My siblings and I have by coincidence a paternal and maternal family history giving us two connections stretching from the southern tip to the northern tip of Tasmania.

Dad’s great grandparents Henry and Hannah Collis lived at Recherché Bay. They worked for the Education Department as teachers from the late 1860’s until transferring to Bass Strait in 1871.

Mum was 6 months old when her father Trooper Ken Johnson moved to his first country posting at Hythe in 1940. Hythe had a name change to Southport in 1969. Recherché Bay was part of the Hythe district.

Grandfather Ken was involved in the search for Critchley Parker – the search party dropped at Port Davey (in May) where they walked through the Southwestern Wilderness arriving at Maydena near New Norfolk quite a time later. Nan wrote of all her experiences as a young wife and mother of those times – she thought they had perished given the time of year and the area to be covered. Nan was relieved when grandfather returned home. Grandfather was quite ill and took a long time to recover. Grandfather had multiple splinters to both hands causing blood poisoning. Nan had to write all his reports for him.

Grandfather Ken was transferred to Cygnet in 1942 and in April 1944 he arrived on Flinders Island taking he position as Senior Constable. Mum remembers going to school and the end of WWII.