Hindmarsh Island (Aboriginal: Kumerangk) is an inland river island located in the lower Murray River near the town of Goolwa, South Australia.
Hindmarsh Island (Aboriginal: Kumerangk) is an inland river island located in the lower Murray River near the town of Goolwa, South Australia.
The island is a tourist destination, which has increased in popularity since the opening of the Hindmarsh Island bridge in 2001. Hindmarsh Island is 100.1 kilometres (62.2 miles) south east of the Adelaide city centre, around a 1-hour and 15 minute drive.
History
Prior to European colonisation, the island was occupied by Aboriginal tribes of the Ngarrindjeri people.
1830: The first European to set foot on Hindmarsh Island was Captain Charles Sturt. Sturt used the Island as a viewing point and from there he sighted the Murray Mouth.
1831: Captain Collet Barker surveyed the Murray Mouth but was killed by Indigenous Australians after swimming across the mouth.
1837: The island was named by Captain John William Dundas Blenkinsop after South Australia's first Governor, Sir John Hindmarsh.
1849: Dr. John Rankine was granted an occupational licence to become the island's first grazier. His nephew James Rankine was an early and longtime settler.
1853: Charles Price purchased section 20 (32 hectares (80 acres)) on the island.
1856: A flour mill was constructed.
1857: A signal mast was erected at Barker Knoll to convey safe passage condition messages to vessels wishing to pass through the mouth.
1858: A public ferry began operations between Goolwa and the island. In the same year the first inter colonial telegraph line passed through the island to link Adelaide with Melbourne.
1861: The cemetery was surveyed.
1880s: Alberto and Selberto Forest were planted.
1868: Hereford cattle and Shropshire sheep arrived in South Australia, when Charles Price introduced them onto the island.
1900: A cheese factory was established by Percy Heggaton.
1914: An experimental barrage was constructed to link Hindmarsh Island with Mundoo Island.
1935: Construction of the permanent barrages took place with the aim of maintaining a consistent water level around the river Port of Goolwa and keeping salt water from the northern shore improving agricultural opportunities.
1965: Mains electricity arrived on the island
1970: Little penguins were present on Hindmarsh Island. Today, the colony is extinct.
1985: Approximately an area of 1,405 square kilometres (542 square miles) including the island was listed as a "wetland of international importance" under the Ramsar convention under the name of Coorong and Lakes Alexandrina and Albert Wetland.2001: Approximately a third of the island, the 10.81 square kilometres (4.17 square miles) Wyndgate property,was added to the Coorong National Park.
2005: Coorong Quays Hindmarsh Island boasts the title of the largest freshwater marina in the Southern Hemisphere (formerly The Marina Hindmarsh Island).
Present: Hindmarsh Island today has fresh water on its northern shore and salt water on the southern shores, the waters being separated by a series of barrages.
Weather
Akin to Adelaide, Hindmarsh Island experiences a typical Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers, and mild cool winters.
Things to do