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Hindmarsh Island (Ngarrindjeri: Kumerangk) is an inland river island located in the lower Murray River near the town of Goolwa, South Australia. The island is a tourist destination, which has increased in popularity since the opening of the Hindmarsh Island bridge in 2001. Hindmarsh Island is south east of the Adelaide city centre, around a 1-hour and 15 minute drive. [edit] History
Prior to European colonisation, the island was occupied by Ngarrindjeri peoples, many who were forcibly removed to Raukkan.
1830: The first European to set foot on Hindmarsh Island was Captain Charles Sturt. Sturt used the Island as a viewing point and from there he sighted the Murray Mouth. 1831: Captain Collet Barker surveyed the Murray Mouth but was killed by Indigenous Australians after swimming across the mouth.
1837: The island was named by Captain John William Dundas Blenkinsop after South Australia's first Governor, Sir John Hindmarsh. 1849: Dr. John Rankine was granted an occupational licence to become the island's first grazier. His nephew James Rankine was an early and longtime settler. 1853: Charles Price purchased section 20 on the island. 1856: A flour mill was constructed. 1857: A signal mast was erected at Barker Knoll to convey safe passage condition messages to vessels wishing to pass through the mouth. 1858: A public ferry began operations between Goolwa and the island. In the same year the first inter colonial telegraph line passed through the island to link Adelaide with Melbourne. 1861: The cemetery was surveyed. 1880s: Alberto and Selberto Forest were planted. 1868: Hereford cattle and Shropshire sheep arrived in South Australia, when Charles Price introduced them onto the island. 1900: A cheese factory was established by Percy Heggaton. 1914: An experimental barrage was constructed to link Hindmarsh Island with Mundoo Island. 1935: Construction of the permanent barrages took place with the aim of maintaining a consistent water level around the river Port of Goolwa and keeping salt water from the northern shore improving agricultural opportunities. 1965: Mains electricity arrived on the island 1970: Little penguins were present on Hindmarsh Island. Today, the colony is extinct.
2001: Approximately a third of the island, the Wyndgate property, was added to the Coorong National Park. 2005: Coorong Quays Hindmarsh Island boasts the title of the largest freshwater marina in the Southern Hemisphere (formerly The Marina Hindmarsh Island).
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