Furneaux Group, a group of Australian islands that form part of the state of Tasmania. They lie in Bass Strait between mainland Australia and Tasmania. Their area is about 1,040 square miles (2,694 km2); their population in 1991 was 905. Flinders, Cape Barren, and Clark islands are the largest. The islands are named for the English navigator Tobias Furneaux, who discovered them in 1773.