I At Mu St Nl.li 
Tasmanian Field Naturalists’ Club 
EASTER CAMP-OUT, 1912. 
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DARLINGTON. MARIA ISLAND. 
(By Clive E'. Lord.) 
Maria Island having been selected as 
the camp site for the eighth annual 
camp of the Tasmanian Field Natural¬ 
ists' Club, 63 members were aboard the 
s.s. Mongana by 8 o’clock on Good Fri¬ 
day morning. Six more had already lett 
in'the S-.V. Edina, kindly placed at the 
disposal of the club by Mr. W. Golding, 
which made the total party 69. 
The club first visiter! Maria Island in 
1998. when 27 members attended a camp 
held at Soldiers’ Point. This year, hav¬ 
ing regard to the many buildings, etc., 
of historic interest, and also the famous 
fossil cliffs, it was decided to camp at 
Darlington, and Mr. G. E. Brettingham 
Moore kindly gave the club permission 
to camp on his property. 
Good Friday turned out a perfect 
autumn day. and everyone enjoyed the 
trip to Dunalley, which was reached be¬ 
fore 12 o’clock. Lunch was served as we 
were going through the Canal and Black¬ 
man’s Bay. while soon afterwards Maria 
Island appeared in sight. After steam¬ 
ing across to Chinaman’s Bay and land¬ 
ing some passengers, a course was shap¬ 
ed for Darlington, where the local resi¬ 
dents together with the crew of the 
Edina, welcomed us shortly after 3 p.m. 
Darlington is situated ai the N.W. 
corner of I lie island, and is the site of 
the old convict station and the base of 
the Bernacchi operations. Maria Island 
itself is situated several miles off the 
East Coast of Tasmania, and is rather 
mountainous. The lower portion is only 
connected with the northern part of tile 
island by a low sandy neck, on the west¬ 
ern side of which lies Chinaman’s Bay, 
and on the other RiedW Bay. The chief 
mountains, which are situated in the 
northern half, are Mount Maria and The 
Bishop and Clerk; at the base of tlie 
latter the famous fossil cliffs are situated. 
Historically, the island lias an interest¬ 
ing record, being first discovered by Tas¬ 
man in 1642. In 1802 an expedition, fit¬ 
ted out by Hie French Government, un¬ 
der tlie command of Captain Bandin, 
called at the island, and one of their 
number, M. Monge, the surgeon, was 
buried near the shore, not far from 
Chinaman’s Bay. Later, when Tasmania 
was settled as a British colony, Maria 
Island was chosen as one of the convict 
stations, and many of the buildings erect¬ 
ed at that time are still standing, al¬ 
though a good number were demolished 
in beruaechi’s time. Among the most 
interesting of those remaining are the 
windmill, erected in 1849, and Smith 
O’Brien’s cottage, where Hie famous Irish 
exile spent a good deal of his time dur¬ 
ing his enforced stay on the island. The 
majority of Hie buildings at present form¬ 
ing tlie settlement were erected during 
the Beruacclii era, and include a large 
hotel of 39 rooms, and many smaller 
houses, and also a row of 12 cottages, 
which are well-known as “The. Twelve 
Apostles,” while a large sum of money 
must have been spent in the erection of 
1 he cement works, which at the present, 
time are almost reduced to ruins. But, 
apparently, money was not much of' au 
object in those days, for Li7.1 was spent 
in the erection of a pigeon loft, portion 
of which is still standing. 
Midway between Maria Island and the 
mainland lies Lachlan Island, a rocky 
islet of some eight or nine acres in ex- 
triil, in connection with which there is a 
well-known legend to the effect that it is 
named after a convict called McLachlan, 
who, with another prisoner, made his es¬ 
cape from the staUou at Long Point and 
swam to the island with leg-irons on. 
McLachlan died on tlie island from ex¬ 
haustion. hut his mate reached the main¬ 
land, only 1o be recaptured soon after. 
There are several different versions of 
til is rema rkable escape, but as far as 
authentic records go, none of them ap¬ 
pear to be correct, as it seems to be more 
probable that the island was named after 
Governor Macquarie, 'whose Christian 
name was Lachlan. Scott is said to have 
referred to it as Lachlan Island in 1824, 
whereas tlie convict station on Maria 
Island was not founded until a year or 
so after that date. 
But. to return to tlie present. As soon 
as the steamer was berthed at tlie jetty 
a start was made in getting all the camp 
impedimenta ashore, and loading it oti 
the bullock waggons for conveyance to a 
site near the old cement works, this hav- 
