Cape Jervis 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 near the western tip of

Fleurieu Peninsula The Fleurieu Peninsula () is a peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia located south of the state capital of Adelaide. History Before British colonisation of South Australia, the western side of the peninsula was occupied by the K ...

on the southern end of the

Main South Road South Road and its southern section as Main South Road outside of Adelaide is a major north–south conduit connecting Adelaide and the Fleurieu Peninsula, in South Australia. It is one of Adelaide's most important arterial and bypass roads. As ...

approximately south of the state capital of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. It is named after the

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...

(also known by its Aboriginal name Parewarangk) at the western tip of Fleurieu Peninsula which was named by

Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...

after

John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent Admiral of the Fleet John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent (9 January 1735 – 13 March 1823) was an admiral in the Royal Navy and Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom. Jervis served throughout the latter half of the 18th century and into ...

on 23 March 1802. It overlooks the coastline adjoining the following three bodies of water –

Gulf St Vincent Gulf St Vincent, sometimes referred to as St Vincent Gulf, St Vincent's Gulf or Gulf of St Vincent, is the eastern of two large inlets of water on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, the other being the larger Sp ...

Investigator Strait Investigator Strait is a body of water in South Australia lying between the Yorke Peninsula, on the Australian mainland, and Kangaroo Island. It was named by Matthew Flinders after his ship, HMS ''Investigator'', on his voyage of 1801–1802. ...

and

Backstairs Passage The Backstairs Passage is a strait in South Australia lying between Fleurieu Peninsula on the Australian mainland and Dudley Peninsula on the eastern end of Kangaroo Island. The western edge of the passage is a line from Cape Jervis on Fleurieu ...

. It also overlooks the following facilities both located at the headland of Cape Jervis – the

Cape Jervis Lighthouse Cape Jervis Lighthouse is a lighthouse located at the headland of Cape Jervis on the most westerly part of the Fleurieu Peninsula on the east coast of Gulf St Vincent in South Australia. History It was first lit on 10 August 1871. In 1972, t ...

and the port used by

Kangaroo Island SeaLink Kangaroo Island SeaLink is a South Australian ferry company and tour operator owned by Kelsian Group, which has plied the crossing from mainland South Australia to Kangaroo Island since 1989. From 1989 to 1994, Kangaroo Island Sealink was own ...

who operates the ferry service to

Penneshaw Penneshaw is a township in the Australian state of South Australia located on the northeast coast of the Dudley Peninsula on Kangaroo Island about south of the state capital of Adelaide. It is the island's main ferry port with regular services ...

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 ...

. The

2016 Australian census The 2016 Australian census was the 17th national population census held in Australia. The census was officially conducted with effect on Tuesday, 9 August 2016. The total population of the Commonwealth of Australia was counted as – an incre ...

which was conducted in August 2016 reports that Cape Jervis had 264 people living within its boundaries. Cape Jervis is the starting point for the

Heysen Trail The Heysen Trail is a long distance walking trail in South Australia. It runs from Parachilna Gorge, in the Flinders Ranges via the Adelaide Hills to Cape Jervis on the Fleurieu Peninsula and is approximately in length. Route summary From no ...

, a walking track of length which finishes at

Parachilna Gorge The Parachilna Gorge is a gorge on the western side of the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. It is located about east of the town of Parachilna. Parachilna Creek flows through the gorge. Parachilna Gorge Road runs from Parachilna on the plain ...

in the

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhabi ...

. Venues of interest to visitors to the town include the

Deep Creek Conservation Park __NOTOC__ Deep Creek National Park, formerly the Deep Creek Conservation Park, is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the southern coast of Fleurieu Peninsula in the gazetted localities of Deep Creek and Del ...

, the

Talisker Conservation Park __NOTOC__ Talisker Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south-western area of the Fleurieu Peninsula near the town of Cape Jervis and adjacent to Deep Creek Conservation Park. The conser ...

and two nearby beaches – Morgan's Beach (with the remains of the trawler ''

Ellen Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena and Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004. People named Ellen include: * Ellen Adarna (born 1988), Filipino actress * Elle ...

'') and Fisheries Beach (with remains of an old whaling station). Cape Jervis is also notable as a point of

embarkment Embarkment (sometimes embarcation or embarkation) is the process of loading a passenger ship or an airplane with passengers or military personnel, related to and overlapping with individual boarding (transport), boarding on aircraft and ships. B ...

for fishing charters. Cape Jervis is located within the federal

division of Mayo The Division of Mayo is an Australian electoral division located to the east and south of Adelaide, South Australia. Created in the state redistribution of 3 September 1984, the division is named after Helen Mayo, a social activist and the fir ...

, the state electoral district of

Mawson Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader durin ...

and the local government area of the

District Council of Yankalilla The District Council of Yankalilla is a local government area centred on the town of Yankalilla on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia. It was created on 23 October 1856, when the District Council of Yankalilla and Myponga was divided i ...

References

{{authority control Coastal towns in South Australia Fleurieu Peninsula J J J Ports and harbours of South Australia