[5] A party of seventeen men set off on 28 February 1787 in the ship's longboat to reach help at Port Jackson, 400 nautical miles (740 km) away.

This was led by first mate Hugh Thompson, and included William Clark the supercargo, three European seamen and twelve lascars.

In May 1797 the three survivors of the march, William Clark, sailor John Bennet and one lascar had made it to the cove at Wattamolla[6] and, on 15 May 1797, with their strength nearly at an end they were able to signal a boat out fishing, which took them on to Sydney.

[7] On arrival at Port Jackson, the men informed Governor Hunter of the Sydney Cove and its remaining crew.

[5] On the first salvage trip,[8] the crew of the Francis discovered wombats on the island[9] and a live animal was taken back to Port Jackson.

[9] Matthew Flinders, travelling on board the Francis on its third and final salvage trip, also decided to take a wombat specimen from the island to Port Jackson.

The main settlement is in the northwest corner, consisting of several buildings (4 remaining in 2023), the wharf, and an airstrip suitable for Light aircraft.

The word derives from an Aboriginal woman called Tanalipunya, who had been married to Manalakina before being taken to the Bass Strait Island (tayaritja) by white sealers.

In the early 1800s Clarke Island was heavily wooded with eucalypts and sheoak (limuna), the latter growing in a belt close to the shore.

Grazing stopped in 2005 after custodianship of the island was handed back to the local Aboriginal people, but the damage persists into the 2020s,[17] with pastures only slowly being regenerated.

[4] The Xanthorrhoea australis[3] (yamina, or "black boy") forest on the island has been identified as being part of an important ecosystem.

[3] The island contains the only Tasmanian breeding ground of the Australian pelican, and islets around Seal Point provide important habitat for the threatened white-fronted tern.

[17] The root fungus pathogen, Phytophthora cinnamomi, known to be able to kill Australian native plants, was found in the island in an isolated case, in 2002.

[4] The Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania provides advice for ongoing management strategies to control noxious weeds and diseases, as well as the preservation of threatened plant species.

[3] In January 2023, a project to remove the feral cats to protect a colony of vulnerable white-fronted terns (Sterna striata) nesting on the island began.

It is hoped that Bennetts wallabies and long-nosed potoroos will be next, once the cat population has been brought under control and the wombats have created burrows, which serve to cool the earth and provide shelter for smaller species.