Australia: The Land Where Time Began

A biography of the Australian continent 

Kangaroo Island                                                                                                                                      Last updated 30/09/2011

Kangaroo Island is 14.5 km from the South Australian coast. During the later part of the latest glacial phase it was connected to the mainland, a low range of hills on the continental shelf. The Murray River flowed for 70 km across the shelf, in a southwesterly direction, from the present mouth. It passed within 10m km of the eastern end of the present island, entering the sea 20 km to the south.

The Karten stone industry was concentrated on Kangaroo Island. Near White Lagoon are remnants of linear dunes, the orientation of which are similar to those of the mainland from this time, indicating that this area was also under the influence of the same aeolian conditions during the glacial period. Remnants of lunettes lie beneath the dunes, indicating that prior to the glacial maximum the lake had an area 6 times larger than the maximum size of the present lake.

Sources & Further reading

1. Flood, Josephine, 2004, Archaeology of the Dreamtime, JB Publications.
2. Tim Allen, in 1998, Archaeology of Aboriginal Australia, Allen & Unwin.

Glacial Maximum in Australia