Kangaroo Island History

Pre 20th Century

The first thorough survey of the island was carried out in 1802 and 1803 by French explorer Nicholas Baudin, which accounts for the many place names in French. He found the island uninhabited, though archaeologists have since found evidence of Aboriginal habitation about 2250 years ago. Baudin's English counterpart, Matthew Flinders got inventive with the island's name after his crew enjoyed a feast of kangaroo meat here.

A motley collection of whalers, sealers, escaped convicts and ship deserters began to make their homes on the island shortly afterwards. They brought Aboriginal women from Tasmania, and abducted others from the mainland. Before long, Kangaroo Island had a reputation as one of the most lawless and vicious places in the British Empire. The worst scoundrels were rounded up in 1827, and thereafter a rough sort of respectability was achieved.

South Australia's first official settlement was established on Kangaroo Island at Reeves Point (near Kingscote, in the island's northeast) in 1836. It struggled on for two years, but the lack of fresh water led most of the colonists to move to Adelaide. Those who were left behind embarked on a semisubsistence lifestyle.

Modern

At the end of World War II, ex-soldiers and their families established a settlement in the island's central plateau, clearing acres of land for pasture. Agriculture and small industry remain the mainstay of the island's population.

Recent

Aside from wildlife spotting, visitors come here to sample the island's local produce, including fresh seafood and marron (a freshwater crayfish), honey produced by a pure strain of Ligurian bees, jams from indigenous fruits, sheep-milk cheeses, local wines and eucalyptus oil.