Backstairs Passage

Etymology

Backstairs Passage was named by Matthew Flinders on 7 April 1802 whilst he and his crew on HMS Investigator were exploring and mapping the coastline of South Australia. Flinders noted that this body of water is separate from Investigator Strait and that "it forms a private entrance, as it were, to the two gulphs; and I named it Back-stairs Passage."

History

The coastal processes occurring in Gulf St Vincent and along the southern coastline of Fleurieu Peninsula are complex. Due to the relatively shallow Gulf St Vincent joining the Southern Ocean through the deeper Backstairs Passage, this narrow and dangerous channel is subjected to strong currents, heavy tidal swells and steep breaking seas.

In the early years following European colonisation many of the nearly fifty vessels wrecked in the hazardous waters around Kangaroo Island were lost while crossing Backstairs Passage to and from the mainland. This led to South Australia's first lighthouse, the Sturt Light, being built in 1851 at Cape Willoughby on the eastern tip of Kangaroo Island. In addition to vessels navigating the treacherous crossing to and from the mainland, sailing ships (commonly wooden barques) making use of the Roaring Forties trade winds on voyaging to South Australia could be propelled by the prevailing winds into Backstairs Passage, or as far Bass Strait.

On 6 June 1995, South Australian marathon swimmer Andrew Martin completed the first recorded solo crossing of Backstairs Passage, covering the 14.25 km distance in 4 hours 31 minutes 30 seconds.

Shipwrecks

• San Pareille - brigantine wrecked between Cape Jervis and Lands End on 30 January 1855.
• Vanquish - schooner wrecked near Fishery Beach in early December 1864.
• Thistle - schooner wrecked near Cape Jervis in 1866.
• Hopper Barge No.3 - hopper barge sunk at Lands End on 21 October 1880 during the operation to refloat the stranded SS Sorata.
• Ferret - fishing cutter wrecked at Waitpinga Beach in December 1932.
• Grelka - schooner wrecked near Cape St Alban, Kangaroo Island, on 25 January 1955.
• Galini - crayboat wrecked near the Pages during November 1981.
• Olive Florence - wooden sailing vessel started to leak and foundered in heavy seas, between Cape Jervis and Emu Bay, 30 May 1994.

2005 sea kayaking deaths

On 30 July 2005, two inexperienced sea kayakers drowned in Backstairs Passage.

Protected areas

Protected areas located within and adjoining the strait’s extent include:

• Conservation parks - The Pages at the strait’s east end, Baudin, Lashmar and Cape Willoughby on the Kangaroo Island coast, and Deep Creek and Newland Head on the Fleurieu Peninsula coast.
• Marine parks - Encounter Marine Park

References

Citations

Sources

• Flinders, Matthew (1966) [1814]. *A Voyage to Terra Australis : undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803 in His Majesty's ship the Investigator, and subsequently in the armed vessel Porpoise and Cumberland Schooner; with an account of the shipwreck of the Porpoise, arrival of the Cumberland at Mauritius, and imprisonment of the commander during six years and a half in that island. * (Facsimile ed.). Adelaide; Facsimile reprint of: London : G. and W. Nicol, 1814 ed. In two volumes, with an Atlas (3 volumes): Libraries Board of South Australia. p. 262. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
• Coroneos, Cosmos (1997), Shipwrecks of Encounter Bay and Backstairs Passage, Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology & Australian National Centre of Excellence for Maritime Archaeology.

References

1. DMH, 1985, chart 12
2. BIA, 2005, page 184
3. Flinders (1966) [1814], p. 262
4. "Australia - south coast, Port Adelaide to Backstairs Passage". Published by the Australian Hydrographic Service, 28th May 1958, under the superintendence of Commander A.H. Cooper, R.A.N.
5. "Kangaroo Island Heritage Survey 1991". Government of South Australia.
6. "Bound for South Australia". Government of South Australia.
7. Bye, John A. T. and Carvalho Junior, Oldemar. ''The first recorded successful cross Backstairs Passage swim: research note'' [Andrew Martin's swim is a unique entry in the annals of South Australian exploration.] [online]. '''South Australian Geographical Journal''', Vol. 95, 1996: 70-74.
8. Coroneos (1997), p. 57
9. Coroneos (1997), pp. 75-76
10. (July 2025). "Australian National Shipwreck Database".
11. Coroneos (1997), pp. 80-82
12. Coroneos (1997), pp. 91-92
13. Coroneos (1997), pp. 95-96
14. Coroneos (1997), p. 97
15. (July 2025). "Australian National Shipwreck Database".
16. "Paddling Backstairs Passage".
17. (1983). "Island conservation parks of Backstairs Passage and Encounter Bay management plans". National Parks and Wildlife Service.
18. "Baudin Conservation Park". Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources.
19. "Lashmar Conservation Park". Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources.
20. "Cape Willoughby Conservation Park". Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources.
21. "Deep Creek Conservation Park". Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources.
22. "Newland Head Conservation Park". Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources.
23. "Encounter Marine Park Management plan summary". Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources.