40 THE EARLY HISTORY OF MARIA ISLAND, 



As far as European navigators are concerned, Maria 

 Island was first sighted on the evening of December 1st, 

 1642, when Abel Janszoon Tasman sailed iipi the East 

 Coast and anchored neai' Green Island, to the soiuth 

 of Marion Bay. This anchorage was about fifteen miles 

 to the southward of Maria Island, which Tasmau named. 

 The intrepid Dutch explorer left this anchoiage on 

 December 4th, and his chart shows that he sailed ut> the 

 coast on the ocean side of the island, which he charted 

 as "Maria's Eylanclt. " (i^ 



For more than one hundred j^ears the aboriginals 

 were undisturbed by visitors from oversieas. On March 

 5th, 1772, however, the ill-fated Marion du Fresne, fol- 

 lowing on Tasman's charts, anchored his vessels in almosit 

 the same locality as where the TIeemsl-irl: and Zeehan 

 had been a century previously. Marion remained for five 

 or six days', during which time there occurred an unfor- 

 tunate encounter with the natives, in which several of the 

 aboriginals were wounded, and at least one killed. 

 Orozet s narrative of the voyage '-' does not give details 

 of their stay, but it is probable that boats from the 

 ships visited the island. (3) 



The third European and the first British navigator 

 to sight Maria. Island was Furneaux, but he was in error 

 as regards the iDosition of the island, and probably mis- 

 took the Maria. Island of Tasman for part of "The 

 Schoutens." Captain Cook, in the Fesnlufinn, and Cap- 

 tain Furneaux, in the Adrenfure, became separated in a 

 storm on the 7th of February, 1773. This was Cook'a 

 second voyage to the South Seas, and he sailed to New 

 Zealand, while Furneaux called in at Adventure Bay 

 before rejoining his captain. On the 9th of March, 

 Furneaux sighted Tasmania, or, as it was then called, 

 the south coast of New Holland. He mistook the , 

 points, and- took the entrance to the present D'Entre- 

 casteaux Channel to be Storm Bay. When he first 

 anchored on the 10th of March, he thought he was near 

 the Frederick Henry Bay of Tasman, and it is this error 

 which led to such subsequent confusion. Furneaux called 

 the bay Adventure Bay, after his ship, and considered 

 Tasman's Frederick Henry Bay to be a few miles north. 

 The present Tasman's PeninsTila was called bv Furneaux 



(1\ Tasman, Abel Janszoon. —Journal of a Yoyai;e in 1642 Amster- 

 dam 1898, 



Maria Island was named after the wife of Anthony Van Diemen, 

 the Governor of Batavia, and not after his dau!:rhter, as is often stated. 



[1] Crozet's Voyage to Tasm.inia, New Zealand, etc., 1771-72 Trans, 

 by Ling Roth. Lond. 1891. 



(3) See Copies of Marion's Charts. P. and P. Eoy. Soc. Tas. 1889. 



