Cape Gantheaume is a headland located on the south coast of

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. It was named after

Vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume (1755–1818) by the

Baudin expedition to Australia The Baudin expedition of 1800 to 1803 was a French expedition to map the coast of New Holland (now Australia). Nicolas Baudin was selected as leader in October 1800. The expedition started with two ships, '' Géographe'', captained by Baudin, a ...

during 1803. It is currently located within the

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

known as the Cape Gantheaume Wilderness Protection Area.

Description

Cape Gantheaume is the most southerly point on the south coast of Kangaroo Island. It is the termination for a pair of

cliffed coast A cliffed coast, also called an abrasion coast, is a form of coast where the action of marine waves has formed steep cliffs that may or may not be precipitous. It contrasts with a Flat coast, flat or alluvial coast. Formation In coastal ar ...

lines – one extending from Vivonne Bay in the north west and the other extending from D'Estrees Bay in the north east. Its cliff top is above sea level. When viewed from the south on a platform such as a ship, the cape is reported as being 'steep on its W(est) side and sloping on its E(ast) side.'

Formation, geology & oceanography

Cape Gantheaume was formed when the sea reached its present level 7,500 years ago after sea levels started to rise at the start of the

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

. The cliff line which includes Cape Gantheaume consists of a metamorphic rock belonging to the

Kanmantoo group The Kanmantoo group is a label for the kind of rocks found predominantly along the eastern side of the southern Mount Lofty Ranges, including Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island. Examples of where they are visible at the surface include severa ...

bedrock called Middleton Sandstone. The cliff at Cape Gantheaume is described as having 'spectacular re-entrants' due to the 'differential weathering of near vertical basic dykes.' The water adjoining Cape Gantheaume drops to a depth of within of the coastline. In addition to wave-cut platforms along its west and east sides, a reef extends about in a west south-west direction from the cape.

Flora and fauna

Flora

A coastal

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

occupies the cliff top from Cape Gantheaume eastward to D'Estrees Bay for a distance from to inland from the cliff edge. The heath has a cover of 70 to 80% with exception of the immediate cliff edge and grows on soils varying from shallow sand to sheet limestone where plants will form mats over the bare rock surface. The heath does not exceed in height with the exception of hollows sheltered from the prevailing weather. As of 1977, the main species found in the heath were ''

Acaena anserinifolia ''Acaena anserinifolia'', the bidibidi, hutiwai, or piripiri, is a species of plant, endemic to New Zealand. It has been introduced to the UK and Ireland. Bidibidi can be used to make a tea, used by both Māori and Pākehā settlers in New ...

'', '' Acrotriche patula'', '' Bitter bush'', '' Goodenia varia'', '' Phyllota pleurandroides'', '' Lasiopetalum discolour'', ''Lasiopetalum schultzenii'', '' Logania crassifolia'' and ''

Muehlenbeckia adpressa ''Muehlenbeckia adpressa'', commonly known as climbing lignum, is a prostrate or climbing plant, native to Australia. It has thin red-brown stems up to in length. The leaves are long and wide. It occurs in coastal areas of Western Australia, ...

''.

Fauna

Cape Gantheaume and the coast immediately to its east is notable as a

haul out Hauling out is a behaviour associated with pinnipeds ( true seals, sea lions, fur seals and walruses) temporarily leaving the water. Hauling-out typically occurs between periods of foraging activity. Rather than remain in the water, pinniped ...

area and breeding colony for

New Zealand fur seal ''Arctocephalus forsteri'' (common names include the Australasian fur seal, South Australian fur seal, New Zealand fur seal, Antipodean fur seal, or long-nosed fur seal) is a species of fur seal found mainly around southern Australia and New Z ...

s. A colony of Little penguins once existed at Cape Gantheaume, but is now extinct.

History

Aboriginal use

As of 1999, the literature had not cited any archaeological discoveries specific to Aboriginal use of land in the immediate vicinity of Cape Gantheaume.

European use

Cape Gantheaume was discovered and named after Vice Admiral Honoré Joseph Antoine Ganteaume (1755–1818) by the Baudin expedition to Australia during 1803. In 1954, Cape Gantheaume became the eastern end of a closed area proclaimed under the ''Animals and Birds Protection Act 1946'' extending from Nobby Islet in the west for the purpose of protecting

sea lion Sea lions are pinnipeds characterized by external ear flaps, long foreflippers, the ability to walk on all fours, short and thick hair, and a big chest and belly. Together with the fur seals, they make up the family Otariidae, eared seals. ...

s. Cape Gantheaume was part of the parcel of land which was initially dedicated in 1971 as the Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park and which was re-dedicated again in 1972 following the enactment of the '' National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972''. In 1993, a large portion of the conservation park including Cape Gantheaume was excised to create a new protected area called the Cape Gantheaume Wilderness Protection Area.

Economic activity

As of 2014, the sole economic use of the land at Cape Gantheaume is the use of an unmarked trekking trail for which a fee is charged. The trail extends along the coast from near D'Estrees Bay within the Cape Gantheaume Conservation Park in the east to Bales Bay within the Seal Bay Conservation Park in the west.

Protected area status

Cape Gantheaume is currently located within the protected area known as the Cape Gantheaume Wilderness Protection Area. As of 2012, the waters surrounding its shores are part of a habitat protection zone located within the boundaries of the Southern Kangaroo Island Marine Park.

References

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