List of islands of Tasmania explained

Tasmania is the smallest and southernmost state of Australia. The Tasmanian mainland itself is an island, with an area of 64519km2^[1] - 94.1% of the total land area of the state. There are more than 1000 smaller islands which have a combined area of 4055km2, making up the remaining 5.9% of total land area.^[2]

Classification structure

A considerable number of Tasmanian islands are identified as being in island groups, including the Breaksea, Furneaux, Hogan, Hunter, Kent, Maatsuyker, Mutton Bird, New Year, Swainson, Trumpeter, and Waterhouse groups.

Regions

Similar to Regions of Tasmania the islands are generally distinguished by the coast that they are adjacent to, as well as Bass Strait - the main separation from the mainland state of Victoria. Five regions are aligned to the north coast and Bass Strait - North West Islands (including King Island), North Coast Islands, North Bass Strait Islands, Furneaux Islands, and North East Islands. The southern groups are South and West Islands, and East Coast Islands.^[3]

Status

There are 334 islands within the state of Tasmania.^[3] Only sixteen of these 334 islands are listed as private islands. The majority of these sixteen private islands have a conservation covenant associated with their title restricting future development, whilst a small minority have a freehold title.^[4]

List of islands

Island, islet or rock name	Location	Group	Area	Population	Land use	Ref
ha	acre
			18ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait		166ha	unpopulated		^[5]
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	440ha	unpopulated	Private Freehold title: Tasmanian Aboriginal community	^[6]
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	1242ha		Private Freehold title: grazing
	Tasman Sea		0.53ha
Bass	Bass Strait	Furneaux	0.01ha	unpopulated	Nature reserve
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	0.68ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait		1.62ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	1.2ha	unpopulated	Nature reserve
	Tasman Sea		175.1ha		Nature reserve
Big Caroline			6.69ha
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	122ha	unpopulated	Nature reserve
Big Black	Bass Strait	Furneaux	0.54ha	unpopulated
Billy Goat	Bass Strait	Furneaux	1.3ha	unpopulated
Bird	Bass Strait	Waterhouse	1ha	unpopulated
Bishop and Clerk			60ha	unpopulated	World Heritage Site	^[7]
	Tasman Sea		35.21ha	Private
Boundary (historically called North East)	Bass Strait		2ha	unpopulated	Crown land
Breaksea, North Breaksea, Main	Southern Ocean		16ha	unpopulated
	Tasman Sea	Bruny	35300ha	220	Various	^[8] ^[9]
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	46500ha	see Flinders Island	Aboriginal	^[10]
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	39ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	41ha	unpopulated	Nature reserve
	Southern Ocean		195ha	unpopulated	Southwest National Park
			63ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	8200ha	see Flinders Island	Aboriginal
	Southern Ocean		0.31ha
	Bass Strait	New Year	10.53ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait	Waterhouse	0.5ha	unpopulated
	Tasman Sea		12.8ha
	Bass Strait		1576.75ha	-	Kent Group National Park
	Southern Ocean	Maatsuyker	517ha	-	Southwest National Park
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	30ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait	Kent	295ha	-	Kent Group National Park
	Bass Strait	Hogan	12.42ha	-	Crown land
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	157ha	unpopulated	Nature reserve
East Pyramids	Southern Ocean		6.69ha
Eddystone Pedra Branca Sidmouth	Southern Ocean (South East Cape)		2ha	unpopulated	Southwest National Park
	Bass Strait	Kent	323ha	unpopulated	Kent Group National Park
		Breaksea
	Southern Ocean	Maatsuyker	1.58ha	unpopulated	Southwest National Park
	Southern Ocean	Maatsuyker	64ha	unpopulated	Southwest National Park
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	134000ha	922	Various	^[11]
	Bass Strait	Furneaux
	Bass Strait	Waterhouse	48ha	unpopulated
	Tasman Sea	Sloping	10ha	unpopulated		^[12]
George	Bass Strait	Waterhouse	7ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait				unpopulated
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	109ha	unpopulated	Conservation area
Grave Island	Tasman Sea		0.2ha
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	354ha	10
	Bass Strait	Furneaux
	Southern Ocean	Swainson	1.85ha
	Southern Ocean	Maatsuyker	7.6ha	unpopulated	Southwest National Park
Hibbs Pyramid	Southern Ocean	Hibbs Pyramid	4.65ha	unpopulated	Southwest National Park
Hippolyte	Tasman Sea
	Southern Ocean	Trumpeter	9.7ha
	Bass Strait	Sloping	0.35ha		Nature reserve
	Bass Strait	Hogan	232ha	unpopulated	Crown land	^[13]
	Bass Strait	Hunter	7100ha	unpopulated	Crown lease
	Tasman Sea		8.05ha		Nature reserve
	Southern Ocean	Maatsuyker	68ha	unpopulated	Southwest National Park
	Tasman Sea	Maria	10ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	4.5ha	unpopulated	Conservation area
Inner	Southern Ocean		0.23ha
	Bass Strait	Furneaux
	Tasman Sea		1.27ha
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	11.4ha	unpopulated	Nature reserve
Isle of Caves	Tasman Sea		1.4ha
Judge and Clerk	South-western Pacific Ocean		20ha	unpopulated	World Heritage Site
Judgement	Bass Strait	Kent	0.39ha	unpopulated	Kent Group National Park
	Southern Ocean	Breaksea	11.35ha
	Southern Ocean	Mutton Bird			unpopulated	World Heritage Site
	Bass Strait	New Year	109400ha	1,617	Various
	Tasman Sea	Sloping	19.8ha	2	Private Freehold Title to high water mark with conservation covenant on part
	Tasman Sea		2.5ha
	Tasman Sea		5.35ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	2.5ha	unpopulated	Nature reserve
Little Betsey	Tasman Sea		0.75ha		Nature reserve
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	5ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	83ha
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	3.6ha	unpopulated	Nature reserve
	Bass Strait	Furneaux
	Tasman Sea	Sloping	0.62ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait	Waterhouse	12.64ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait	Waterhouse	2.5ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	313ha	unpopulated	Grazing
Long (Hogan)	Bass Strait	Hogan	22.85ha	unpopulated	Crown land
	Southern Ocean	Maatsuyker	23.04ha	unpopulated	Southwest National Park
	Southern Ocean	Swainson	4.86ha
	Bass Strait	Furneaux
	Southern Ocean	Maatsuyker	186ha	unpopulated	Southwest National Park
	Bass Strait	Waterhouse	1.11ha	unpopulated
	South-western Pacific Ocean		12400ha	unpopulated
	Tasman Sea	Maria	10100ha	unpopulated
Mavourneen	Southern Ocean	Breaksea	0.88ha
Mewstone	Southern Ocean	Pedra Branca	13.1ha
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	4ha	unpopulated	Conservation area
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	323ha	unpopulated	Private Freehold title: grazing
	Southern Ocean	Breaksea
Mutton Bird (southeast)	Southern Ocean	Mutton Bird	0.52ha
Mutton Bird (southwest)	Southern Ocean	Mutton Bird	0.52ha
Needle	Southern Ocean	Maatsuyker	10.5ha	unpopulated	Southwest National Park
	Great Australian Bight	New Year	98.22ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait	Furneaux
	Bass Strait	Waterhouse	32ha	unpopulated
North East	Bass Strait	Kent	32.62ha	unpopulated	Kent Group National Park
North West Mount Chappell	Bass Strait	Furneaux	0.71ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait	Waterhouse	4.6ha	unpopulated
	Tasman Sea	Partridge	103ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait	Furneaux
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	6.8ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait	North Coast	2.73ha	unpopulated
Perkins	Bass Strait
Philips	Macquarie Harbour
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	207ha
	Bass Strait	Furneaux
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	17.56ha	1	Private
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	1ha		Private
Reynolds
	Bass Strait	Robbins	9900ha	unpopulated	Private
	Bass Strait	Rodondo	106ha	unpopulated	Nature reserve
Round	Bass Strait	Hogan			unpopulated	Crown land
	Southern Ocean	Maatsuyker	6.25ha	unpopulated	Southwest National Park
	Bass Strait	Furneaux
	Bass Strait	Furneaux
	Bass Strait	Waterhouse	51ha	unpopulated	Conservation area
	Macquarie Harbour		8ha		Historic site	^[14]
	Tasman Sea
	Tasman Sea		2800ha	unpopulated
Seal	Bass Strait	Hogan			unpopulated	Crown land
	Southern Ocean	Swainson	2.72ha
	Tasman Sea		117.2ha	unpopulated	Nature reserve
Sidmouth	Southern Ocean
	Tasman Sea	Sloping	59.31ha	3
South Black			1ha	unpopulated	Bird reserve
	Bass Strait	Furneaux
	Tasman Sea
South West	Bass Strait	Kent	19.09ha	unpopulated	Kent Group National Park
	Tasman Sea	Sloping	3.5ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	20ha	unpopulated
Sugarloaf	Southern Ocean	Mutton Bird	3.56ha
	Southern Ocean	Mutton Bird	0.54ha
	Southern Ocean	Swainson	4.14ha
	Bass Strait	Waterhouse	239ha	unpopulated
Taillefer	Tasman Sea
	Tasman Sea
	Bass Strait	Waterhouse	0.9ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait	Hunter	7000ha	unpopulated	Crown lease
	Bass Strait (North-west coast)		2ha	unpopulated	Three Sisters-Goat Island Nature Reserve
	Bass Strait	Furneaux
	Norfolk Bay		1.24ha	unpopulated	Nature reserve
	Bass Strait	Trefoil Island Group
Twin	Bass Strait	Hogan	5.61ha	unpopulated	Crown land
	Bass Strait	Furneaux	800ha
	Tasman Sea	Sloping	3.4ha	unpopulated
	Bass Strait (North-west coast)	Robbins	700ha	unpopulated	Private	^[15] ^[16]
	Southern Ocean	Maatsuyker	15.3ha	unpopulated	Southwest National Park
	Bass Strait	Waterhouse	287ha	unpopulated	Conservation area/Crown land	^[17]
	Tasman Sea		42.58ha	unpopulated
	Southern Ocean	Mutton Bird	5.8ha
West	Southern Ocean	Trumpeter	2.5ha
Western	Southern Ocean	Maatsuyker	29ha	unpopulated	Southwest National Park
Wild Wind	Southern Ocean	Mutton Bird	3.95ha
	Tasman Sea	Sloping			unpopulated
	Bass Strait	Furneaux

Notes

Combined data for North Bruny and South Bruny Islands.

data is for the entire Flinders Council (Furneaux Group) which includes Cape Barren Island and Clarke Island.

Errol Anderson, family arrived on Vansittart Cutter, island was named for, 26 January 1836, Hobart Town.

Source: Direct observation by editor

External links

Map of Tasmania with smaller islands marked (PDF)

Notes and References

Web site: Land areas of States and Territories. Geoscience Australia. 1 January 2004. 14 May 2021.
Web site: Islands. Geoscience Australia. 14 May 2021.
Book: Brothers, Nigel . Pemberton, David . Pryor, Helen . Lucieer, Vanessa . Tasmania's offshore islands: seabirds and other natural features . 2001 . Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery . 978-0-7246-4816-0 . Hobart . Tasmania's Offshore Islands by Region . 44 .
http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/d85ef729-65d5-477e-a764-a8014b352045/files/tasmanian-islands-lists1-4.pdf
Book: Tasmania's Offshore Islands: Seabirds and Other Natural Features. Brothers. Nigel. Pemberton. David. Pryor. Helen. Halley. Vanessa. Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. 2001. September 26, 2019. 0-7246-4816-X.
Web site: Babel Island Land Transfer . Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements Project . . 30 June 2006 . 7 July 2016 .
Web site: Macquarie Island . . . 1997 . 8 July 2016.
Web site: Tasmania - Land area. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 3 January 2008. 5 February 2015.
Web site: About Bruny Island. Bruny Tourism Inc.. 2014. 5 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20120115153535/http://www.brunyisland.org.au/about-bruny-island/. 15 January 2012. dead.
Web site: Flinders Council - Cape Barren Island. Flinders Council. 5 February 2015.
Web site: State of the Environment Tasmania 2009. Government of Tasmania. 2009. 5 February 2015.
News: Fulham Island battleground as bird lover takes on billionaire James Koh. ABC News. Australia. Burgess, Georgie. 24 August 2017. 3 June 2018.
Web site: Tasmania's islands – land tenure and access issues. https://web.archive.org/web/20140714213127/http://tscc.org.au/TSCC_IslandAccess.pdf. dead. 2014-07-14. Tasmanian Sea Canoeing Club. July 2005. 5 February 2015.
Book: Sarah Island: Visitor Services Site Plan 2006 . 7 March 2006 . . 4 July 2017 . 978-0-7246-6381-1 . 1 .
News: Hammond brothers turn the tide . Hudson, Sarah . The Weekly Times . 29 November 2013 . 5 July 2016 .
News: The saltwater muster . 4 October 2016 . . Australia . 5 July 2017 . Breen, Fiona.
Web site: CLAC reserves proclaimed within the Dorset municipality under the Nature Conservation Act 2002 as at 9 July 2012 . 2012 . . Parks Tasmania . https://web.archive.org/web/20151005015257/http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/file.aspx?id=34354 . 5 October 2015 . dead .