King Island

King Island sits in the western entrance to Bass Strait, taking the full force of the Roaring Forties, and the wind and rainfall that come with them produce pasture good enough to have built a national food reputation: King Island Dairy cheeses and King Island beef are sold across Australia, and crayfish and kelp are harvested from the coast. The same weather wrecked ships in numbers, and the island's coast holds the graves and remains of more than sixty vessels, including the Cataraqui, whose loss in 1845 with over four hundred lives is Australia's worst peacetime maritime disaster. Golf courses at Cape Wickham and Ocean Dunes have drawn international attention.

History

The island was part of the land bridge between Tasmania and the mainland until the sea rose about 12,000 years ago, and a human skeleton found in a cave in 1989 has been dated to about 14,000 years ago, though no signs of settled occupation have been found and it was uninhabited when Europeans came. Captain Reed, hunting seals in the schooner Martha, found it in 1799, and it was named after Philip Gidley King, governor of New South Wales; the granite lighthouse at Cape Wickham, 48 metres high and the tallest in Australia, was first lit on 1 November 1861 (Wikipedia, King Island - Tasmania).

The main sights

• The dairy and beef - the producers behind a national food reputation.
• The shipwreck coast - graves and wreck sites including the Cataraqui memorial.
• Cape Wickham - the tall lighthouse and the links golf course beside it.
• The kelp industry - bull kelp harvested and dried along the shore.

When to go

November to April for the mildest weather; the island is windy and cool year-round. Flights are small and weather-affected. Accommodation is limited and books out around golf tournaments and holidays.

Good to know

Access is by small aircraft or an irregular ferry, both costly. The dairy visitor centre closed some years ago, so cheese is bought from local shops rather than at the factory. Wind is constant and can be exhausting.

Nearby

Melbourne and Tasmania are the mainland links; the Bass Strait islands lie east.

Key facts