Flinders Island

There was the mass dispossession caused people to live in very unhealthy environments.

I'm reminded of Waibalina on Flinders Island in Bass Strait.

After the killings in Tasmania, the survivors were herded up and brought to Waibalina.

And within two years, most of them had died from respiratory infections.

I wanted to write about Jane Franklin, who is a fascinating person, and she was the governor's wife in Tasmania during the genocide of the Aborigines and some of the worst excesses of the convict system there, and she fought both those things.

But she did something I couldn't explain, which is she took an Aboriginal child from Flinders Island and brought her to Government House and really made her a part of the family with her birth child, Eleanor.

And it scandalized the colony that this black child was there at Government House in the carriage, in the gowns, the whole thing.

And then when John Franklin is recalled to England, she abandons that child into a system that she knew was completely brutal.

There, there is Tasmania.

Last week we spoke about this island up here, which was Flinders Island-

Yes

... to the north there.

So, yes, a bit chilly here, but hopefully that's the end of it.

For those playing along at home, this week on the show, we're going to talk a lot about Cam's recent trip to Flinders Island, which is very exciting.

We've got some photos to show because we know how much our listeners love it when we just show photos through the whole thing.

I also want to bring up the fact that the guy on the other screen has done very well in the mono awards that have recently been announced.

That was unplanned.

Mine's a bit older than yours.

well a bit more rundown so this is uh on flinders island beautiful uh place i've been for the last few days with a lovely group of people uh this is at lily's beach it's an old disused uh jetty um there's a there's a bit of a tragic history with the indigenous australia on flinders island and why berlina chapel is where they used to school them or teach them or whatever they were trying to do back then um And I do believe this jetty might have been one of the supply jetties to get things into the little community that was staying just around the corner there.

But it always makes for a great shot.

Um, now tell me a little bit about yourself.

I know that you did an apprenticeship on Flinders Island.

Yes.

And, uh, let's start there.

How do you go from Flinders Island to being here in Perth?

Well, I did grow up in Margaret River.

Okay.

It was just amazing.

Well, Matt is Butter Factory Matt from Flinders Island.

And I'm pretty sure where they do a ranking of the most trusted professions, the last time I saw one reported, nurses are always number one.

A lot of us are lucky enough to have nurses in their life.

My superpower is bringing artists together to learn from each other.

And I am most excited about this amazing project we're doing with Palawa artist, TeeLor Logrino, who is a shell necklace stringer who grew up on Flinders Island.

And she's the most extraordinary artist.

She's in her eighties and is an elder and a cultural knowledge holder around Tasmanian Aboriginal women's stories.

It's our home on the Wallaby trees And if you've got the time I'll tell you why I live where I live I don't mean me I'll tell you why I live where I live

This is from Betty Grace, who I know quite well, and she says, I left Flinders Island 11 years ago to care for my elderly mother, and I lived in Launceston.

Betty grew up in Flinders.

She says, the traffic in Launceston was getting too much for me.

There's a lot of people.

We've had a lot of people move to Australia in the last two, three, four, five years, six years.

Here on Flinders Island, I can get an appointment within a day.

There's a great health service, caring community, lots of friends and beautiful beaches without any footprints.