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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