The Forgotten Islands by Michael Veitch

Published by Viking, 2011

Michael Veitch’s ‘adventure through the islands of Bass Strait starts with the tale of a young assistant lightkeeper, who, at the turn of the twentieth century, disappeared from Deal Island. Deal, like the other islands Veitch sets out to explore, is a windswept remote island off the coast of Tasmania. In The Forgotten Islands, Veitch’s quest is primarily to explore an Australia he hardly knows, but uncovering the reason for the young man’s disappearance figures as a lesser, but just as interesting, quest.

Veitch’s engaging narrative invites the reader onto the boats and small planes he boards to explore Three Hummock Island, Refuge Cove at Wilson’s Promontory, Flinders Island, King Island and Deal Island. Veitch knows how to tell a story, and he brings to life the people he meets, the history he learns and the scapes he’s exploring. You can almost feel the wind in your face, hear the cries of the gulls. This is a book you’ll read in an afternoon. It will inspire you to check the ‘how to get there’ information for at least one – if not all – the places he visits.

 Veitch’s final journey is to the Museum of Tasmania where his lingering question about the fate of the lightkeeper is answered. But you’ll have to read The Forgotten Islands to find out what it is.