Cape Gantheaume is a headland located on the south coast of

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 ...

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 ...

. It was named after Vice admiral

Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume Count Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume (13 April 1755 in La CiotatLevot, p.206 – 28 July 1818 in AubagneLevot, p.208) was a French Navy officer and Vice-admiral. Ganteaume started sailing on Indiamen, before serving during the American War of ...

(1755–1818) by the

Baudin expedition to Australia The Baudin expedition of 1800 to 1803 was a French expedition to map the coast of New Holland (now Australia). Nicolas Baudin was selected as leader in October 1800. The expedition started with two ships, '' Géographe'', captained by Baudin, an ...

during 1803. It is currently located within the

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

known as the

Cape Gantheaume Wilderness Protection Area Cape Gantheaume Wilderness Protection Area is a protected area located on the south coast of Kangaroo Island in South Australia about south west of Kingscote. It was established in 1993 on land previously part of the Cape Gantheaume Conserva ...

Description

Cape Gantheaume is the most southerly point on the south coast of Kangaroo Island. It is the termination for a pair of

cliffed coast A cliffed coast, also called an abrasion coast, is a form of coast where the action of marine waves has formed steep cliffs that may or may not be precipitous. It contrasts with a flat or alluvial coast. Formation In coastal areas in whic ...

lines – one extending from Vivonne Bay in the north west and the other extending from

D'Estrees Bay D'Estrees Bay (french: Baie D'Estrees) is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the southern coast of Kangaroo Island about south of Kingscote, the Island's principal centre. D’Estrees Bay was named in 1803 by Peron a ...

in the north east. Its cliff top is above sea level. When viewed from the south on a platform such as a ship, the cape is reported as being 'steep on its W(est) side and sloping on its E(ast) side.'

Formation, geology & oceanography

Cape Gantheaume was formed when the sea reached its present level 7,500 years ago after sea levels started to rise at the start of the

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togethe ...

. The cliff line which includes Cape Gantheaume consists of a metamorphic rock belonging to the

Kanmantoo group The Kanmantoo group is a label for the kind of rocks found predominantly along the eastern side of the southern Mount Lofty Ranges, including Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island. Examples of where they are visible at the surface include several ...

bedrock called Middleton Sandstone. The cliff at Cape Gantheaume is described as having 'spectacular re-entrants' due to the 'differential weathering of near vertical basic dykes.' The water adjoining Cape Gantheaume drops to a depth of within of the coastline. In addition to

wave-cut platform A wave-cut platform, shore platform, coastal bench, or wave-cut cliff is the narrow flat area often found at the base of a sea cliff or along the shoreline of a lake, bay, or sea that was created by erosion. Wave-cut platforms are often most obv ...

s along its west and east sides, a reef extends about in a west south-west direction from the cape.

Flora and fauna

Flora

A coastal

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

occupies the cliff top from Cape Gantheaume eastward to D'Estrees Bay for a distance from to inland from the cliff edge. The heath has a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

of 70 to 80% with exception of the immediate cliff edge and grows on soils varying from shallow sand to sheet limestone where plants will form mats over the bare rock surface. The heath does not exceed in height with the exception of hollows sheltered from the prevailing weather. As of 1977, the main species found in the heath were ''

Acaena anserinifolia ''Acaena'' is a genus of about 60 species of mainly evergreen, creeping herbaceous perennial plants and subshrubs in the family Rosaceae, native mainly to the Southern Hemisphere, notably New Zealand, Australia and South America, but with a ...

'', '' Acrotriche patula'', '' Bitter bush'', '' Goodenia varia'', '' Phyllota pleurandroides'', '' Lasiopetalum discolour'', ''Lasiopetalum schultzenii'', '' Logania crassifolia'' and ''

Muehlenbeckia adpressa ''Muehlenbeckia adpressa'', commonly known as climbing lignum, is a prostrate or climbing plant, native to Australia. It has thin red-brown stems up to in length. The leaves are long and wide. It occurs in coastal areas of Western Australia, ...

''.

Fauna

Cape Gantheaume and the coast immediately to its east is notable as a haul out area and breeding colony for

New Zealand fur seal ''Arctocephalus forsteri'' (common names include the Australasian fur seal, South Australian fur seal, New Zealand fur seal, Antipodean fur seal, or long-nosed fur seal) is a species of fur seal found mainly around southern Australia and New Z ...

s. A colony of Little penguins once existed at Cape Gantheaume, but is now extinct.

History

Aboriginal use

As of 1999, the literature had not cited any archaeological discoveries specific to Aboriginal use of land in the immediate vicinity of Cape Gantheaume.

European use

Cape Gantheaume was discovered and named after Vice Admiral Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume (1755–1818) by the Baudin expedition to Australia during 1803. In 1954, Cape Gantheaume became the eastern end of a closed area proclaimed under the ''Animals and Birds Protection Act 1946'' extending from

Nobby Islet Nobby Islet (also known as Knobby Island and Nobby Island) is an islet located in the Great Australian Bight off the south coast of Kangaroo Island in the Australian state of South Australia approximately south-west of Kingscote. It is curren ...

in the west for the purpose of protecting

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

s. Cape Gantheaume was part of the parcel of land which was initially dedicated in 1971 as the

Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park, formerly the Cape Gantheaume National Park, is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south coast of Kangaroo Island. Attractions include Murray Lagoon and D'Estrees Bay. It ...

and which was re-dedicated again in 1972 following the enactment of the ''

National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 Protected areas of South Australia consists of protected areas located within South Australia and its immediate onshore waters and which are managed by South Australian Government agencies. As of March 2018, South Australia contains 359 sepa ...

''. In 1993, a large portion of the conservation park including Cape Gantheaume was excised to create a new protected area called the Cape Gantheaume Wilderness Protection Area.

Economic activity

As of 2014, the sole economic use of the land at Cape Gantheaume is the use of an unmarked trekking trail for which a fee is charged. The trail extends along the coast from near D'Estrees Bay within the Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park in the east to Bales Bay within the

Seal Bay Conservation Park Seal Bay Conservation Park is a protected area located on the south coast of Kangaroo Island in the Australian state of South Australia. It is the home of the third largest Australian sea lion colony in Australia. It is one of the most pop ...

in the west.

Protected area status

Cape Gantheaume is currently located within the protected area known as the Cape Gantheaume Wilderness Protection Area. As of 2012, the waters surrounding its shores are part of a habitat protection zone located within the boundaries of the

Southern Kangaroo Island Marine Park __NOTOC__ Southern Kangaroo Island Marine Park (formerly Southern Kangaroo Island Commonwealth Marine Reserve) is a marine protected area located south of South Australia in waters within the Australian Exclusive economic zone to the south of ...

References

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