Observer (Adelaide, SA : 1905 - 1931), Saturday 25 April 1908, page 45

"SOUTH AUSTRALIA'S SANITORIUM."

A FINE INHERITANCE.

[XlV.—By our Special Reporter.]

Al last, after long years of waiting, the recognition which it has deserved as an ideal pleasure and health resort is being vouch safed to Kangaroo Island. Victor Harbour, Port Elliot, and other seaside places which attract thousands of visitors each year, have many excellent features, and justly merit the high position which they occupy in the eyes of holiday excursionists and invalids bent on recuperative rest; but in "The Sanatorium of South Australia"—the comprehensive title which has been aptly applied to the island—they have a rival which promises soon to completely outstrip them in the race for popularity. At present the most formidable obstacle in the way of its advancement is the lack of transportation facilities. These have been vastly improved within the last deade, but still they are far from perfect and up to date.

For example, the ordinary means by which residents of the metropolis may reach the island, are by steamboat twice a week. The Karatta leaves Port Adelaide at 8.30 a.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays, calls at Glenelg when the weather is favourable, arrives at Hog Bay shortly before 5 p.m., and lands the passengers at Kingscole about an hour and a half later. The vessel departs from Kingscote at 10 a.m. on Thursdays and Mondays, and (if the elements should again be propitious) warps alongside Hog Bay Jetty at 11.30 a.m., and reaches Port Adelaide somewhere in the vicinity of 6.30 p.m., having called at, or missed Glenelg, according to the state of the weather. The return fare from Port Adelaide to Kingscote is 17/6, and does not include luncheon or tea on board. These cost 1/6 apiece. The Karatta is well-fitted up and a distinct improvement upon the old class of coastal steamers which have done service in South Australian waters for years but a still faster vessel would tend materially to increase the passenger traffic between the mainland and the island, and ought to prove a greater financial success from the point of view of the company. Scores of business men and others would gladly avail themselves of opportunities to spend weekends at Hog Bay or Kingscote, particularly during the summer months. Owing to the time occupied in travelling to and fro under the existing conditions, however, they cannot well leave the metropolis, and will no doubt have to be content to spend their leisure hours in the hills or at one of the various adjacent seaside towns until arrangements shall be made (as they inevitably must be) for the departure of a fast steamer from Glenelg at say 1 p.m. on Saturdays, and its return at 10 or 11 a.m. on Mondays.

—Charming Pictures.—

The climate of Kangaroo Island is glorious—a circumstance eloquently demonstrated by the immunity from ordinary ailments enjoyed by the residents. It is sudden death to most microbes, and makes life worth living in the truest and fullest sense ot the word. The balmy air, especially along the coast and on the highest altitudes penetrates to the inmost recesses ot one's lungs, which expand gratefully, and never seem capable of containing sufficient of it. The brain-fagged city man cannot desire anything more pleasant than to spend a fortnight or three weeks on the island. It braces up his whole system in it magical manner, and renders him fit to perform what had previously appeared to be impossible tasks. A hundred and one avenues are open for him to derive physical and mental nourishment and obtain beneficial recreation. If he be an admirer of all that is beautiful and wonderful in Nature, he can find no end of objects worthy of attention. A few miles from Cape Borda are some grand and weird caves, adorned with lovely stalactites and stalagmites, and in one of which is suspended from the roof an enormous formation like a coronation chair. Along the south coast, and further inland also, there is splendid scenery, and an infinite variety of flora and fauna. In close proximity to the north coast are dozens of historic features, full of interest to all who appreciate the rise and marvellous advance of the State since Capt. Flinders landed on Kangaroo Island over a century ago. The sun rises, as seen from the neighbourhood of Kings cote, are often indescribably lovely.

A rose.

Vast as the heavens, soft as a kiss,

Sweet as the presence of woman is.

Rises and reaches, and widens and grows,

Large and luminous up from the sea

And out of the sea as a blossoming tree,

Another unpaintable prospect is presented as the sun goes down, and the west is broken into bars of orange gold and grey.

little later - and the darkness

lulls, from the wings of Night,

As a feather is wafted downward

From the eagle in his flight.

Then when the evening shades prevail

The moon in all her pride,

Like a spirit glorified,

Fills and overflows the night,

With revelations of her light.

But the finest of all the effects is observed during the sinking of "the great white lady."

Frail, faint as the white dawnshine,

Is the trail on the brine where the moon slips over,|

Stipples the ripples that trawl to and fro,

Till they thrill with an ebb and a flow of her own,

in the thrall quick and quicker,

And fleet with a will and a pride,

Thick and thicker, smiling aside.

The vain stress and emotion of waves

The light sprinkles but less

That come pleading to be

Interceding to see,

Where the moon wrinkles mid ocean.

Then the dull shroud and the moon is foundered quite

In the still and driving blackness of the night.

—Pleasure and Sport.—

Visitors fond of driving, riding, boating, fishing, and shooting need only express the wish for either to have it immediately gratified. Delightful excursions can be made in all directions with the most satisfactory results. The views from the Wisanger, Cygnet, Smith's Bay, American River, and Cape Willoughby roads include some of the prettiest in the State, and afford photographers superb opportunities for the display of their skill. American River is an ideal locality for picnicking. Fish of nearly all kinds—king schnapper, schnapper, whiting, garfish, mullet, snook, salmon, barracouta, flatheads, flounders and tommy ruffs abound in the waters along the north coast; some of the rivers arc stocked with first-rate bream; and crayfish on the south coast provides good sport and bait for other fish. That the finny tribes do not onlv furnish amusement for strict disciples of Isaak Walton is illustrated by the fact that between 30 and 40 cutters are engaged in the fishing trade, for which their owners derive considerable revenue. Close conditions are enforced during the spawning season—December, January, and February - and net fishing is absolutely prohibited in the Bay of Shoals. American River, and Cygnet River. As in other parts of the world, the edible fish have numerous enemies, including slugs and sharks. The latter continually prowl about American Beach and the entrance to the river, where several immense specimens have been hooked. The Spit, which extends from the middle of the Bay of Shoals to opposite to Kingscote, is a favourite resting-place for waterfowl, and is much frequented by picnic parties. Shell-gathering can be engaed in to one's heart's content on practically any of the beaches; but Antechamber Bay is generally regarded as the conchologist's paradise.

Admirable accommodation may be secured by visitors at either Kingscote or Hog Bay. In addition to the hotels—the Ozone and the Queenscliffe—there are at the former a coffee palace and a number of boarding houses, all of which are conducted in an eminently pleasing and homelike style. Mr. F. H. Winch, the genial proprietor of The Ozone, recently bought from Mr. H. Dutton, of Anlaby, a capital petrol launch, which formed part of the equipment of the steam yacht Adele. In this he often conveys guests to American River and other spots of interest, and spares no effort to indicate the manifold advantages which the island possesses over most seaside resorts. Similarly Mr. Anderson, son of the proprietress of The Queenscliffe, entertains visitors on his neat yacht. Land travellers are well catered for bv Messrs. Strawbridgc & Co. and Messrs. Campbell & Ayliffe, whose stables house sturdy horses thoroughly suited for the strenuous work required of them. Equally satisfactory provision for visitors maintains at Hog Bay, where there are two or three large boarding establishments and the Penneshaw Hotel, a commodious structure in the capable hands of Mr. O. E. Bennett.

"SOUTH AUSTRALIA'S SANITORIUM." (1908, April 25). Observer (Adelaide, SA : 1905 - 1931), p. 45. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article164106503

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