Kingscote Accommodation, Hotels, Tours & Information

Kingscote

Kangaroo Island's largest town and chief port, Kingscote is at the centre of South Australia's first white settlement. Sealers and whalers followed close on the trail blazed by Matthew Flinders, who mapped much of the coastline on his famous 1802 voyage to chart Terra Australis.

They were a lawless lot who exploited the Aboriginals and took native women to their beds. Eventually the Sydney administration sent a ship load of police to the island to round up the motley crew and return their 'wives' and children to the mainland.

Today, in stark contrast to its violent beginnings, Kingscote is a tranquil fishing village on Brownlow Beach, a safe swimming and yachting playground.

The island is Australia's third largest and has retained much of its natural beauty due to its isolation and freedom from the ravages of rabbits and foxes.

Indeed, the island is a unique wilderness and truly one of the last unspoiled wonderlands in the world. It is a world the visitor shares with wallabies and dolphins, goannas and sea lions, koalas and whales, echidnas and penguins, kangaroos and fur seals.