| Flinders Chase National Park | |
|---|---|
 Remarkable Rocks, in the southern part of the park | |
  Flinders Chase National Park | |
| Location | South Australia |
| Nearest city | Kingscote |
| Coordinates | 35°58′38″S136°40′22″E / 35.97722°S 136.67278°E /-35.97722; 136.67278 |
| Area | 326.61 km2 (126.10 sq mi)[1] |
| Established | 1919 1972 (national park)[2][3] |
| Governing body | Department for Environment and Water |
| Website | Official website |
Flinders Chase National Park (formerlyFlinders Chase) is aprotected area in the Australian state ofSouth Australia located at the west end ofKangaroo Island about 177 kilometres (110 miles) west-south west of the state capital ofAdelaide and 110 kilometres (68 miles) west of the municipal seat ofKingscote. It is a sanctuary for endangered species and home to a fewgeological phenomena. It was the secondnational park to be declared in South Australia.[4]
Flinders Chase National Park consists of three sections - an area of coastal landscapes aroundCape du Couedic in the south west corner of the island, theGosse Lands in the centre of the west end of the island and the formerCape Borda Lightstation reserve in the north west corner of the island.
Flinders Chase National Park is located at the north-western end of Kangaroo Island inSouth Australia approximately 110 kilometres (68 miles) west of Kingscote.[5] It is located within the gazetted localities ofFlinders Chase,Gosse andKaratta.[6][7][8]
As of 1993, the national park consists of three separate parcels of land:[5][9]
The national park is classified as anIUCN category II protected area.[1]
Following a deputation of scientists in 1906,[10] the premier,Tom Price, agreed to set aside the Cape Borda lighthouse reserve of 61 square miles as a nature reserve.[11] and in 1909 the South Australian government converted another 79 square miles of what had been pastoral reserve to a nature reserve,[a] under the control of the Fauna and Flora Board. The board had asked for 300 square miles but the additional properties needed had already been leased, and the lessees, who had yet to make any improvements,[13] demanded £28,000 as compensation for losing what they had been getting for £28 per year[14]Professor Stirling urged that when those leases expired they be turned over to the Board.[14]
The reserve was named Flinders Chase at the suggestion of Samuel Dixon[15] (died 1927).[16]Apart from its intended use as a habitat for koalas and other mammals, it was considered a likely refuge for thelyre bird, "pheasant" (perhaps themalleefowl, [Leipoa ocellata]) and "bush turkey" (perhapsAustralian brushturkey, [Alectura lathami]), all threatened on the mainland due to depredations by foxes.[15] TheRocky River was touted as aplatypus reserve.
Parts of the national park first acquired protected area status as a 'flora and fauna reserve' declared on 16 October 1919 under theFauna and Flora Reserve Act 1919, an act whose specific purpose was:[2]
…to establish a Reserve on Kangaroo Island for the Protection, Preservation, and Propagation of Australasian Fauna and Flora, and to provide for the Control of such Reserve, and for other purposes.
No funds were made available for fencing or provision of a ranger however, and the laws regarding burning, shooting, poisoning and taking of protected species were unenforceable and broken with impunity.[17]In 1922 the government brought the Chase's total area close to 200 square miles (520 km2)[18] by the addition of the Rocky River freehold and leases south of Rocky River to the landing reserve by theCape du Couedic lighthouse. The Chase's eastern boundary was now a straight line running south from theDe Mole River mouth to the island's south coast.[19] It also gave the board a couple of cottages for the use of a ranger and visitors.[19]
It was constituted as a national park upon the proclamation of theNational Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 on 27 April 1972 which repealed five items of existing legislation including theFauna and Flora Reserve Act 1919.[3] At proclamation in 1972, it consisted of the following land in the followingcadastral units as well as the entirety of theCasuarina Islets - section 11 in theHundred of Borda, section 64 in theHundred of Gosse, section 17 in theHundred of McDonald and section 66 in "South out of Hundreds".[20]
On 15 October 1993, land in section 11 of the Hundred of Borda, section 64 of Hundred of Gosse and Allotments 50 and 52 in DP 38340 and with an area of 416.63 square kilometres (160.86 sq mi) was removed from the national park and constituted under theWilderness Protection Act 1992 as theRavine des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area.[1][21]
Since creation in November 1919, it has become a sanctuary for endangered species, some of them introduced from the mainland in the 1920s and 1930s. During the 1940s, 23 additional species were introduced, includingkoalas (1923) andplatypus (1928). Most of these species can still be observed today.Kangaroos,goannas andechidnas[22] are commonly seen in the national park.[citation needed]
Little penguins have been recorded in Flinders Chase in the 1920s,[23] 1930s,[24][25] 1940s,[26] and 1950s.[27] It is believed that these colonies have since gone extinct, partly due to the increase oflong-nosed fur seal populations after the end of commercial sealing. In 1886, little penguins were seen at Admiral's Arch.[28]
The national park contains two geological features that have been listed as geological monuments by theGeological Society of Australia:Cape du Couedic andRemarkable Rocks.[29]
Remarkable Rocks are naturally sculptured formations precariously balanced atop a granite outcrop. They remind visitors of the sculptures ofHenry Moore.[30]
Lightning strikes on Thursday 6 December 2007 caused approximately 60,000 hectares (150,000 acres) of land in both the national park and the adjoining Ravine des Casoars Wilderness Protection Area to be burnt, before being brought under control ten days later.[31] The national park was again damaged during the2019–20 Australian bushfire season,[32] with the Visitor Centre completely destroyed.
The "Remarkable Rocks," as they are called, are a collection of enormous eroded granite boulders sitting atop a giant dome of lava coughed up about 200 million years ago. Wind and sea spray have since carved the chunks into what look like monumental Henry Moore sculptures perched 200 feet above a crashing sea.
Media related toFlinders Chase National Park at Wikimedia Commons
Kangaroo Island travel guide from Wikivoyage| Major townships |  | ||||||||
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