Marion Bay, Tasmania

Marion Bay is a large bay and a bounded locality on the south-east coast of Tasmania, Australia. It is near Dunalley in the municipality of Sorell. Its south-western shore is contained by the Marion Bay Important Bird Area.

Discovery

Abel Tasman first anchored just north of a small island in the southern part of this large bay in 1642, and landed in the area he named Frederick Henricx Bay (now Blackman Bay).^[1] The bay was later named after the Breton navigator Marion du Fresne, who arrived in his ship the "Mascarin" with the "Marquis de Castries" in March 1772. Marion recorded that "One sailor found numbers of crayfish, lobsters and huge crabs, and the oysters there are good and abundant" ^[2]

Marion’s landing is the first recorded sighting and description of the Tasmanian people by Europeans, unfortunately one of the Tasmanians was shot dead by Marion‘s men. Marion then sailed to New Zealand where he was killed by Māori in the Bay of Islands.

Festival

Marion Bay was host to the first Tasmanian Falls Festival in December 2003. It attracted more than 10,000 people and has become an annual event, as has the festival's counterpart in Victoria, and latterly Byron Bay.

Army worm infestation

In December 2008, an infestation of Army worms in Marion Bay was reported in the national media. Despite the problems residents encountered, infestations of this sort are apparently common wherever the worms are.^[3] In October 2008 a general alert was sounded that such an infestation was likely to occur.^[4]

References

Coordinates: 42°47′49″S 147°55′23″E / 42.797°S 147.923°E / -42.797; 147.923