What is Maria Island in Tasmania?
Maria Island is a car-free island off Tasmania's east coast, known for wombats, convict ruins and dramatic cliffs. The whole island is a national park.
The island is reached by a 30-minute ferry from Triabunna. Visitors explore on foot or by bicycle, as there are no private vehicles or shops.
Darlington, the island's convict settlement, operated in the 1820s and again in the 1840s. It is part of the World Heritage-listed Australian Convict Sites.
Wildlife and landforms
Wombats graze around Darlington and are famously relaxed around visitors. Kangaroos, wallabies, and Cape Barren geese are also common.
The Painted Cliffs are sandstone cliffs streaked with colourful patterns from iron oxide. The Fossil Cliffs contain fossil shells about 290 million years old.
A population of Tasmanian devils was introduced in 2012 as an insurance against facial tumour disease.
Visitors can stay in bunk rooms in the old Penitentiary building or camp at Darlington, but they must bring all their own food. The Maria Island Walk is a guided four-day hike across the island. Italian businessman Diego Bernacchi tried to develop the island in the late 1800s with silk, wine and cement industries.
Did You Know?
Walkers can climb Bishop and Clerk, a dolerite peak with views along the coast.