Early History

Aboriginal Inhabitation

Evidence of stone tools and Aboriginal campsites were discovered in the early 1900s, but early explorers discovered the Island to be uninhabited, as shown by the lack of campfires and tameness of the wildlife.

Subsequent carbon dating of charcoal campfire remains indicates that Aboriginal people were living on the Island at least as early as 16,000 years ago. Why the Aboriginal people abandoned Kangaroo Island, or when they last lived here, remains a mystery.

Early European Settlement

The first non-Aboriginal people to live on Kangaroo Island were sealers, escaped convicts and runaway sailors, who sought refuge here in the early 1800s. They lived a self-sufficient life that was not to everyone's taste. Living on kangaroo and other wildlife, they traded salt plus seal, kangaroo and wallaby skins for spirits and tobacco. Aboriginal women were transported from Tasmania and the mainland to help with the work.