Friends of Althorpe Islands Conservation Park

The Friends of Althorpe Island Conservation Park are committed to the to the conservation of the natural and cultural heritage of Althorpe Island Conservation Park and will endeavour to build community awareness, support and enjoyment of the park.

Our community group has been involved with a South Australian island Lighthouse station, which after 136 continuous years still guides mariners through Investigator Strait

Althorpe Island has a history that goes back 213 years, when the distinguished navigator Matthew Flinders named the group of islands, the largest (Althorpe Island) being 90 ha in area and 90 meters above sea level. The small community of Light Keepers lived a self-sufficient lifestyle with the introduction of sheep and goats, including the domestic turned feral cat, all having a profound effect on the environment.

The Friends of Althorpe Islands Conservation Park (FoAICP) began in 1996 and have accessed the island (4.5 nautical miles from the mainland) by boat or helicopter. This adventurous group has been very active to the conservation of the natural and cultural heritage of Althorpe Islands Conservation Park.

• Vegetation survey: 43 native and 42 introduced.
• Removal of more than 10,000 African Boxthorn and the invasive weed the Tree Mallow.
• Maintained the Heritage listed cottage and infrastructure buildings including the historic 1879 hand-winch.
• Maintenance of four graves: 1838,(whaler) 1890,(Guano Mining) 1919, (steam driven ship, SA’s 14th worst shipwreck disaster) 1937,fatality of the fishing industry. (All representing social and economic eras.)
• Monitoring both the Australian Sea Lion and New Zealand Fur seals
• Monitor coastal island birds (59 species of birds identified including the 23,000 Shearwaters and the Small Penguin)
• Public information seminars re: maritime heritage and environment of Althorpe Island.
• Created a sustainable infrastructure with alternative energy (wind and solar) to support our ongoing conservation endeavours.