelling, Caitlin’s recent Honours project found that feral cats Gould and the birds of used the seabird colonies studied as a major food resource during the entire study period, and Australia’ at the native predators did not appear to have a large impact.
    [Show full text]