Bruny Island history and heritage: the Nuenonne, the explorers and the lighthouse

Bruny Island’s quiet bays and headlands hold a long and layered history. For thousands of years the island has been the country of the Nuenonne people. Later, Adventure Bay became a regular anchorage for European voyages into the Pacific. Whalers, timber-getters, farmers and lighthouse keepers followed.

This guide is a short, respectful introduction. It is not a complete history. Where possible we point to authoritative sources, including Tasmanian Aboriginal organisations, for deeper reading.

The Nuenonne people and lunawanna-alonnah

Long before European ships arrived, Bruny Island was home to the Nuenonne, one of the peoples of south-east Tasmania. The island is widely known today as lunawanna-alonnah, a name in palawa kani, the language revived by the Tasmanian Aboriginal community. You will also see the place names Lunawanna and Alonnah on the island itself.

The Nuenonne lived with the island’s seasons. They used its coasts, lagoons and forests for food, shelter and culture. Shell middens and other cultural sites around the coast are evidence of this long connection. These sites are protected. Do not disturb shell deposits or stone artefacts you may notice along the shore.

Truganini

Truganini, a Nuenonne woman born on Bruny Island in the early nineteenth century, is one of the best-known figures in Tasmanian history. Her life spanned the catastrophic period of British colonisation, which brought violence, disease and dispossession to Tasmanian Aboriginal people.

For many years, colonial accounts wrongly described Truganini as the "last" Tasmanian Aboriginal person. That claim is false. Tasmanian Aboriginal people, communities and culture continue today. Truganini is remembered for her resilience and her role in a very difficult period.

The lookout at The Neck carries her name, and a memorial there acknowledges her life and her people. Take a moment to read the signage when you visit.

For further reading, the Australian Dictionary of Biography entry on Truganini is a starting point, and the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre represents many Tasmanian Aboriginal people.

Explorers at Adventure Bay

Adventure Bay, on South Bruny’s east coast, offered sheltered anchorage, fresh water and timber. That made it a regular stop for European expeditions in the late eighteenth century.

• Tobias Furneaux, 1773. Commanding HMS Adventure on James Cook’s second voyage, Furneaux anchored here and named the bay after his ship.
• James Cook, 1777. On his third voyage, Cook anchored at Adventure Bay. Accounts of the visit describe meetings between the expedition and Aboriginal people.
• William Bligh, 1788 and 1792. Bligh called at Adventure Bay on his way to Tahiti aboard HMS Bounty and again on a later voyage. Local tradition credits his expeditions with early plantings of fruit trees.
• Bruni d’Entrecasteaux, 1792–1793. The French expedition led by Antoine Bruni d’Entrecasteaux charted the channel and waters around the island in detail. The island and the D’Entrecasteaux Channel were later named after him.

The Bligh Museum of Pacific Exploration at Adventure Bay explores these voyages. Check its current opening hours before visiting.

Colonial Bruny: whaling, timber and farming

After British colonisation of Van Diemen’s Land in the early 1800s, Bruny Island’s economy was shaped by its coast and forests.

• Shore-based whaling operated from bays in southern Tasmania, including Bruny, in the early-to-mid nineteenth century. Southern right whales were hunted heavily, and their numbers fell drastically.
• Timber-getting cleared parts of the island. Sawmills and tramways operated at different times.
• Farming and grazing developed on cleared land, particularly on North Bruny, where pastoral country remains today.
• Small coastal settlements grew up around jetties, which linked the island to Hobart by water before the modern vehicle ferry.

Today, tourism, food production, aquaculture and conservation are central to island life.

Cape Bruny Lighthouse

At the southern tip of the island, Cape Bruny Lighthouse is one of Bruny’s most important heritage places. It was first lit in 1838, built with convict labour, and is among the oldest surviving lighthouses in Australia.

For more than 150 years, keepers and their families lived at this remote station, tending the light that guided ships approaching the D’Entrecasteaux Channel and the Derwent. In the 1990s an automated light nearby took over its navigation role.

The lighthouse precinct is managed within South Bruny National Park. Visitors can walk up to the headland, and guided tours of the tower have been offered at times. Check current arrangements with the operator or Parks and Wildlife Service. Our Cape Bruny Lighthouse guide covers visiting.

Heritage places to visit

How to visit respectfully

• Acknowledge Country. Remember you are visiting the traditional country of the Nuenonne people.
• Leave cultural sites undisturbed. Aboriginal heritage in Tasmania is protected by law.
• Use reliable sources. Older accounts often contain errors and outdated views. Seek out Aboriginal-led sources where possible.
• Support local heritage organisations and museums when you visit.

Where to go next

• Back to the Bruny Island travel guide
• Cape Bruny Lighthouse
• The Neck
• Is Bruny Island worth visiting?