At the western end of Bass Strait, this rugged island is 64 km across at its wildest point, and hase more than 145 km of unspoiled coastline with beautiful beaches and quiet lagoons.
Discovered in 1798, and named after Governor King of New South
Wales, King Island quickly gained a reputation as a home and breeding
ground for seals and sea elephant. Just as quickly, however, these
animals were hunted close to extinction by brutal sealers and
sailors known as the 'Straitsmen'.
Over the years, the stormy seas of Bass Strait have claimed many
ships and there are at least 57 wrecks in the coastal waters around
King Island. The island's worst shipwreck occurred in 1845 when
the Cataraqui, an immigrant ship, went down with 399 people aboard.
King Island is probably best known for its dairy produce (particularly its rich Brie cheese and cream), although kelp and large crayfish are other valuable exports. Its other main industry was the production of scheelite (used in the manufacture of armaments) until the mine and factory at Grassy closed in December 1990.
For the visitor, King Island offers long deserted beaches with
good swimming, and a coastline with exotic marine life and accessible
shipwrecks which is ideal for scuba diving. Because of the treacherous
seas, King Island has four lighthouses and the one at Currie is
open to visitors between 2 and 4 p.m. on weekends. About half
the island is still native bush which harbors a wide variety of
wildlife including Bennetts wallabies, pheasants, platypuses,
echidnas, turkeys, sea eagles and fairy penguins. Near Surprise
Bay, in the south, an amazing calcified forest has the experts
puzzling over whether the formations are of wood, coal or even
kelp roots. There is excellent bushwalking on the island, particularly
on the unpopulated north coast. Cycling is also popular because
of the island's size and relative flatness.
