Rapid Bay

History

Rapid Bay features in the creation myths of the Kaurna and Ramindjeri peoples most notably as the burial site of the nephew of the Kaurna creator ancestor known as Tjilbruke. There is uncertainty as to the Kaurna name for Rapid Bay, which has been cited as Patparno, Patpangga (meaning "south" or "south place"), and Yarta-kulangga, a popular campsite at Rapid Bay, whose name probably means "place of the separate country". However, there is no evidence that any of these names was a place name for Rapid Bay, though the bay is officially dual-named Patpangga. Prior to the establishment of the South Australian colony, whalers based on Kangaroo Island were known to have called at Rapid Bay though it was not so named until 1836. South Australia Colonial Surveyor General Colonel William Light made his first landfall on mainland South Australia at Rapid Bay on 8 September 1836. The site was named after Light's ship, the 162 ton brig Rapid. To mark this historic landfall the Colonel's initials, "W.L.", were carved into a large boulder – a replica is visible in the township, while the original is stored in the South Australian Museum, in Adelaide. John Rapid Hoare (7 November 1836 – perhaps 7 July 1916), also named for the brig Rapid, was the first European child born on mainland South Australia. Claims that he was born at Rapid Bay have been refuted. Rapid Bay was briefly considered by Light as a potential site for the new colony's capital,

Most-observed species

• Superb Fairywren

  Malurus cyaneus (Ellis, 1782) · Aves
  576
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  575
• Glauert's Sea-dragon

  Phycodurus eques (Günther, 1865) · Animalia
  517
• Galah

  Eolophus roseicapilla (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  453
• Crimson Rosella

  Platycercus elegans (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  442
• Silver Gull

  Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826) · Aves
  426
• Black-Striped Morwong

  Pseudogoniistius nigripes (Richardson, 1850) · Animalia
  383
• Little Raven

  Corvus mellori Mathews, 1912 · Aves
  373

Most recent

• M 3 — 2022-03-29
  3 km ESE of Macclesfield, Australia
• M 4 — 2022-03-05
  3 km SW of Mount Barker, Australia
• M 3.3 — 2011-10-18
  3 km ESE of Hawthorndene, Australia
• M 3.8 — 2010-04-16
  2 km N of Macclesfield, Australia
• M 2.8 — 2007-07-08
  26 km SW of Normanville, Australia
• M 2.9 — 2004-11-25
  18 km W of Kingscote, Australia