Kingston SE (Kingston South East to distinguish it from Kingston-on-Murray) formerly Kingston 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 in the state's south-east coastline on the shores of

Lacepede Bay Lacepede Bay (french: Baie Lacépède) is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the state's south-east coast about northwest of Mount Gambier and about southeast of Adelaide. It was named in 1802 by the Baudin expedit ...

. It is located about southeast 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 ...

and north-west of the centre of the city of

Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about south-east of the capital Ad ...

. At the 2016

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, Kingston SE had a population of 1,648.

History

Kingston, South Australia was established in the 1800s by Archibald, his brother James Cooke and James' wife Mrs. Mary Macpherson Cooke. Much later a Sir George Strickland Kingston, a South Australian politician, surveyor and architect was chosen, for the co-incidence of his name, to open the Kingston Post Office on 9 February 1869. The extension on its name is to distinguish Kingston in the South East (of South Australia) from another 'Kingston' in the state which is now officially named " Kingston on Murray". The extension was added in July 1940. The present-day town of Kingston SE includes the original Kingston, as well as the towns of Port Caroline and Maria Creek. The town was connected to Naracoorte by a 1,070 mm railway known as the Kingston-Naracoorte railway in 1876, providing a port for the grain and wool grown away from the coast. The rails were converted to

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

1,600 mm with a new station built on the edge of town in 1959. The railway closed on 28 November 1987 then was dismantled on 15 September 1991.

Media

The region was formerly serviced by two newspapers: the ''Kingston Weekly'', the newspaper of The Kingston Traders' Association, was issued between 22 March 1946 and 30 March 1951. Later, the ''South-East Kingston Leader'' was started in Kingston, and was published from 1962 until 21 November 2001 when it was renamed '' Coastal Leader''. It is now owned by

Australian Community Media Australian Community Media (ACM) is a media company in Australia responsible for over 160 regional publications. Its mastheads include the ''Canberra Times'', ''Newcastle Herald'', '' The Examiner'', '' The Border Mail'', '' The Courier'' and ...

Today

The main industries are fishing, wine-making, sheep and cattle farming and recreation, the district having a large influx of tourists during holiday periods throughout the year. The northern entrance to the town is dominated by the

Big Lobster The ''Big Lobster'' is a tourist attraction located in the town of Kingston SE, South Australia. Known locally as ''Larry the Lobster'', the sculpture of a spiny lobster stands 17 metres tall, and is regarded as one of the most impressive of Aust ...

, named "Larry" by people in Kingston. The town has an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

team competing in the

Kowree-Naracoorte-Tatiara Football League The Kowree-Naracoorte-Tatiara Football League is an Australian rules football competition based in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia, Australia. It is an affiliated member of the South Australian National Football League. One unusu ...

. Kingston SE is home to the Cape Jaffa Lighthouse, which was moved to its current location from its former location on Margaret Brock Reef, and now operates as a museum. The museum also houses a lifeboat from

MS Oliva The MS ''Oliva'' was a bulk carrier launched in 2009. On 16 March 2011, due to the risky navigation of trying to achieve the minimal allowed clearance of Nightingale Island of 10 nmi, and due to human error in navigation reducing the actual ...

which washed ashore after two years adrift.

Climate

Kingston SE experiences a

warm-summer mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

( Köppen: ''Csb'', Trewartha: ''Csbl''), with warm, dry summers; mild, relatively dry springs and autumns; and mild winters with moderate precipitation.

References

Coastal towns in South Australia Limestone Coast {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub

History

Media

Today

Climate

See also

References