Carpenter Rocks, South Australia
Encyclopedia
Carpenter Rocks is a small coastal town located 35 km south west of Mount Gambier
in the south east of South Australia
. The area faces the Southern Ocean
and is renowned for its rugged coastline which provides exceptional fishing and diving locations.
At the 2006 census the town and surrounding localities such as Pelican Point had a population of 269. Carpenter Rocks is in the District Council of Grant
Local Government area, the South Australian House of Assembly
electoral district of Mount Gambier
and the Australian House of Representatives
Division of Barker
.
and Lake Bonney S.E
. Carpenter Rocks supports a significant southern rock lobster
industry and Bucks Bay provides a safe haven for the many fishing boats moored there. Cape Banks lighthouse is located 4 km from the township and it is near here on 5 August 1859 the SS Admella
was wrecked on a reef
with the loss of 89 lives.
communities from the Booandik tribe. They were scattered in small groups along the coast where they had access to an abundance of food and water. Due to disease and land dispossession the last full blooded Booandik died in 1904.
Lieutenant James Grant
, when on board the HMS Lady Nelson
, was the first known British
person to view land known today as south eastern South Australia
. On 3 December 1800, he sighted what at first he thought was four unconnected islands, but on a closer look realized they were two mountains and two capes. One of these he named Cape Banks, just west of today's township, after English Botanist - Joseph Banks
. On 4 April 1802 the French explorer Nicholas Baudin aboard the ship Geographe noticed the area and made the observation: The name, according to Geoffrey Manning and Rodney Cockburn "Place Names of South Australia", "The Rocks", were named "Les Carpentiers" after a Dutch navigator, by Nicholas Baudin, meaning "The Carpenters", alluding to their indented and serrated nature, which reminded Baudin of a carpenters saw.
Mount Gambier, South Australia
Mount Gambier is the largest regional city in South Australia located approximately 450 kilometres south of the capital Adelaide and just 17 kilometres from the Victorian border....
in the south east of South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. The area faces the Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions...
and is renowned for its rugged coastline which provides exceptional fishing and diving locations.
At the 2006 census the town and surrounding localities such as Pelican Point had a population of 269. Carpenter Rocks is in the District Council of Grant
District Council of Grant
The District Council of Grant is a local government area located in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia, and is the southernmost council in the state....
Local Government area, the South Australian House of Assembly
South Australian House of Assembly
The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide.- Overview :...
electoral district of Mount Gambier
Electoral district of Mount Gambier
Mount Gambier is an electorate for the South Australian House of Assembly. It covers the southeast part of the state centered on the city and extinct volcano of Mount Gambier....
and the Australian House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
Division of Barker
Division of Barker
The Division of Barker is an Australian Electoral Division in the south-east of South Australia.The division was created in 1903 and is named for Collet Barker, an early explorer of the region at the mouth of the Murray River...
.
Areas of Interest
The town is a gateway to the Canunda National ParkCanunda National Park
Canunda is a national park in South Australia . It is southeast of Adelaide, on the coast about southwest of Millicent. It consists of coastal dunes, limestone cliffs, and natural bushland...
and Lake Bonney S.E
Lake Bonney S.E (South Australia)
Lake Bonney S.E is a coastal lake in the south east of South Australia. It is one of the largest freshwater lakes in Australia. The lake is located south east of Adelaide and south west of Millicent. The Canunda National Park lies adjacent to the lake shore. For over 60 years, large volumes of...
. Carpenter Rocks supports a significant southern rock lobster
Rock lobster
Jasus edwardsii, the southern rock lobster, red rock lobster, or spiny rock lobster, is a species of spiny lobster found throughout coastal waters of southern Australia and New Zealand including the Chatham Islands. This species is commonly called crayfish or crays in New Zealand and in Māori...
industry and Bucks Bay provides a safe haven for the many fishing boats moored there. Cape Banks lighthouse is located 4 km from the township and it is near here on 5 August 1859 the SS Admella
SS Admella
The SS Admella was an Australian passenger steamship which was shipwrecked on a submerged reef off the coast of Carpenter Rocks, south west of Mount Gambier South Australia, in the early hours of Saturday 6 August 1859...
was wrecked on a reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
with the loss of 89 lives.
History & Settlement
The earliest people in the Carpenter Rocks area were the aboriginalAustralian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
communities from the Booandik tribe. They were scattered in small groups along the coast where they had access to an abundance of food and water. Due to disease and land dispossession the last full blooded Booandik died in 1904.
Lieutenant James Grant
James Grant
James Grant may refer to:*James Grant , American author, journalist, and publisher of Grant's Interest Rate Observer*James Grant , California painter and sculptor...
, when on board the HMS Lady Nelson
Lady Nelson
The Royal Navy purchased Lady Nelson in 1799. She spent her career exploring the coast of Australia in the early years of the 19th century. She was the first known vessel to sail eastward through Bass Strait, the first to sail along the South coast of Victoria, as well as the first to enter Port...
, was the first known British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
person to view land known today as south eastern South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. On 3 December 1800, he sighted what at first he thought was four unconnected islands, but on a closer look realized they were two mountains and two capes. One of these he named Cape Banks, just west of today's township, after English Botanist - Joseph Banks
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and the genus named after him,...
. On 4 April 1802 the French explorer Nicholas Baudin aboard the ship Geographe noticed the area and made the observation: The name, according to Geoffrey Manning and Rodney Cockburn "Place Names of South Australia", "The Rocks", were named "Les Carpentiers" after a Dutch navigator, by Nicholas Baudin, meaning "The Carpenters", alluding to their indented and serrated nature, which reminded Baudin of a carpenters saw.