Modern Exploration and Settlement

Modern Exploration

In 1800 the British Government commissioned Captain Matthew Flinders to explore and map the southern coastline of Terra Australis in HMS Investigator. Flinders made the first recorded European sighting of the Island in March 1802. He came ashore on the north coast, and named Kangaroo Island.

On the afternoon of 8 April 1802, as the Investigator tacked towards the mainland, a sail appeared on the horizon. It was the French corvette, Le Geographe, under the command of Nicolas Baudin.

Despite Britain and France being at war, both parties soon realised that neither had hostile intentions. Information was exchanged about their explorations, with Flinders advising Baudin of the large island nearby with the opportunity to replenish supplies with fresh meat and water.

Baudin returned to the Island in the summer of 1802-3, mapping much of the rugged south and west coastlines. Many of the features along this part of the coastline bear French names as a consequence of this visit.

Australia's First Free Settlement

The South Australian Company was established by an Act of Parliament in England in 1834. Its charter was to establish the first colony somewhere along the coast between the Great Australian Bight and Port Phillip Bay. By 1836 the company had acquired a fleet of ships and chose Kangaroo Island to start Australia's first free settled colony. On 27 July 1836 the barque Duke of York anchored in Nepean Bay and began the first formal settlement in South Australia at the place now known as Reeves Point. Several other ships soon joined the Duke of York. Passengers were 'Capitalists' (as defined in the Company Prospectus) or carefully selected workers, many with families. Challenged by a shortage of water and building timber, the formal settlement was to last less than four years. At its peak some 300 people lived there, and 42 dwellings and other buildings were constructed.

Some persistent individuals stayed on and formed the basis of a community that prided itself on a strong sense of independence. Reeves Point remains as testimony to the hopes and aspirations of the early pioneers. In 1982 the site was placed on the South Australian Heritage Register. Poignant reminders of the early days include the first European cemetery, site of the first post office, early house sites, original jetty remains, and the mulberry tree that grew from a cutting brought out from England with the first settlers.