Cape Jervis 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 near the western tip of

Fleurieu Peninsula The Fleurieu Peninsula () is a peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia located south of the state capital of Adelaide. History Before British colonisation of South Australia, the western side of the peninsula was occupied by the ...

on the southern end of the Main South Road approximately south of the state capital of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

. It is named after the

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Joh ...

(also known by its

Aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

name Parewarangk) at the western tip of Fleurieu Peninsula which was named by

Matthew Flinders Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first littoral zone, inshore circumnavigate, circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland ...

after John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent on 23 March 1802. It overlooks the coastline adjoining the following three bodies of water –

Gulf St Vincent Gulf St Vincent, sometimes referred to as St Vincent Gulf, St Vincent's Gulf or Gulf of St Vincent, is the eastern of two large inlets of water on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, the other being the larger Sp ...

, Investigator Strait and Backstairs Passage. It also overlooks the following facilities both located at the headland of Cape Jervis – the Cape Jervis Lighthouse and the port used by Kangaroo Island SeaLink who operates the ferry service to Penneshaw on

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southw ...

. The

2016 Australian census The 2016 Australian census was the 17th national population census held in Australia. The census was officially conducted with effect on Tuesday, 9 August 2016. The total population of the Commonwealth of Australia was counted as – an incr ...

which was conducted in August 2016 reports that Cape Jervis had 264 people living within its boundaries. Cape Jervis is the starting point for the Heysen Trail, a walking track of length which finishes at Parachilna Gorge in the

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhabit ...

. Venues of interest to visitors to the town include the Deep Creek Conservation Park, the

Talisker Conservation Park __NOTOC__ Talisker Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the south-western area of the Fleurieu Peninsula near the town of Cape Jervis and adjacent to Deep Creek Conservation Park. The conser ...

and two nearby beaches – Morgan's Beach (with the remains of the trawler '' Ellen'') and Fisheries Beach (with remains of an old whaling station). Cape Jervis is also notable as a point of embarkment for fishing charters. Cape Jervis is located within the federal division of Mayo, the state electoral district of

Mawson Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader dur ...

and the local government area of the District Council of Yankalilla.

References

{{authority control Coastal towns in South Australia Fleurieu Peninsula J J J Ports and harbours of South Australia