A corner shop in Lady Barron can be more than a place to buy bread and an Icy Pole. It can be the post office, the newsagency, the petrol pump, the unofficial counselling room, and the spot where kids get their first job and their first taste of being trusted.

Jaacqui is joined by Colleen Patterson, affectionately known as Mrs P, whose life on Flinders Island charts a living history of the Furneaux Islands. We talk about arriving from Hobart with a nursing background, buying the little shop beside the Flinders Island Aboriginal Association building, and learning business the hard way after the sudden loss of her husband Cyril. Along the way we hear how Lady Barron once ran to the rhythm of fishing boats, and how community entertainment meant dance nights with live music instead of screens.

Mrs P shares the practical kindness that shaped generations: running roller skating nights at the hall, setting firm rules to keep kids safe, taking teenagers camping at Big River, and stepping in to foster when young people needed stability. We also dig into heritage and adventure: fundraising to strengthen the local church one “brick” at a time, leasing Little Green Island and Chapel Island, muttonbird-season mishaps, and the unforgettable reality of snakes in the scrub. Her closing hope is simple and sharp: respect one another.

If you care about island life, community resilience, Flinders Island history, or the quiet power of showing up, hit play. Subscribe, share this with someone who loves Tasmania’s stories, and leave us a review. What’s the place that held your community together?

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Three months on Flinders Island was meant to be a quick posting. Nearly 60 years later, Peter Sheriff has lived enough working lives for a whole town: postmaster on a manual phone exchange, farmer through collapsing wool markets and soaring interest rates, builder and cartage operator, local manufacturer of concrete bridges, council warden negotiating airport funding, shipping advocate, and fire brigade captain coordinating communications during the 2003 bushfire.

Jamie sits down with Peter to talk through the small details that reveal the big picture of remote Australia. Peter remembers Whitemark when sealed roads were scarce and the hospital supplied the town power. He explains how the old PMG system really worked, including night shifts on the exchange and outpost radio that connected outer islands when phones were few. From there, the story widens into family life and community culture, where neighbours swap kids, gear, and help without a second thought.

The later years show what island resilience looks like when it is tested. Peter describes the economic pain of farming during market shocks, then the practical pivot into carting, building, and even moving a whole house across paddocks to find dry ground. We dig into the leap from fence posts and troughs to building 32 concrete bridges, the fight to avoid a “tax on isolation” when regional airport funding is on the line, and the hard-won improvements to shipping that keep livestock and freight moving. We also revisit the 2003 fire and why clear map references and good radio discipline can save time, property, and lives.

If you care about Flinders Island, Tasmania, volunteer firefighting, or what real community leadership sounds like, you will get a lot from this conversation. Subscribe, share it with a mate, and leave a review with the moment that stuck with you most.

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A remote island can sound like a postcard until you’re the one carrying months of supplies, keeping tracks clear, and watching the weather decide whether you arrive by boat or plane. 

We’re joined by Spud and Kim Murphy, a Flinders Island couple whose lives are shaped by hard work, community, and a deep affection for wild places and they don’t just talk about Deal Island in Bass Strait, they’ve lived it, five separate times, as volunteer caretakers in the Kent Group.  

We follow their path from making a living in the Furneaux Group to stepping into a caretaker program that sits at the crossroads of conservation, heritage, and pure practicality. We chat about the 1848 lighthouse, the shift to national park and marine park, what happens when a jetty deteriorates, and how you plan food and essentials when resupply is limited. Yes, we also get the kind of bush ingenuity you only learn by doing, including the trick of keeping eggs for months by greasing them with Vaseline. 

The heart of the story is bigger than logistics. Deal Island holds shipwreck records, a WWII plane crash site, and quiet graves that still pull people up short, alongside migrating birds, sea eagles, dolphins, and the feeling of being utterly present. Spud and Kim share why they never felt lonely out there, how the island “engulfs you”, and why caring for a place can change how you see home.  

If you’re into Tasmania travel stories, Australian island history, remote living, lighthouses, or volunteer caretaker life, this one will stay with you. Subscribe to Latitude 40, share it with a mate who loves Bass Strait yarns, and leave a review so more people can find these island stories.

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Policing on a small island can’t hide behind job titles. When everyone knows your name and your face, trust becomes the first tool you reach for, long before paperwork or penalties. On Flinders Island in Tasmania’s Furneaux Group two men have worn the same uniform in very different eras: former Senior Sergeant Tony Power and current Senior Constable Will Broadbridge.

Tony takes us back through the history of policing across the islands and the reality of a role shaped by necessity. We talk about the old days when the local officer might be called on as a surveyor, a health and food safety checker in the mutton birding sheds, an insurance assessor, a driving assessor, a tow truck driver, even a snake catcher. He shares the moments that stick and the ways officers used discretion to prevent harm in a remote community where backup isn’t just around the corner.

Will brings the modern perspective, starting with a chance meeting that pulls him into policing, then a “sliding doors” boat fire that launches a career in Sydney Water Police. He explains the marine training, what it takes to keep a vessel operationally ready, and how those skills matter on Bass Strait when towing, sea rescue and marine enforcement can all land in the same week. We also dig into life off-duty on Flinders Island, where there’s no anonymity, and why coaching, umpiring, and turning up for kids can be just as important as enforcement.

If you care about remote Australia, community policing, island life, or the work behind marine rescue, this one’s for you. Subscribe to Latitude 40, share it with someone who loves Flinders, and leave a review so more listeners can find these stories.

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A baby crosses Bass Strait to Flinders Island in a cupboard drawer, and eight decades later that same kid is still showing people what steady work, resilience and community look like. In this episode, Jacqui sits down with her dad, John Cooper, to explore a life shaped by the land, the sea, and the people who make island communities what they are.

From his family roots at Woodlands near Emita, John shares memories of growing up in the dairy shed, supplies arriving on the cream truck, school days at Whitemark, and a time when neighbours quietly looked after one another through shared labour, produce and practical support.

The conversation follows John's journey into stock work across Flinders Island and the Outer Islands, where days were spent mustering cattle through scrub, freshening country with patch burns, swimming bullocks ashore, and relying on local knowledge, signal fires and a healthy dose of ingenuity long before mobile phones and modern communications.

Along the way, John reflects on the rise and fall of the wool industry, life in the shearing shed, building Wandella with his wife Jen, managing drought, training working dogs, and helping transform the sheep operation on Prime Seal Island. He also shares stories from decades of community involvement through sport, agricultural shows and the Lackrana Fire Brigade, including the challenges of the 2003 bushfires.

If you care about island life, Tasmanian farming history, the Australian wool industry, working dogs, or community resilience, you’ll find something here that sticks. Subscribe, share this with someone who loves the bush and the coast, and leave a review.

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In this episode of Latitude 40 Season 2 - Stories from the Edge, Jacqui Cooper sits down with long-time Flinders Island local Gwen Bailey for a heartfelt conversation about family, faith, resilience and the deep connections that shape island life.

From her family’s early ties to Vansittart Island and Badger Corner, to working in some of the island’s earliest stores and building a life through farming, business and community service, Gwen reflects on a lifetime of stories woven through the Furneaux Islands.

The conversation explores growing up in a different era on Flinders Island, raising children while balancing work and family life, supporting others through nearly 30 years as a Lay Reader, and the quiet strength it takes to navigate life’s greatest joys and deepest losses.

Gwen also shares stories of caregiving, community spirit, island dances, family traditions and the enduring faith that has carried her through life’s most challenging moments.

If you enjoy honest conversations about island life, resilience and the people who quietly shape a community, subscribe to Latitude 40, share this episode with someone special, and leave a review so more listeners can discover these stories from the edge.

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A suburban newspaper ad. A leap of faith. A rough crossing filled with diesel fumes, cattle smells and the kind of uncertainty that tells you life is about to change. Jacqui sits down with Dawn Zelman, an accomplished artist, teacher, cook and storyteller who arrived on Flinders Island in 1987 and chose to stay.

Dawn’s memories are sharply detailed, sometimes funny, sometimes confronting and always grounded in the real logistics of building a life on a remote Bass Strait island.

We talk about buying affordable land at Lackrana and turning a shed into a home, complete with tanks, a dam and plenty of close calls with snakes. Dawn shares what it feels like to be a single woman living alone in the bush, the way locals test whether you will last and the stubborn steadiness it takes to keep going anyway.

Dawn also takes us aboard the Lady Jillian, the locally owned supply ship that once connected Flinders to the mainland and outer islands. As a relief cook, she feeds the crew, earns trust and witnesses an extraordinary operation: wild cattle lassoed and swum out to a dinghy, then winched onto the ship near Hogan Island.

From shipboard characters to the vital role of small town businesses as social hubs, Dawn reflects on how Flinders Island has changed across the decades, including the growing strength and enterprise of the Aboriginal community and the impact of Black Man’s Houses.

If you enjoy Tasmania travel stories, Flinders Island history, Bass Strait shipping and the art of making a home in a hard place, press play, then subscribe, share with a friend and leave a review.

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In Episode 2 of Latitude 40 Season 2, Jamie West sits down with long-time island builder Guy Ireland for a warm and thoughtful conversation about life, resilience and community on Flinders Island.

From an unexpected encounter with hitchhikers in New Zealand that eventually led him to the island, to decades spent building homes, mentoring apprentices and supporting local organisations, Guy reflects on a life shaped by hard work, connection and purpose.

The conversation explores what it takes to build and run a business in a remote place, the importance of passing skills to the next generation, and the sense of community that keeps people anchored to island life.

Guy also speaks openly about the life-changing accident that left him paralysed, and the determination that has helped him continue contributing to the community he cares deeply about.

If you enjoy honest stories about resilience, island life, and the people who build more than houses, subscribe to Latitude 40, share this with a mate, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. What small decision ended up changing your life?

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Guy Ireland
Long-time Flinders Island builder, mentor and community contributor who has spent more than three decades helping shape the island through his work, volunteering and support for younger generations.

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About Latitude 40

Latitude 40 is a podcast by the Furneaux Collective celebrating the people, stories and spirit of the Furneaux Islands.

Each episode shares conversations with people whose lives and experiences help shape the character and future of our island community.

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If you'd like to provide feedback on this podcast, we'd welcome your comments at [email protected]

In the first episode of Latitude 40 Season 2, Jacqui Cooper sits down with Flinders Mayor Rachel Summers for an honest and heartfelt conversation about community, leadership and life on a remote island.

From accidentally moving to Flinders Island after confusing it with Bruny Island, to becoming Mayor, Rachel shares her journey, the challenges facing the island, and the power of community spirit.

This episode explores volunteering, housing, ageing well, infrastructure projects and what the future of Flinders Island could look like — all grounded in the people and stories that make this place so special.

What we talk about in this episode

• Finding home on Flinders Island
• The realities of remote island living
• Honouring a friend through community fundraising
• Stepping into local government and leadership
• Why volunteering is declining — and how it could change
• Major infrastructure projects shaping the island’s future
• Housing, workforce shortages and ageing well
• Voluntourism and visitors giving back
• Protecting what makes Flinders Island unique

Show notes and links

Flinders Council - https://www.flinders.tas.gov.au

Don’t try to change this place; let this place change you - The Islander Way Story - https://www.furneauxcollective.com/islander-way

Guest

Rachel Summers
Mayor of Flinders Council and long-time community member passionate about transparency, participation and the future of the island.

About Latitude 40

Latitude 40 is a podcast by the Furneaux Collective celebrating the people, stories and spirit of the Furneaux Islands. Each episode shares conversations with locals who help shape life on the island.

Send us Fan Mail

If you'd like to provide feedback on this podcast, we'd welcome your comments at [email protected]

Debbie and Josie speak with Ben Backhaus about his family business, Bush Pharmacy, where Ben distills essential oils grown and harvested on Flinders Island.  You can almost smell the aromas as Ben describes the range of oils. Ben attributes the unique properties of the oils to the geographic isolation of the Island created by the separation of the land bridge to the Australian mainland. Ben sees the support of the Island community as instrumental in allowing his business to develop and bloom.

Tourism has a future on the Island according to Ben, but he also recognises the strong ownership Islanders feel towards their home and their desire to share it with people who come to visit, who appreciate and respect the Island as much as locals do.

You can go to the beach, and there's no one going to be there for a few kilometres. You know, you have that isolation, you have that pureness and I think that, plays in a way, of the place thriving as well as people were considerate of this.

Ben's love for the Island is evident when he speaks of his return from an overseas trip and his exhillaration upon returning to the wild terrain, the isolation, the beaches and the smell of the ocean breeze. 

Show notes and links
Bush Pharmacy | http://www.bushpharmacy.com | @bush.pharmacy 
Kunzea ambigua | https://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/gnp8/kunz-amb.html
Melaleuca ericafolia | https://austplants.com.au/Melaleuca-ericifolia/
 Leptospermum scoparium| https://www.anbg.gov.au/leptospermum/leptospermum-scoparium.html
Smokey Tea Tree |  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptospermum_glaucescens
Flinders Islannd Blue Gum | https://www.inaturalist.org/guide_taxa/179365
Separation of land bridge from mainland | https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/separation-of-tasmania
Furneaux Distillery | https://www.furneauxdistillery.com.au/flinders-island-single-malt-peated

This podcast is created for Designing Tourism by Debbie Clarke and Josie Major from GOOD Awaits. Audio Production is by Clarrie Macklin. Check out their podcast: https://www.good-travel.org/goodawaitspodcast
Music by Judy Jacques, The Mesmerist; Wybalenna Prayer  from Making Wings  © 2002 with kind permission of the artist.
Extract from the Islander Way read by Jana Monnone co-created by the local community with Brand Tasmania as part of the Flinders Island brand story.
Original photography by Sammi Gowthorp.
The Islander Way project is funded by the Tasmanian Government. We also acknowledge our partners, Flinders Council, Visit Northern Tasmania and The Tourism CoLab and the support of Flinders Island Business Inc.

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