Australian Pictorial of Beautiful Kangaroo Island

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Introduction

As if to guard St. Vincent's Gulf, Kangaroo Island lies protectively at the entrance, a mere 16 km across Backstairs Passage from Cape Jervis on the South Australian mainland.

Most visitors are surprised that Kangaroo Island is so large. Of Australia's offshore islands, Kangaroo Island is third only to Tasmania and Melville Island in size. An extension of mainland's Mt. Lofty Range, it is 145 km long, 50 km wide and has 450 km of fascinating coastline - big enough for sweeping grandeur but with the intimate charm inherent to islands.

Kangaroo Island was discovered by the famous English explorer Captain Matthew Flinders who first sighted and named it during his epic voyage to Terra Australis in 1802. A few short weeks later, in April of the same year, the French Commander Nicholas Baudin circumnavigated the Island, giving many features the French names they still bear today.

Neither of these seafarers sighted any people and, since the kangaroos were extraordinarily tame, they both concluded the island was uninhabited by humans. Flinders gave the island its present name, because of the large number of kangaroos.

Probably the first white people to make use of Kangaroo Island were sealers and whalers, numerous in these waters during the early 1800s. In 1803 at Pelican Lagoon, American sealers built a 35-ton schooner using native pine. The estuary to the lagoon became known as American River, and today it is a popular holiday town.

From 1803 to the early 30s, the only Island residents were brutal sealers, deserters, escaped convicts and Aboriginal women "black birded" from the mainland. Passing ships called to barter liquor and tobacco for salt and skins.

This community lived extremely primitively until in 1827 a ship was despatched from Sydney to round up the more notorious offenders. The remainder settled down in isolation until the arrival in 1836 of the South Australia Company, the first official settlers.

The Company was formed in England to be a "free" colony in South Australia. The strange choice of Kangaroo Island as home for South Australia's first colonists was made in London with no real appreciation of the island. The little community settled at Kingscote but did not prosper and by 1840 only a handful of the pioneers remained, the others having crossed to the mainland.

During these years of sporadic settlement there was no indication of any earlier inhabitants. However, in 1903, the dramatic discovery of prehistoric stone tools was made near Murray's Lagoon. Over the next 50 years more than 120 sites were located and literally thousands of stone tools. These sites were called Kartan sites, after the Ramindjeri name "Karta" for Kangaroo Island. In spite of such quantities of man-made tools from prehistoric times, virtually nothing is known about the original Kangaroo Islanders, except that they probably ceased to exist here about 2250 years ago.

For years the island remained a back-water, but by 1930 development was on its way.

Tourism is now booming, but the islanders are constantly vigilant to prevent indiscriminate development. Flinders Chase National Park and the 11 Conservation Parks cover 24% of the island, and the local fauna and flora are protected and cared for.

Kangaroo Island is a many-faceted island, where nature is bountiful and the welcome is always warm.

American River

Matthew Flinders never sailed around Kangaroo Island but, while at Pelican Lagoon in 1802, he sent a party to climb Prospect Hill (Mt. Thisby, 99m high). Not only was the view marvellous, but it became obvious that he had discovered an island.

The following year, an American brig sailed into the estuary and, during a four month stay, built the 35-ton schooner "lndependence" from native pine. The inlet became known as American River and eventually the town was so named.

From American River the large bay of Eastern Cove can be seen. The beach is good and all water sports are popular here. Fishing and pleasure cruises are a favourite pastime and fishermen are always rewarded in these waters which teem with seafood.

Just down the estuary is the large inner waterway of Pelican Lagoon (named so by Flinders because of the many pelicans he found there), which is now an Aquatic Reserve, a haven for wildlife and Mecca for bird watchers.

Dudley Peninsula

All that prevents the Dudley Peninsula at the eastern end of Kangaroo Island from being an island in its own right is a narrow neck of land that runs between the peaceful Pelican Lagoon and the wild Southern Ocean. This compact area is crisscrossed by roads and is considered to contain as great a range of natural beauty as any place of comparable size in Australia.

Hog Bay is Penneshaw's swimming and sailing beach and is also one of South Australia's most important historical sites.

About 18 km from Penneshaw is Antechamber Bay, with a magnificent beach and the tree-lined Chapman River which is safe for swimming, boating and fishing. The bushland is alive with birds and brilliant with wildflowers, and many tracks lead to scenic spots and shady groves.

Further around the coast, Cape Willoughby Lighthouse (77m above sea level) shines today as when first built in 1852, as South Australia's first lighthouse. The seascape around Cape Willoughby is one of the most spectacular on Kangaroo Island. The coastline is worth exploring.

Flinders Chase National Park

This huge National Park of 74 000 hectares, situated at the south west of Kangaroo Island, is one of the largest in Australia. As long ago as 1892, a group of far-sighted scientists and naturalists promoted the idea of a wildlife sanctuary here; but in those days when conservation was scarcely of significance in Government planning, the idea all but died. However, after 27 years of perseverance and effort, Flinders Chase was proclaimed a National Park in 1919.

Because of its size, the distinctive flora and fauna found here and the absence of introduced predators, Flinders Chase is one of Australia's most important National Parks. The area north of Rocky River is mainly an extensive plateau covered with open woodland and permanent streams, and lined with eucalypt forests, acacias, banksias and tea-trees. The southern section of the Park is undulating dense mallee scrub and along the coast are heathlands. Wildflowers are prolific and, in all, 443 species of native plants have been recorded in Flinders Chase - including over 50 different orchids. It is not surprising that native animals live and multiply contentedly in a protected area like this. About a dozen mammals are native to the Chase, including Kangaroo Island Kangaroos, Dama Wallabies, Echidnas, Brush-tailed Possums, Short-nosed Bandicoots, a small number of New Zealand Fur Seals and a large population of Australian Sea Lions. Koalas were successfully introduced from Victoria in 1923, and other introduced mammals living here include Ring-tailed Possums and Platypuses.

Flora

Kangaroo Island's native flora is of very special interest to botanists for several reasons: although the island was discovered quite early in Australia's history, it was left virtually untouched for many decades; also there were no Aborigines here for thousands of years before that; and there have been no rabbits to cause any damage to the vegetation. These factors have virtually ensured the purity of much of the flora.

The island's plant catalogue lists about 750 native species including 160 introduced from the mainland. Over the eastern area, mallees are dominant, including a narrow-leaf variety. In the western areas where the soils are wetter, forests of stringybark, sugar and pink gums border the rivers and creeks. There are also she-oaks, banksias, melaleucas, acacias and grass trees. Clearing for agricultural purposes has destroyed many forests, but fortunately there are still excellent stands in conservation parks.

A profusion of wildflowers can be found all over the island, particularly in late spring and summer. These include the purple-fringed lily, native fuchsias, orange and red templetonia, daisies, heaths, rice flowers and over 50 different species of orchids.

As early as the 1870s, botanists recognised the vegetation as being complex and difficult to describe and there is still much to be done here in the field of botanical research. Of Kangaroo Island's total land area, 24% has been set aside for conservation, which indicates a determination to retain the delicate balance of nature here.

Kelly Caves

The Kelly Hill Conservation Park, in the western section of the southern coast, covers an area of 6 307 hectares and consist of consolidated coastal dunes and limestone ridges.

The major attraction of the Park is the Kelly Hill Caves, but also of interest are walking trails of varying lengths, an excellent beach at the mouth of Southwest River, the local flora and fauna, and rugged coastal scenery.

The Kelly Hill Caves are karst or limestone caves and it is believed that the chambers were formed approximately 120 -140 000 years ago. They are thought to have been discovered in 1880 by a stockman named Kelsy, who was riding his horse, Kelly, through dense scrub, when the horse slipped and fell into a sink hole. Local residents then generally avoided the area, until in 1925 a party of six residents headed by Mr. H.Bell explored the chambers. In the following year the caves were opened to the public.

Now guided tours lasting approximately one hour are available through four cave chambers, which include various cave formations, including the most unusual helictites. Much orange-yellow coloration, attributed to iron oxide, can be seen within the chambers.

The North Coast

The northern shores of the island offer a combination of quiet, sandy beaches and towering, rugged cliffs. The most northerly point is Point Marsden, a favourite haunt of Fairy Penguins.

A little further west is Emu Bay, with firm white sands and crystal clear waters.

Further on, Stokes Bay combines beautiful scenery with an excellent surf beach and a safe natural rock pool. Behind the giant boulders and limestone cliffs are hundreds of caves in the hillside, perfect for Fairy Penguin colonies.

As one travels west, the scenery changes dramatically at Little King George Beach. This beach is not covered by sand, but by millions of smooth pebbles, and the colours of the seascape are quite breath-taking. Little coves are protected by stratified headlands with ochre-coloured rocks and yellow and purple succulents.

The view from Constitution Hill over Middle River is of unobtrusive farmlands in a pastoral frame of gentle hills, the meandering river and the azure sea. This varied and charming scenery continues all along the North Coast - over Western River, past the aptly-named Snug Cove and on to historic Harvey's Return, Scotts Cove and Cape Borda.

The South Coast

The South Coast is as wild as it is beautiful. Being wholly exposed to the might of the Southern Ocean, it is an unforgettable panorama of crashing surf, rugged cliffs and windswept headlands which provide protection for beautiful bays.

One spot above all others which is a `must' for visitors is Seal Bay, where seals can be seen all year round basking on the shore or frolicking in the sea. The 700 ha Conservation Park has a breeding colony of Sea Lions, descendants of survivors of the brutal sealing days. Seal Bay is unique in that people can move freely among these beautiful mammals which happily accept humans - so long as they are not antagonised or teased. The Kangaroo Island Sea Lion is one of the rarest in the world and the Island is a most important breeding site - of a total world population of about 5 000, Kangaroo Island has about one sixth. Seeing the Sea Lions at Seal Bay is an unforgettable and moving experience.

One of the Island's most beautiful bays is Vivonne Bay, just west of Seal Bay. Where Harriet River enters the Bay, a wide sand bar forms a safe natural swimming pool. Fishing is good and there is an abundance of crayfish.

Just behind Vivonne Bay is the very surprising and well named Little Sahara Desert, fold after fold of spectacular white sand dunes. A climb to the top of the dunes provides a remarkable view revealing the astonishing fact that this "desert" is completely surrounded by bush.

Further to the east, D' Estrees Bay is an extensive beach with rock pools, sandy coves and wild surf. Fishing and shell collecting are popular here.

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