KANGAROO ISLAND

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 145, 16 December 1924, Page 3

KANGAROO ISLAND

WHERE FLINDERS LANDED. 3EAU.TIES OF AMERICANRIVEtf A PLACE WHICH STIRS THE - .''.. IMAGINATION., :.„., At the, foot of St. Vincent's Gulf, South Australia, about 10 miles from the mainland, lies Kangaroo Island, mostly a rough and rugged formation, about 100 miles long and'3o miles wide at' fta I widest part. The island has many historical associations. Matthew Flinders landed there in April, 1802, and stayed for several days. It was he who.named the place Kangaroo Island .on ' account of the large number of kangaroos'seen by him and his-men. Soon after leaving i the. island Flinders met Baudiri;' tlie; French navigator, and had; a parley with him. The place where the two * navigators meir-a. bay on the mainland—" Flinders named Encounter Bay. Baudin himself landed on the island. At Hog Bay, which is right opposite the entrance to St. Vincent's Gulf, there stands a rock on which Baudin carved an inscription. The rock, which is known as Frenchman's Rock,. is" fenced in and protected. Many, stories'are told by re-, sidsnts of the island of the early days of its. habitation. Apparently it was a stopping place for most of the vessels which found their way near it, ■ declares "P.L.C." in the, Melbourne "Argus1.1.1' American Bay, .American" Beach; and American River, perhaps the . loveliest places on the island, are. generally supposed to have been named by the master of an American ship which "■ anchored in the bay in the early part of last centnry. Like most stories of old places,the greater portion. of those concerning the island have formed the basis "of con-" troyersy. A story is told of a ..black woman whose baby was taken,from her to. the mainland by •: white';, men. The woman is said to- have swum -to Cape: Jervis from Hog Bay in an attempt to rescue her child. To have done so she would have had to cross the 'treacherous Blackstairs Passage, which.,is, infested with sharks,. and has an exceed-1' ingly-.-..- dangerous cross-current. Much doubt has be'en expressed concerning the story, but i many of the residents ■ 'still believe.it.. Other strange;and romantic stories are told of early, happenings* on the island.- -.•-■-• -. . .

. SANCTUARY FOR FAUNA.'," Considerable interest has been taken in the island by the geographical and historical. societies of South Australia, and sev.eral years ago the' Ministry, authorised the.transfer of a large portion of the western end for use as a sanctuary for; fauna. The reserve is known as Flinders Chase. For many years little was kno-wn of the island by the general public, most of whom seemed "to think" that it cojnsisted of, sand 'dunes "and dreary wastes. Then a comparatively small, number of people began '■ visiting it, and were charmed by its novelty and beauty. They returned to,the mainland enthusiastic regarding the island's attractiveness. "Since then. it.has become a fairly popular holiday resort,'arid every, year the :• number .V. of ...Visitors grows larger.' Tljereis; still ,muph;ivork to be done by -the State Tourist Bureau and other bodies, however, before the island will attain the popularity it deserves. The are '•. ideal, and for acenic beauty, interesting animal and' bird-life, and congenial climate it must be equal to any other-part of ttVe'Commonwealth. .', : ■":'"■"•-

Most visitors to the island stay'Ttt-Hp'g' Bay or Kingscote, the last-mentioned' place being regarded as the "capital.'"' American Bay lies about,, nudway/':ta-: tween the two places, and 'has. many attractions which other ports of the island do; no^ possess. Its chief charm is its naturalness. The devastating a^g of the builder of townships has. riot hacked its' way through magnificent trees,' the several hquses-which are built being nestled' on the hilk among the foliage. The Western side of the bay rises some-distance from the water's edge to a fine'range of hills which runs the full length'of the: bay and the American .-.River, which forms a long narrow extension-of % All ,6f-the houses have red-tile roofs;.which present a charming picture as they peep out from- among .the trees: The opening of the bay, from Ballast Head in the west to East Head, is about eight miles, and inside the heads the expanse of water widens'considerably. Few lovelier views iriay be seen than the bay on - a bright sunny. day, with - the',- sunlight flashing on, the water and the sails of the fishermen's boats are always'to 'be found there. .Ballast Head:-arid ' East Head rise almost sheer from the water, and stand like two ; giant' sentinels. The bay is the angler's paradise. 'The. proprietors of the guest, houses at.'the-bay' and the river all keep sailing or motoi--boafe.jand most of the time is spent by visitors; in fishing. Each of ,the:' boats is fitted with an oil stove, and fish-. well, and the usual practice is fwguests to leave the shore- soon after . breakfast and to return in time for tea. JJan> pers are carried, but the main article of diet ls^he fish, which aretaken from 'the well alive, killed, and cooked.' Delightful, meals are eaten in the' bracing' salt. air. At practically any place in the bay-is it possible to, drop a., hook' and' line overboard and get a "bite." The weather and-, the' seasons, of course, affett the size of the catches,'but it is'quite an ordinary occurrence for a" boat "to return at night witlra haul of twelve ilozen fish, including' whiting, schnapper,'flat>iead, snook, and other varieties.. Whiting in the bay. On the western side of the bay is a magnificent white beach which stretches for miles, -This forms an excellent place.for bathing. Care must be' exercised) -lio\vever, '-'as sharks are often seen, '• as well as,' lame stingrays, which swinr about in the siiallojv water. An interesting feature of the bay.is the.shoals of porpoises. which frequent' it. y, On one occasion 32 were seen together; diving and turning." At times seals -'find their .way into the bay; American River is a charming' spot" Its width- as it leaves .the bay is only about 100 yards, but it grows wider im mediately.- The valley of the river ,is. extremely beautiful,- and," looking down it, one sees several miniature mountain peaks thrusting their heads ; skywards. At different places along the river "siiiall islands .are passed. These contain large numbers of seagulls, shags,..cranes,'and other birds. On a warm day it isl'lisual" to see the, fins of at least several sharks jutting from the. water, just under the surface of which the_..'sharks are' basking. The head of the river, which is some miles from the bay, opens oiit; into two" large, lake-like: formations. Islands, some large and others small, are dotted abqut. Qh these trees are growing, and the sides

of the river and the lakes, which elope ; upwards, are covered with eucalypts and ; she-oaks. ' If one lands on the south- . western side of the river, which is iii:places of considerable .height, one may ; obtain magnificent panoramic .views of th 6 river and bay and other parts of the island.. The - entrance to . American Bay is "on the north side of the island, and ;the bay and the river nearly separate the eastern portion of it; from the remainder ■of the area.. There is a narrow strip of . land which'yprevents the'isolation. . ' • " MAGNIFICENT SOUTH COA.ST; ' A favourite trip for visitors is to ] _cross_ this isthmus to. the south coast of itha island. . -Whoever visits the south Icoast is well repaid. The trip may, be : taken by boat, after which the remainder of the distance'must be walked, or by from American River, along a -splendid road which winds in "and out .among delightful ." Miage.";.'andi under■growth. The cliffs on'the'Qpast-riseper- : peiidicularly "for several- •hundred : feet, !and' stretch':at'biie'part, for miles and. miles;Vinto the.1 .'vfesterri. distance, where the coast line curves outwards to the', ■sea in_ a forbidding-looking prominence. The cliffs are of limestone formation, and ;their white ruggedness towering above a, wide white beach, on which a long, almost -unbroken, stretch-of huge .white Rollers thunders, from. the sea, makes /an- impressive-and awe-inspiring -sight;The view is one, of absolute loneliness,, but it is a_ majestic ;loneliness v which has1 stood possibly for millions of years, k fac-' ing the fierce onslaughts of. the wind* and: !waves of the Antarctic Ocean.'...

■ There_ are many other places of interest on the island. /Eight miles from Mustou, a little township on..the 'river,' containing a Tpos't.. office and "two houses; jlies'Salt :LakeCit.y. ■ This place,''.' which" consists .of a large number rof-iron-' and wooden houses and huts, adjoins the salt lakes; where several hundred men are' employed in the summer. The salt is sent On a ,2ft gauge railway' to Muston'to be shipped -by steamer to Adelaide. Travellers on the salt trucks .frequently see kangaroos and. emus speeding across ..the salt'Jwsli,,.country at. the back of. the hills.. ;Ctther attractive places are the flat, "rocky' ■areas on the coast HvKere bream arid, crayfish may be.caught in large numbers; and the cockle, beds, where it'■ is possible to obtain a kerosene tin full of large cockles in about a quarter of an .hour. Lovely still, nights • area characteristic of the; island.i It is- a delightful although at-times -a weird expedience, -to' lie awake in tied listening' to' this quaint crxiof^the^mopoke, the chirping of-the cricket, and the low roar of the huge breakers bursting on ihe^ coast-.. .' Occasionally a lonely., motor-car, ttavelliiig away -in the distance will"honk", across the stillness. All else seems to be silent. The island is. a place which stirs the imagination. Its fascination, .whether by night or day, grips one> Long after lone has. left there pleasant^inemories are retained, impelling the visitor, to determine, that,'come what-may,, he will some day pack'his bag : and return to catch some ■of tKe 'fish:; and yie>V; some:' of' ithe scenes, without having, caught and viewed which during along: holiday, lie would have "missed^ one of the greatest joys of his life.- ' , -■ .^ : '.''■ ■ .-:''."-