![Swans at American River](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Swans_at_American_River.JPG)
American River is a town in the Australian state of
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
located on the western shore of
Eastern Cove on
Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...
.
History
The area now known as American River was first visited by Europeans in 1802 when
Matthew Flinders landed to survey this part of Kangaroo Island.
In 1803, a group of American sealers camped for four months in the area. They arrived on the
brig
A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...
and built their own 35 ton
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
''
Independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
'' from local timber. The town takes its name from this time. A memorial plaque and accompanying anchor (recovered in 1969) from an early American whaling vessel is dedicated to ''Union'' s crew.
Frank Potts was the first official settler in 1842, before moving to the mainland and establishing the ''Bleasdale'' vineyard and winery at
Langhorne Creek. John Buick, a professional boat builder, built the first house in the town in 1844. It was fashioned out of local stone, pug and sput timber and remained standing until 1985.
A fish canning factory existed for a few years from the late 1890s, remnants of which may still be found on the shore north of the town proper.
Gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall. ...
was mined at Flour Cask Bay, later at
Pelican Lagoon and trucked to nearby Ballast Head, from 1956 until 1986.
Until the 1980s the town was serviced regularly by the ketches ''
Falie
''Falie'' is a ketch that traded for many years in Australian waters. Originally built in 1919/1920 as a speculation by her builder, rigged as a schooner and named ''Hollands Trouw'' after the shipyard where she was built, she was purchased by ...
'', ''
Nelcebee'' (last service 15 April 1982) and ''Ulonga'', operated by R. Fricker & Co. Consequently, on cessation of this service the wharf area for some time was a redundant commercial facility, resulting in the removal of several buildings and fuel facilities.
Tourism
The town looks out over
Pelican Lagoon, which is a popular place for birdwatching, kayaking and boating, though fishing within the lagoon is prohibited.
The establishment of guest houses at American River in the early part of the 20th century were the forerunner of today's tourism industry on Kangaroo Island. Ryberg, Lierich, and Linnett, are names synonymous with the development of tourism at American River.
Nils Ryberg, a Swedish born immigrant, settled at American River in 1884, and ten years later built the original "Ryberg House" on the site of the present Kangaroo Island Lodge, exclusively for tourist accommodation.
Ryberg added to the building over several years, before selling to John and Valerie Linnett in 1913. Ryberg House was completely rebuilt in 1928, and remains today. Fishing trips were an integral part of the business, with three boats, ''Warrigal'', ''Linnette'' and ''Linnette 2'' comprising the fleet which operated until 1985.
The business was operated until John Linnett's death in 1955, after which time his four sons, Keith, Lionel, Leon and Gordon continued under the name of Linnetts Pleasure Resort.
Leon Linnett assumed sole proprietorship in 1971, expanding the resort with the erection of several new wings and refurbishing the reception, administration and restaurant areas in 1980, when the resort became known as ''Linnetts Island Club''.
Leon Linnett sold the property in the late 1990s to an Adelaide-based consortium that trades under the name Kangaroo Island Lodge.
Facilities
The town supports a
Country Fire Service
The South Australian Country Fire Service (SACFS, commonly abbreviated as CFS) is a volunteer based fire service in the Australian state of South Australia. The CFS has responsibility as the Control Agency for firefighting and Hazardous Waste ...
brigade and
South Australian Ambulance Service
SA Ambulance Service (SAAS) is a State Government agency under SA Health, that provides emergency ambulance transport, clinical care and non emergency patient transport services to over 1.5 million people, distributed across an area of 1,043,5 ...
depot. An active sports and community association maintains a focal point for weekly meals and community awareness, whilst an annual fishing competition, normally held at Easter, is popular. There is a small store and post office, providing most postal services (limited banking) on Buick Drive. There is also a small cafe and gift shop located at the wharf which is open from 10.00am to 3.00pm daily.
An extensive wharf with mooring facilities for large commercial fishing boats was completed in 1964. A new, triple berth boat ramp with floating pontoons was completed in July 2008.
In recent years several new land subdivisions have seen increased development within the township, highlighting the need for improved effluent disposal and water supply. A Community Wastewater Management Scheme was implemented in 2009.
Transport
Air services were operated for a number of years by
Emu Airways
Emu Airways was an airline based in Adelaide in Australia operating tourist flights to nearby Kangaroo Island. It was part of the RegionalLink Airlines group which also included Airnorth and Airlines of South Australia (ASA).
Code data
*I ...
, utilising a privately owned airstrip located to the north of the township. Air Transport regulations subsequently rendered the airstrip unsuitable for commercial flights. An accommodation venue at nearby Muston publicises access via an alternative, private air strip.
See also
*
Pelican Lagoon
References
External links
Kangaroo IslandAmerican River*
{{authority control
Towns on Kangaroo Island
Populated places established in 1842
Coastal towns in South Australia
1842 establishments in Australia
Seal hunting
Australian places named after U.S. places or U.S. history