Kingscote, South Australia

Kingscote
South Australia

Dauncey Street
Kingscote
Coordinates 35°39′11″S 137°38′03″E / 35.65306°S 137.63417°E / -35.65306; 137.63417Coordinates: 35°39′11″S 137°38′03″E / 35.65306°S 137.63417°E / -35.65306; 137.63417
Population 2,034 (2011 census)[1]
Established 1836
Postcode(s) 5223
LGA(s) Kangaroo Island Council
State electorate(s) Finniss[2]
Federal Division(s) Mayo[3]
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
19.1 °C
66 °F		 11.6 °C
53 °F		 484 mm
19.1 in

Kingscote is the largest town on Kangaroo Island, an island off the south coast of South Australia. Kingscote is South Australia's oldest European settlement.[4] At the 2011 census, Kingscote had a population of 2,034.[1] It is a well-established tourist centre and the administrative and communications centre. It is home to a colony of the smallest penguins in the world, the little penguin.

History

The South Australia Company established its colony at Kingscote at Reeves Point on 27 July 1836, as South Australia's first official European settlement, the first settlers having arrived on the Duke of York.[5] It was later suggested that Kingscote could serve as the capital of South Australia, but the island's resources were insufficient to support such a large community; the South Australia Company moved almost six months later to Adelaide after sending surveyors to find a better site.

The history of the area is displayed in the museum in Hope Cottage, to the north of the town. Hope Cottage was one of the three earliest houses built in Kingscote, circa 1850, with the adjoining cottages of Faith and Charity. (Faith has been subsequently demolished.)

The Old Mulberry Tree at Reeves Point was planted in 1836 and still bears fruit. Reeves Point has been placed on the Australian Heritage Places List.[6]

The current town of Kingscote is now immediately to the south of the original Kingscote settlement at Reeves Point in the area originally known as Queenscliffe (the origin of the name of the Queenscliffe Hotel in Dauncey Street).[7]

Little Penguin colony

In 2007, the Kingscote colony of Little penguins' population was 868 adults and fell to 706 in 2010.[8] In 2011, it was believed to be either declining or stable.[9] In 2012, the population fell to 300 adults according to DEWNR figures.[8] In 2013, the Kingscote colony of little penguins had dropped to 20 birds, according to tour operator John Ayliffe.[10] Official 2013 census figures were greater, estimating 154 breeding adults, down 48 per cent from the previous year and 82 per cent since the population peak in 2007.[11]

Increasing populations of New Zealand fur seals are believed to be a factor in the decline. Other predators of penguins on Kangaroo Island include rats, dogs, cats, goannas and sea eagles. Since the 1990s, penguin tour operators have improved the nesting habitat in the visitation area at Kingscote, through vegetation, habitat protection and constructing boardwalks for tourists.[9] Disease and declining fish stocks have also been blamed for declines in Little penguin numbers.[8]

Other colonies in South Australia have experienced dramatic declines since the 1990s. The nearest examples of colonies in decline are found in Encounter Bay (Granite Island, Wright Island and West Island) and at Penneshaw on Kangaroo Island.[10]

Accounts of little penguins at Kingcote exist from the 1930s.[12]

The Spit

Historically, Little penguins have also been observed in burrows on The Spit which lays across the mouth of Bay of Shoals. Observations of penguins at this location were published in 1888,[13] 1911,[14] 1915,[15] 1934[16] and 1938.[17] A child visiting in 1947 found at least six penguin burrows.[18] The species did not appear in the list of birds observed at Busby Islet Conservation Park (part of The Spit) which was published in 1987.[19]

Climate

Kingscote has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csb), where most of the rain falls in the winter months.[20]

Climate data for Kingscote
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 40.6
(105.1)		 41.0
(105.8)		 35.8
(96.4)		 31.0
(87.8)		 24.7
(76.5)		 22.4
(72.3)		 22.0
(71.6)		 23.0
(73.4)		 27.5
(81.5)		 37.3
(99.1)		 39.4
(102.9)		 38.8
(101.8)		 41.0
(105.8)
Average high °C (°F) 23.7
(74.7)		 23.5
(74.3)		 22.2
(72)		 19.8
(67.6)		 17.5
(63.5)		 15.4
(59.7)		 14.6
(58.3)		 15.0
(59)		 16.5
(61.7)		 18.5
(65.3)		 20.5
(68.9)		 22.3
(72.1)		 19.1
(66.4)
Average low °C (°F) 14.9
(58.8)		 15.4
(59.7)		 14.3
(57.7)		 12.5
(54.5)		 10.8
(51.4)		 9.3
(48.7)		 8.4
(47.1)		 8.3
(46.9)		 9.1
(48.4)		 10.3
(50.5)		 12.0
(53.6)		 13.6
(56.5)		 11.6
(52.9)
Record low °C (°F) 8.3
(46.9)		 8.9
(48)		 6.1
(43)		 5.6
(42.1)		 2.8
(37)		 −1.1
(30)		 2.1
(35.8)		 2.0
(35.6)		 1.6
(34.9)		 2.2
(36)		 4.7
(40.5)		 6.1
(43)		 −1.1
(30)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 14.7
(0.579)		 17.0
(0.669)		 18.4
(0.724)		 35.1
(1.382)		 58.6
(2.307)		 72.5
(2.854)		 77.7
(3.059)		 65.2
(2.567)		 47.4
(1.866)		 37.1
(1.461)		 23.0
(0.906)		 19.2
(0.756)		 483.6
(19.039)
Average precipitation days 3.6 3.5 5.0 8.7 12.8 15.7 18.1 16.8 12.9 10.0 6.7 5.3 119.1
Source: [21]

Facilities

Kingscote has a school offering years 1 to 12, a hospital, supermarket, post office and government offices. It is the administrative centre for the Kangaroo Island Council, whose offices have recently undergone a significant upgrade.

There is an extensive wharf and jetty, formerly used by the roll-on, roll-off vessels, Troubridge and Island Seaway.

Kingscote has a tidal swimming pool, plus a sports centre and adjoining oval and netball courts.

The Aurora Ozone Seafront Hotel, with its mermaid statue, is a well-known landmark on the Kingscote foreshore, having opened in 1907.

Gallery

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Kingscote (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2013-03-11.
  2. ↑ "District of Finniss Background Profile". ELECTORAL COMMISSION SA. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  3. ↑ "Federal electoral division of Mayo, boundary gazetted 16 December 2011" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  4. ↑ Kingscote, South Australia Travelmate, Accessed 25 August 2007
  5. ↑ Kangaroo Island Council - Welcome
  6. ↑ "Reeves Point Settlement Site (listing RNE15625)". Australia Heritage Places Inventory. Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
  7. ↑ ""WHAT'S IN A NAME.".". The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931) (Adelaide, SA: National Library of Australia). 16 April 1902. p. 4. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 Black, Shauna "Local politics blamed for penguin inaction" The Islander, Kangaroo Island, South Australia (2013-06-06). Retrieved 2014-02-07.
  9. 1 2 Wiebken, A. S. "Conservation management priorities for little penguin populations in Gulf St Vincent" Adelaide & Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resource Management Board / SARDI, South Australia (2011-06). Retrieved 2014-02-06.
  10. 1 2 Austin, Nigel "Kangaroo Island little penguins at giant risk as colony drops to 20" The Advertiser, South Australia (2013-07-29). Retrieved 2014-02-06.
  11. ↑ "Penguin populations dropping". The Islander (Kangaroo Island, South Australia). 2014-07-24. Retrieved 2014-07-26.
  12. ↑ "PENGUINS ARE WORTH £5 EACH.". The Kangaroo Island Courier. 24 November 1934. p. 2. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  13. ↑ "Field Naturalists' Cruise to Kangaroo Island." South Australian Weekly Chronicle, South Australia (1888-04-14). Retrieved 2014-03-12.
  14. ↑ Canyon "KANGAROO ISLAND. PICTURESQUE AND PRODUCTIVE." Chronicle, South Australia (1911-12-02). Retrieved 2014-02-26.
  15. ↑ "Bird Life on Kangaroo Island.". The Kangaroo Island Courier. 26 June 1915. p. 6. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  16. ↑ "A Trip to Kangaroo Island" Burra Record, South Australia (1934-01-17). Retrieved 2014-02-26.
  17. ↑ George, Elisabeth "LIFE and LETTERS" The West Australian, Western Australia (1938-04-30). Retrieved 2014-02-26.
  18. ↑ Shoppee, Rosemary (1946-12-27). "Five Stars Club for Young Catholics - PENGUINS, SEAGULLS & COCKLES". Retrieved 2015-01-31.
  19. ↑ Conservation parks of Kangaroo Island management plan Parks & Wildlife Service, Department of Environment & Planning, South Australia (1987-12). ISBN 0 7243 8983 0
  20. ↑ Peel, M. C. and Finlayson, B. L. and McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen–Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11: 1642. doi:10.5194/hess-11-1633-2007. ISSN 1027-5606. (direct: Final Revised Paper)
  21. ↑ "Climate statistics for Kingscote". Australian Bureau of Meteorology.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kingscote, South Australia.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 22, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.