Australia Day Celebrations
Thursday 26th January 2012
Allports Beach, Emita
12 Midday
Free BBQ with healthy options provided by Flinders Council and Healthy Island Project and prepared by our local Lions Club.
Freackles Cafe will also be providing a variety of food and drinks for sale.
Beach sports and games will be conducted throughout the day.
COME ALONG AND HAVE A GREAT DAY!
Walk number 5 in the ‘Walks of Flinders Island’ book is the Patriarch Inlet walk.
A desolate but beautiful part of the coastline can be found at Patriarch Inlet. A kilometre before the beach you will notice a small car parking area on the left which has views over the inlet as well as a tourist information sign. From this point a short trek can be made out to the coast along the banks of the inlet. A more interesting walk which must be done at low tide is to trek up the bank of the inlet in a westerly direction and after about half a kilometre you should be able to see some white ‘mounds’ towards the northwest. Here lie the remains of a stranded pod of about 80 pilot whales, which beached here in 1979! A trip to the Emita Museum is mandatory, particularly after visiting this site. At the museum you will be able to see the actual newspaper article which recorded this event all those years ago. Watch out for the gooey and sticky mud flats as you make your way carefully across the inlet for a closer inspection of the skeletons. The former Flinders Island lodge has one of these mammals on display. It is amazing to think that these mammals came to be so far inland – well over a kilometre from the coast. A walk out to the east coast beach is relatively straight forward, whether by road or around the shores of the inlet.
This walk is 2-3KM and takes around 1 Hour.
Exhibition Gallery.
 
Next time you’re visiting Flinders Island take a leisurely drive to the Furneaux Museum, Emita. Take an extensive look at the Exhibition Gallery situated at the front of the museum. Walk in the door and be greeted by one of the locals who volunteer there time to be at the gallery.
Walking into the exhibition gallery you will find very old books that look so interesting that you will be dying to pull one off the shelf and immerse yourself in the pages.
If you’re interested in plants, animals or both, you can find a great deal of information on all of our native flora and fauna in the Exhibition Gallery. Did you know there are 19 mammals found in the Furneaux Group?
Find loads of information on local weeds and what damage they’re doing to the land and how to help prevent them from spreading.
As you are looking around the Exhibition gallery you may find a stuffed Cape Barren Goose and a Mutton Bird which also includes their eggs on display. This gives you a detailed look at the birds as if they were out in the wilderness.
Take a look at the very large hand drawn map of Flinders Island situated near the centre of the room. 14,000 years ago the Furneaux Group would have been the bridge that joins Tasmania to Victoria.
Have a look through Mrs Polly Coster’s feral cat’s photos. Polly went to the local parks and wildlife ranger back in 2001 to let them know there was a feral cat problem down Emita. They did not believe her so Polly took a photograph of every feral cat she had caught and euthanized. Polly took over 50 photos, some containing 2 cats or more, which proved her point that Emita did have a feral cat problem.
Have a sit down and watch the DVD presentation located on the left hand side of the gallery, watch presentations about Shorebirds, Estuaries and the Aboriginal Land Council.
When you’re leaving the exhibition gallery make sure you have a look at what’s on offer from our locals. You may want to buy some locally made soap and lip barm from Blue Rocks Soap and Essentials. You can buy some books about Flinders Island of if you need a calendar they are also available.
Cost of Entry is $4.00 per person, all proceeds go to maintaining the museum.