Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from February, 2014

Replica Of The 25 Ton Colonial Sloop Norfolk

Bass and Flinders prove Tasmania is an island    The Replica of the Norfolk in George Town   The 25 ton Colonial sloop Norfolk was built on Norfolk Island in 1798 and was constructed from Norfolk Island Pine. Flinders had been doing some exploring on his own and believed that he could prove that Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) was an island. Bass and Flinders convinced Governor Hunter that another expedition should be set up with a bigger boat and more men. The Circumnavigation Governor Hunter quickly put the Norfolk under the command of Matthew Flinders to be used as a survey vessel. From the Bass and Flinders Centre In 1798, Bass and Flinders sailed the Norfolk through Bass Strait and round Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), proving that it was an island.   They sailed with a crew of 8  right into the Tamar River and anchored off what is now George Town. This was to be their last voyage together as Bass disappeared mysteriously in the Pacif...