Guide to Parndana South Australia Australia

Parndana is the only town in the middle of Kangaroo Island, a small farming centre on the Playford Highway about 40 km west of Kingscote. About 150 people live in the town, which serves the sheep, cattle and cropping country that surrounds it.

Known For

• Soldier settlement history
• A central base with fuel and supplies
• Crossroads for the north and south coasts

It is the youngest town on the island, founded in 1951 for the families of returned servicemen who cleared the scrub of the central plateau after the Second World War. For travellers it is a useful stop on the way west: the last sure fuel, a pub, a store and a dump point before the long empty roads to Flinders Chase and Cape Borda.

Things To Do in Parndana

Soldier Settlement Museum

In the RSL hall, this volunteer-run museum tells how about 170 families turned mallee scrub into farms from 1948, living at first in huts from a wartime camp. It opens on several days a week, usually from mid-morning to early afternoon.

Red Gum Gallery

A local craftsman makes furniture and sculpture from salvaged river red gum at a workshop outside the town; phone ahead.

Parndana Conservation Park

A few minutes from town, a block of the original stringybark and mallee shows what the plateau looked like before it was cleared. There are no facilities.

North and South

Sealed roads lead north to Stokes Bay, named the best beach in Australia in 2023, and south to Seal Bay and Vivonne Bay. The wildlife park that was once at Parndana has moved to the South Coast Road near Seal Bay.

Parndana Show

The island’s agricultural show is held at the oval each November.

Where To Stay

The Parndana Hotel, a community-owned pub, has self-contained cabins, and there are farm stays in the district.

There is no caravan park in town. The nearest campgrounds are the council ones at Stokes Bay and Vivonne Bay and the Western Kangaroo Island Caravan Park on the South Coast Road. A public dump point is in the Jubilee Avenue car park.

Eat & Drink

The hotel serves meals every day, and the deli in Cook Street does takeaway and coffee and sells fuel. Shops keep short hours, so do not arrive late expecting dinner or petrol.

History

Returned soldiers and their families began arriving in 1948, and the town was proclaimed in July 1951. By 1954 the scheme had almost doubled the island’s population. In January 2020 the town was evacuated as bushfires burnt across the western half of the island; the fire stopped short of the houses.

Getting to Parndana

From Kingscote, follow the sealed Playford Highway west for about 30 minutes. From the ferry at Penneshaw allow an hour and a quarter.