40 THE EAULY 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 upi the East 

 Coast and anchored near Green Island, to the south 

 of Marion Bay. This anchorage was about fifteen miles 

 to the southward of Maria Island, which Tasman named. 

 The intrepid Dutch explorer left this anchoiage on 

 December 4th, and his chart showsi that he sailed ud' the 

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

 as "Maria's Eylandt." .(i) 



For more than one hundred years 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 almoist. 

 the same locality as where the Heemshirk and Zeehan 

 had been a century previously. Marion remained for five 

 or six daysi, 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. 

 Orozets narrative of the voyage (2) 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 isighti Mariai Island was Furneaux, but he was in error 

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

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

 Schoutens."' Captain Cook, in the Resolution, and Cap- 

 tain Furneaux, in the Adventure, became separated in a 

 storm on tlie 7th of Febniary, 1773. This was Cook'si 

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

 Zealand, while Funieaux 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 Ba}^. 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 Tasanan's Peninsula was called by Furneaux 



(\\ Tasraan, Abel Janszoon. — Journal of a Vova^'e in 1642 Amster- 

 dam 1898. 



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

 tlie Governor of Batavia, and not after his daughter, as is often stated. 



(1) Crozet's Voyage to Tasmania, New Zealand, etc., 1771-72 Trans. 

 by Ling Eoth. Lend. 1891. 



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



