Kingston S.E. - Culture and History

Before the arrival of Europeans this whole area was settled by the Ngarranjeri Aborigines who lived along the Coorong and extended across the Murray River to the present day site of Goolwa.

The first European to make contact with this stretch of coastline (except for the itinerant sealers who drifted along the coast from earliest times) was the French explorer Nicolas Baudin who discovered Lacepede Bay in 1802.

The district was the subject of a much publicised tragedy in 1840 when the Maria was wrecked off the coast. The Maria left Adelaide bound for Hobart on 7 June, 1840. About 28 June it was wrecked off the coast near Lacepede Bay but the crew and passengers managed to get to shore. It appears that the sailors began trying to take advantage of the local Aboriginal women. As a form of reprisal 25 of the 26 survivors were killed. One young girl survived and was looked after by the Ngarranjeri people until eventually handed over to Europeans.

The town of Kingston (it only became Kingston South East to distinguish it from Kingston-on-Murray) was established Archibald and James Cooke took up land near Maria Creek in 1856. The town was named after the government surveyor, George Strickland Kingston, by the Governor of South Australia, Governor McDonnell, in 1858.

The Cooke brothers saw the potential of the area and duly sublet some of their land and built the first jetty. They were largely responsible for the wool stores which were built in the town. It was formally proclaimed a port in 1866 and it was in that year that the town got both a police station and a post office.

Today Kingston South East is a charming coastal town which is an ideal holiday destination for people seeking somewhere which is quiet and peaceful.