| LOCATION |
| Map |
Show Map
|
| Address |
Frenchmans Terrace PENNESHAW |
| Locality |
|
| Accuracy |
H - high level confidence |
| Council Area |
Kangaroo Island Council |
| Polygon Type |
B - Building footprint |
| DESCRIPTION |
| Details (Known As) |
Frenchman's Rock Monument, Well & Pine Trees |
| Registered Name |
Frenchmans Rock Monument, Well and Pine Trees |
| Significance |
This is a well documented and romantic site in the exploration history of southern Australia, with a continuing association with the pre-settlement and early settlement history of Kangaroo Island.
Frenchman's Rock (1803) and the engraved sheet of copper left behind at Memory Cove (1802) by Matthew Flinders are by far the two earliest memorials in the State, the next oldest being the monument to Colonel William Light in Light Square and Flinders Monument on Stamford Hill out of Port Lincoln (both 1844). Leaving aside the place names the French bestowed along the coast, the only other tangible memorial of the French explorers is the plaque on the Bluff at Encounter Bay mounted in 1902 for the centenary of their meeting Matthew Flinders.
The site is of significance as one where the French can definitively be said to have been (as opposed to knowing they were in the general vicinity). The fact that the original Rock was removed to protect it from further deterioration does not detract from that significance.
In addition, the domed structure erected in 1906 to protect the Rock is one of the State's earliest attempts (possibly the earliest) to protect an historic artefact in situ. The gradual erosion of the original inscription was noted in the' Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia (SA Branch)' in 1897-98, but it appears that it took the drive of the Penneshaw schoolmistress Mrs Bertha Stow to raise a public subscription for the protective structure, which was supplemented by 100 francs from the French Geographical Society and a State Government subsidy. ('Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia [SA Branch]' vol. 8) [HSA: BJS 9/98] |
| Subject Index |
Miscellaneous - Site of / related to a significant event; Parks, gardens and trees - Tree; Exploration and survey - Landing Site; Monuments and memorials - Monument |
| Class |
State |
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|
| STATUS |
| Status Code |
REG - Confirmed as a State Heritage Place in the SA Heritage Register |
| Status Date |
11-APR-1996 |
| REFERENCE |
| LGA |
Kangaroo Island |
| State Heritage ID |
14651 |
| Heritage Number |
16041 |
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| SECTION 16 INFORMATION |
| Section 16 |
a - it demonstrates important aspects of the evolution or pattern of the State's history
f - it has strong cultural or spiritual associations for the community or a group within it
|
| PLAN PARCEL & TITLE |
| As listed in the SA Heritage Register |
| Plan Parcel & Title Information |
CR 5756/672 T110201 A96 |