FLINDERS ISLAND is nonetheless the largest of about sixty named islands which make up the Furneaux group, first charted by Matthew Flinders in 1798. The islands became a base for the “Straitsmen”, who slaughtered seals in their tens of thousands and, so legend goes, lured many ships to their demise for a spot of piracy.These rough men provided a vital link in the continuing survival of the Tasmanian Aboriginal people, ironically by stealing women to work for them on the islands. When sealing ended, the communities survived by muttonbird harvesting, a seasonal industry which continues today (with land rights claims in 1995 giving title to several outlying islands).Flinders Island itself played a large part in the systematic attempted genocide of the Tasmanian Aboriginal people; between 1831 and 1834 the remnants of the Tasmanian tribes were hunted down and relocated here. Settled at windswept Wybalenna, on the west coast of the island, the Aborigines were without adequate food and shelter, and were forced to accept Christianity as their culture was expunged. All that remains of the period of enforced Aboriginal settlement is the chapel, built in 1838 at Wybalenna, 20km north of Whitemark, and the cemetery where only the white graves bear headstones. Of the 135 tribespeople who were sent here, only 47 were still alive when the settlement was abandoned in 1847 and moved to Oyster Cove, near Hobart. The chapel has been restored by the National Trust, and is open for visits at any time, though, fittingly, the Aboriginal people of Flinders Island succeeded with their land rights claim on Wybalenna, which was handed over in early 1999, and it is up to them to decide how they’ll run it. For more history, it’s just a few kilometres northwest to the Emita Museum (summer daily 1–5pm; rest of the year Sat & Sun 1–4pm; $2), where there’s a display of shell necklaces made by the Aboriginal people of nearby Cape Barren, plus exhibits relating to sealing and shipwrecks. In the grounds there’s a replica of a muttonbirding shed, with magazines covering the walls and a dirt floor lined with tussock grass. Most professional muttonbirders are Aboriginal, and with Strait Lady Island Adventures (tel 03/6359 4507, fax 6359 4533) you can visit the outlying islands during the April season to watch the oily birds being slaughtered, plucked and boiled – not for the faint-hearted. History aside, isolated Flinders Island is very much a mecca for bushwalkers. Only about half of the island is cultivated, and you can walk its entire length in about six days on the partially signposted north–south Flinders Trail, a route designed to provide a sampling of the various terrains. The best-known walk, however, is to the distinctive summit of Mount Strzelecki, in the Strzelecki National Park in the south. The climb to the top starts about 10km south of Whitemark, signposted on Trousers Point Road – look out for a brown national park sign. It’s not a difficult walk, but it is long – about 6km return (4–5hr). The wind is fierce at the summit, and mists roll in, so wear something wind- and waterproof. Trousers Point itself, also near the park, is a good introduction to the delights of the island’s deserted beaches. The site, with its fine, white sand and rust-coloured rock formations, is particularly spectacular, with Mount Strzelecki rising up behind the granite headland; there’s a free camping area here, with water available.