Kingston SE

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title: "Kingston SE" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["coastal-towns-in-south-australia", "limestone-coast"] topic_path: "geography/australia" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_SE" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox Australian place"]

Field	Value
type	town
name	Kingston SE
state	sa
image	Kingston SE lobster.JPG
caption	Lobster sculpture located at the entrance to the town
postcode	5275
pop
established	1861 (town)
3 December 1998 (locality)
established_footnotes
coordinates
coord_ref
maxtemp	19.3
maxtemp_footnotes	{{cite web
url	http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_026082_All.shtml
title	Struan Climate Statistics (1974-1999)
publisher	Bureau of Meteorology
access-date	August 16, 2024}}
mintemp	10.4
mintemp_footnotes
rainfall	494.1
rainfall_footnotes
lga	Kingston District Council
stategov	MacKillop
fedgov	Barker
dist1	240
dir1	SE
location1	Adelaide city centre
dist2	138
dir2	NW
location2	Mount Gambier
timezone	ACST
utc	+9:30
timezone-dst	ACDT
utc-dst	+10:30
near-n	West Range
near-ne	Blackford
near-e	Blackford
Reedy Creek
near-se	Reedy Creek
near-s	Wyomi
Sandy Grove
Wangolina
Reedy Creek
near-sw	Lacepede Bay
near-w	Lacepede Bay
Rosetown
Lacepede Bay
near-nw	Lacepede Bay
footnotes	Locations
Adjoining Localities
::

| established = 1861 (town) 3 December 1998 (locality) | established_footnotes =

| elevation = | coordinates = | coord_ref = | maxtemp = 19.3 | maxtemp_footnotes = {{cite web |url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_026082_All.shtml |title = Struan Climate Statistics (1974-1999) |publisher = Bureau of Meteorology |access-date = August 16, 2024}} | mintemp = 10.4 | mintemp_footnotes = | rainfall = 494.1 | rainfall_footnotes = | lga = Kingston District Council | stategov = MacKillop | fedgov = Barker | dist1 = 240 | dir1 = SE | location1 = Adelaide city centre | dist2 = 138 | dir2 = NW | location2 = Mount Gambier | timezone = ACST | utc = +9:30 | timezone-dst= ACDT | utc-dst = +10:30 | near-n = West Range | near-ne = Blackford | near-e = Blackford Reedy Creek | near-se =Reedy Creek | near-s = Wyomi Sandy Grove Wangolina Reedy Creek | near-sw = Lacepede Bay | near-w = Lacepede Bay Rosetown Lacepede Bay | near-nw = Lacepede Bay |footnotes=Locations Adjoining Localities

Kingston SE (Kingston South East to distinguish it from Kingston on Murray), formerly Kingston, is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located in the state's south-east coastline on the shores of Lacepede Bay. It is located about 240 km southeast of the state capital of Adelaide and 138 km north-west of the centre of the city of Mount Gambier.

At the 2021 census, Kingston SE had a population of 1,637.

History

Aboriginal Australian people lived in the area for tens of thousands of years before the colonisation of South Australia. The place, known to the Tanganekald and Meintangk peoples as Tangalun, was at the border of the traditional lands of these two peoples.

Kingston, South Australia was established in the 1800s by Archibald Cooke, his brother James Cooke, and James' wife Mary Macpherson Cooke, and named Kingston in 1851.

Much later a Sir George Strickland Kingston, a South Australian politician, surveyor and architect was chosen, for the coincidence of his name, to open the Kingston Post Office on 9 February 1869. The extension on its name is to distinguish Kingston in the South East (of South Australia) from another "Kingston" in the state which is now officially named "Kingston on Murray". The extension was added in July 1940.

The present-day town of Kingston SE includes the original Kingston, as well as the towns of Port Caroline and Maria Creek. The latter was so named after the Maria, which wrecked near Kingston in 1840. The 26 survivors were massacred by local Aboriginal people, after which a punitive expedition under Major O'Halloran hanged two Aboriginal people, and an unknown number of others were also killed, according to Aboriginal oral history.

The town was connected to Naracoorte by a 1,067 mm railway known as the Kingston-Naracoorte railway in 1876, providing a port for the grain and wool grown away from the coast. The rails were converted to broad gauge 1,600 mm with a new station built on the edge of town in 1959. The railway closed on 28 November 1987 then was dismantled on 15 September 1991.

Media

The region was formerly serviced by two newspapers: the Kingston Weekly, the newspaper of The Kingston Traders' Association, was issued between 22 March 1946 and 30 March 1951. Later, the South-East Kingston Leader was started in Kingston, and was published from 1962 until 21 November 2001 when it was renamed Coastal Leader. It is now owned by Australian Community Media.

Today

At the 2021 census, Kingston SE had a population of 1,637.

The main industries are fishing, wine-making, sheep and cattle farming and recreation, the district having a large influx of tourists during holiday periods throughout the year.

The northern entrance to the town is dominated by the Big Lobster, named "Larry" by people in Kingston.

The town has an Australian rules football team competing in the Kowree-Naracoorte-Tatiara Football League.

Kingston SE is home to the Cape Jaffa Lighthouse, which was moved to its current location from its former location on Margaret Brock Reef, and now operates as a museum. The museum also houses a lifeboat from MS Oliva which washed ashore after two years adrift.

Climate

Kingston SE has a warm-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb), with warm, dry summers and mild, drizzly winters. Average maxima vary from 24.8 C in January to 14.1 C in July and average minima fluctuate between 13.8 C in January and 7.7 C in July. Mean average annual precipitation is somewhat low: 494.1 mm, spread between 156.1 precipitation days. Extreme temperatures have ranged from 41.8 C on 24 January 2021 to -0.7 C on 15 June 2011.{{cite web |url = https://www.farmonlineweather.com.au/climate/station.jsp?lt=site&lc=26095 |title = Cape Jaffa (The Limestone) Climate (1991-2024) |website = FarmOnline Weather |access-date = August 17, 2024}} Climate data was taken from the nearest weather station at Cape Jaffa.

References

"Postcode for Kingston SE, South Australia". postcodes-australia.com.
(3 December 1998). "GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES ACT 1991 Notice to Assign Boundaries and Names to Places (in the District Council of Lacepede)". Government of South Australia.
"Search result for "Kingston SE(Locality Bounded)" (Record no SASA0036846) with the following layers selected – "Suburbs and Localities", "Place names (gazetteer)" and "Development Plan Layers"". Government of South Australia.
"District of MacKillop Background Profile". Electoral Commission SA.
"Federal electoral division of Barker". Australian Electoral Commission.
Watson, Irene. (2019). "Colonial Logic and the Coorong Massacres". Adelaide Law Review 167.
Premier Postal History. "Post Office List".
(1 August 1940). "New town names approved". [[The Chronicle (Adelaide).
"Kingston SE". Placenames of South Australia.
''Diesel Days on the Kingston S.E. Goods'' Milne, Rod [[Australian Railway History. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin]], October, 1997 pp356-364
{{Census 2016 AUS
"Larry Lobster, Kingston southeast, South Australia". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Full Points Footy. "Kowree-Naracoorte-Tatiara".

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