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200th Anniversary of the European Discovery of Tamar RiverPrint Page Print this page

Discovery of Tamar River
Discovery of Tamar River
Discovery of Tamar River
Discovery of Tamar River

Photographs supplied by Diane Watson

The plaque commemorates the 200th anniversary of the European discovery of the Tamar River by George Bass & Matthew Flinders in the sloop "Norfolk."

On October 7, 1798, Bass, this time accompanied by Flinders, sailed from Port Jackson in the sloop Norfolk. .By December 9, 1798, Flinders was able to record:

"The land which lays immediately to the southward and about 3 miles distant from the larger of the two high, steep islands is what we now consider to be the N.W. point of Van Diemen's Land, for the direction of the coast, the set of the tides, and the great swell from the S.W., did now completely satisfy us that a wide strait did really exist between Van Diemen's Land and New South Wales."
 

Bass and Flinders circumnavigated the newly identified island, exploring the Tamar and Derwent river inlets which would later become the sites for new settlements. They spent Christmas in the deep, sheltered waters of the Derwent River and then sailed north up the east coast to arrive back at Port Jackson on January 12, 1799.

Location

Address:Low Head Road (East Tamar Highway), Low Head, 7253
State:TAS
Area:AUS
GPS Coordinates:Lat: -41.078179
Long: 146.804485
Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate.
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Details

Monument Type:Plaque
Monument Theme:Landscape
Sub-Theme:Exploration
Actual Event Start Date:03-November-1798
Actual Event End Date:03-November-1998

Dedication

Approx. Monument Dedication Date:1998
Front Inscription

To Commemorate The 200th Anniversary
Of The Discovery Of
THE TAMAR RIVER
        By
GEORGE BASS And MATTHEW FLINDERS 
In The Sloop "Norfolk"
    On
3rd November 1798.
Unveiled By His Excellency The
HON. SIR GUY GREEN AC, KBE
Governor Of Tasmania

Source: MA
Monument details supplied by Monument Australia - www.monumentaustralia.org.au