Kingston S.E., South Australia

A substantial fishing port on the shores of Lacepede Bay which has become the centre of a prosperous crayfishing industry. As a consequence, it is home to the Big Lobster, one of the original quirky 'big things' which have been erected around Australia.
Location: 297 km south east of Adelaide.
Origin of name: named after the government surveyor, George Strickland Kingston, by the Governor of South Australia, Sir Richard Graves Macdonnell, in 1858. It later became Kingston South East to distinguish it from Kingston-on-Murray.
Brief history: Kingston SE lies in the southern region of an area once occupied by the Ngarrindjeri Aborigines. Frenchman Nicolas Baudin extensively explored the Lacepede Bay area in 1802. A sailing ship, the Maria, bound for Hobart from Adelaide was wrecked near Lacepede Bay in June 1840 but a further 16 years would pass before graziers took up land near Maria Creek. The town was surveyed in 1858. Archibald and James Cooke, the first white settlers, built a jetty and wool stores, which led to the town being formally proclaimed a port in 1866.
Natural features: Southern Ocean; Lacepede Bay; Maria Creek Island; Cape Jaffa; Margaret Brock Reef; Younghusband Peninsula; Coorong National Park; Mount Scott Conservation Park (20 km east); Butcher Gap Conservation Park (6 km south); Long Beach (approximately 100 km long, being the southern end of The Coorong).
Built features: The Big Lobster (18.2 metres high); Engine House; Sundial of Human Involvement and Sculptures (Maria Creek Island); memorial to Queen Ethel, the area's last full blood Aboriginal who died as recently as 1954 (Maria Creek Island); Mt. Benson Wine Region.
Heritage features: 82 Cooke St (1856, privately owned); Vine Cottage, 67 Cooke St (1870, privately owned); National Trust Museum; former Gaol and Police Station (1864); Post Office (1866); Old Court House (1869-70); Jetty (1878); Cape Jaffa lighthouse (1868-1872) formerly 8 km offshore and 19 km south, rebuilt on its present site in 1975-76.