MARIA Island feels like the edge of the earth, an island off an island off an island. Nowadays, it is a mecca for hikers, history buffs, photographers, cyclists and animal lovers, although it has not always been that way. The island was well-known as a harsh probation station for convicts as well as a space for farmers to ply their trade and entrepreneurs to seek their fortune.
William Smith O’Brien, a staunch Irish nationalist, found himself sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered for the crime of sedition in the Irish Famine Rebellion of 1848. Petitions for clemency were signed by 70,000 people in Ireland and 10,000 people in England, leading to the commission of his sentence to transportation for life to Van Diemen’s Land. Upon arrival at Maria Island,…