Кингскот: Город на острове Кенгуру (Южная Австралия)

Town on Kangaroo Island in South Australia

Kingscote is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located on Kangaroo Island about south west of the state capital of Adelaide. At the 2016 census, Kingscote had a population of 1,790. and named for Henry Kingscote, one of the founding directors of the company. It was early 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 Australian 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.) Joyce Debenham Seager arrived here as the only doctor on the island in 1925 and she established the first temporary hospital travelling by horse to visit patients. 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. 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).

Kingscote has a school offering years reception to 12 (R 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. Recreational facilities include a sports centre and adjoining oval and netball courts.

A wharf and jetty stand at the waterfront. They were previously used by the roll on, roll off vessels, Troubridge and Island Seaway and now serve smaller vessels. The jetty is accessible for recreational fishing and scuba diving and pelican feeding and nocturnal penguin tours are offered at the Penguin Centre, which is adjacent to the jetty. The Aurora Ozone Seafront Hotel, with its mermaid statue, is a well known landmark on the Kingscote foreshore. The hotel opened in 1907. It was destroyed by fire 27 Aug 1918, but was rebuilt and opened for business again on 29 December 1920.

A shark proof tidal swimming pool is open to the public. Fundraising commenced in 1947 and plans were drafted by the South Australian Harbours Board. The Harbours Board estimated the total construction cost for the pool to be £607 and Mr W. S. Myers, won the contract for its construction. A subscription list was started and maintained to update local residents on fundraising progress Construction commenced in 1949. Work continued in 1950, following delays owing to labour shortages and inclement weather.

Historically, little penguins have also been observed in burrows on The Spit which lies across the mouth of Bay of Shoals. Observations of penguins at this location were published in 1888, 1911, 1915, 1934 and 1938. A child visiting in 1947 found at least six penguin burrows. 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. The colonies at Busby and Beatrice Islets became extinct after introduced African boxthorn vegetation was removed. This destabilised the sand and rendered the habitat unsuitable for penguin burrows. There is also data at the airport in Kingscote, 12.0 km away. It experiences similar climatic conditions, but due to its inland location, the weather station has a greater seasonal difference between winter and summer; and the diurnal range is greater.