Bruny Island is two island connected by an isthmus, a long narrow strip of land. French Admiral Bruni d'Entrecasteaux anchored in the Bay in 1792 and gave his name to both the island and the channel that separates the island from the main-land Tasmania.
Aboriginal people inhabited the island for thousands of years before Abel Tasman, the first European in the region, sailed along its shore in 1642. The safe anchorage of Adventure Bay was first located by Capt. Tobias Furneaux in 1773. Furneaux named the bay after his vessel The Adventure. Adventure Bay was then utilised by Capt. James Cook in 1777 and by Capt. William Bligh in 1778, 1792 and 1808. Bligh was responsible for the planting of the first apple tree in Tasmania during his 1788 voyage.