The
Aboriginal Tasmanians knew the river as
Corinna, which is the
Peerapper word for the
thylacine. The once-common suggestion that the river's English name comes from a convict "The Pieman"
Alexander Pearce who was responsible for one of the few recorded instances of
cannibalism in Australia, is not correct. "The Pieman" was in fact Thomas Kent of Southampton, a pastry-cook who was transported to
Van Diemen's Land in 1816. After a long series of offences in the colony, he was sent to the
Macquarie Harbour Penal Station in 1822 but subsequently escaped, and was recaptured near the mouth of the river which now bears his nickname. The river has significant timber, mining and industrial heritage along its shores. ==See also==