Dudley Peninsula | |
|---|---|
 Cape Willoughby Lightstation. Cape Willoughby, Kangaroo Island | |
  Dudley Peninsula | |
| Coordinates:35°47′50″S137°55′21″E / 35.79722°S 137.92250°E /-35.79722; 137.92250[3] | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | South Australia |
| Population | |
| • Total | 595 (2011 census)[1][2] |
| Mean max temp | 18.1 °C (64.6 °F) |
| Mean min temp | 12.8 °C (55.0 °F) |
| Annual rainfall | 537.3 mm (21.15 in) |
| Climate data[4] | |
Dudley Peninsula (known asPresquila Gallissoniere and as theMacDonnell Peninsula from 1857 to 1986) is thepeninsula forming the eastern end ofKangaroo Island in the Australian state ofSouth Australia. It was inhabited byAboriginal Australians as recently as 3,100 yearsBP but was found to be unoccupied by the first European explorers to visit it in the early 19th century. It was first settled by Europeans as early as the 1830s. As of 2011, it had a population of 595 people.
Dudley Peninsula is the eastern end of Kangaroo Island. It is connected to the main body of the island via anisthmus which itself forms the southern side ofPelican Lagoon. The peninsula is bounded to the west by Pelican Lagoon, American River andEastern Cove all withinNepean Bay, to the north-east byBackstairs Passage fromKangaroo Head in the west toCape Willoughby in the east and to the south by the body of water known in Australia as theSouthern Ocean and by international authorities as theGreat Australian Bight.[5][6][7]
The first reported European name for the Dudley Peninsula is "Presquila Gallissoniere" which was given by theBaudin Expedition.[8] In 1857, it was named the "MacDonnell Peninsula" byWilliam Bloomfield Douglas afterRichard Graves MacDonnell, the sixthgovernor of South Australia.[9] On 20 March 1986, it was renamed as the "Dudley Peninsula" to be "in keeping with local usage."[3][10]
The archaeological record indicates that Kangaroo Island was inhabited by Aboriginal Australians as early as 16,110 years BP. European explorers visiting in the early 19th century found no evidence of human occupation as evident by lack of smoke from fires which was common along the Australian coastline at the time, overgrown vegetation that had not been managed by "firestick farming" and animals such as seals and kangaroos "appeared unused to human presence". Aboriginal sites have been identified by theSouth Australian Museum and others on the Dudley Peninsula. As of 1999,radiocarbon dating of material recovered via archaeological excavation from a site called Pigs Waterhole on the peninsula suggest aboriginal presence in the eastern end of Kangaroo Island as recently as 3,100 years BP.[11]
Dudley Peninsula was first visited by European navigators in 1802 when the British navigator,Matthew Flinders, explored its north coast during March 1802. After meeting Flinders atEncounter Bay in April 1802, theBaudin expedition visited the peninsula's north coast later in April 1802 and explored its south coast during January 1803.[12][13][14]Formal settlement commenced in 1836 with a fleet under the control of theSouth Australian Company arriving at what is nowKingscote further west on Kangaroo Island. Some of the people who had been living on that part of Kangaroo Island prior to 1836 moved to the peninsula to avoid being within the jurisdiction of the South Australian Company and thereby making it "most prosperous part of the island and the scene of its first significant agricultural and pastoral development."[12][15]The full extent of Kangaroo Island was gazetted on 13 August 1874 as thecadastral division known as theCounty of Carnarvon simultaneously with the creation of another cadastral division, theHundred of Dudley, which covers the full extent of what is now the Dudley Peninsula.[16][17] In 1875, land in the Hundred of Dudley near the north coast of the peninsula was surveyed and given freehold title in response for the demand for agricultural land.[17]The town ofPenneshaw was proclaimed on 12 January 1882. On 7 June 1888, the local government area of theDistrict Council of Dudley was established. This was subsequently merged in 1996 with theDistrict Council of Kingscote to create theKangaroo Island Council.[17][18][19][20]
The Dudley Peninsula came into existence about 9,500 years BP when Kangaroo Island became separate from what is nowFleurieu Peninsula due to the rise in sea level following the end of thelast ice age.[21]The peninsula has a plateau covering its northern half with a maximum height of about 150 metres (490 ft) while the southern half has a maximum height in the order of 100 metres (330 ft). Its coastline consists of a cliff-line in the order of 40 metres (130 ft) to 70 metres (230 ft) in height with the exception of sandy bays such as Nepean Bay in the north-west coast, Antechamber Bay in the north east coast and Pennington Bay on the south-west coast.[22]The peninsula has ageological basement of Tapanappa Formationsandstones (from theKanmantoo Group) which were laid during the early Cambrian period. The basement stratum has undergone extensive erosion to create laterite based soil which covers the northern half of the peninsula. The southern half of the peninsula has a Bridgewater Grouplimestone which was laid over the basement stratum during thePleistocene and which has eroded to form a dune field.[23][24]
The Dudley Peninsula has amediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csb)[25] As of 2002, Penneshaw received an annual rainfall of 509 millimetres (20.0 in) and this average is considered to increase to 600 millimetres (24 in) at the top of the peninsula's plateau.[23]
Settlements on the Dudley Peninsula consist of Penneshaw which overlooks Backstairs Passage on the north coast with the following being located on the north west coast overlooking Nepean Bay (from east to west) –Baudin Beach,Island Beach andSapphiretown.[26]
At the2011 census, the Dudley Peninsula had a population of 595 with 276 persons located in Penneshaw and the remaining 319 located on the remainder of the peninsula, being the localities ofAmerican Beach,Antechamber Bay,Baudin Beach,Brown Beach,Cuttlefish Bay,Dudley East,Dudley West,Ironstone,Island Beach,Kangaroo Head,Pelican Lagoon,Porky Flat,Sapphiretown,Willoughby andWillson River.[1][2]
As of 1989, most of the northern side of the peninsula above a line from Cape Willoughby in the east to Strawbridge Point at the junction of American River and Eastern Cove in the west had been progressively cleared for agricultural purposes, while the southern side had retained most of its native vegetation. Subsequent clearing of native vegetation on abroadacre scale ceased in 1990 with the proclamation of theNative Vegetation Act 1990.[6][27][28] As of 2014, majority of the land on the Dudley Peninsula has been zoned by law for agricultural use (i.e. "primary production") followed byconservation including most of the coastal perimeter with exception to some parts of the Nepean Bay coastline and by residential use.[29]
The peninsula is served by a road network extending from both Penneshaw on its northern coast and from Hog Bay Road, a road maintained by theSouth Australian Government. Hog Bay Road which follows the peninsula's north-western coastline connects Penneshaw and the settlements overlooking Nepean Bay with the town ofKingscote and the rest of Kangaroo Island.[30]
As of 2014, port infrastructure at Penneshaw was being used byKangaroo Island SeaLink who operates the ferry service between Penneshaw andCape Jervis on the South Australian mainland.[31]Navigation aids located on the peninsula's coast includelighthouses at bothCape St Albans andCape Willoughby.[6]
As of 2014, no public airfields were located within the extent of the Dudley Peninsula with the nearest and the only one available being theKingscote Airport on the western part of the island in the locality ofCygnet River.[32][33]
The Dudley Peninsula is located within the jurisdiction of theKangaroo Island Council and within the following electorates – thestate district of Finniss and thefederal division of Mayo.[34][35][36]
As of 2015, the Dudley Peninsula contained the followingconservation parks –Baudin,Cape Willoughby,Dudley,Lashmar,Lesueur,Pelican Lagoon andSimpson. Also, as of 2015, an area of privately owned land appropriately equivalent to that of the above conservation parks has protected status due to being subject tonative vegetation heritage agreements.[37]
the Geographical Names Board has recommended that the name MacDonnell Peninsula be changed to Dudley Peninsula
| Major townships |  | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaches | |||||||||
| Coastal features |
| ||||||||
| Protected areas |
| ||||||||
| Islands adjacent to Kangaroo Island coast | |||||||||
| Related and uncategorised | |||||||||
