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Guide to Activities and Accommodation on King Island, Tasmania
King Island is 80 kilometres/50 miles north east of Tasmania - a 50 minute flight north west of Wynyard and an hour and twenty minutes from Devonport. Play golf, go fishing or just enjoy the scenery while coming home to a selection of King Island accommodation ranging from beachside cottages, farmhouses or caravan park.
History of King Island
King Island marks the western edge of Bass Strait, 80 kilometres north west of Tasmania and south of Cape Otway, Victoria.
King Island was first sighted in 1797 by Captain William Campbell, and was proclaimed a separate state in 1825. The Island's location, in the path of the Roaring Forty winds, resulted in hundreds of shipwrecks along its coastline during the 19th century.
Local legend has it that straw mattresses from the wrecks contained grass seeds that floated ashore and propagated in the island's rich soil, resulting in a unique variety of grass on which the dairy cows of King Island graze.
Local Produce
King Island Dairy, on King Island in Bass Strait, is one of Australia's most famous and oldest cheese producers being over 100 years old.
King Island Dairy produces high quality, French-style camembert, brie and blue cheeses, along with traditional cheddars, hard cheeses, yoghurt and delectable, thick clotted cream. Multi-award winning cheeses are created here from milk produced by the Island's 25 dairy farms and 7,500 dairy cows.
Activities
Scenic flights depart from the King Island Airport in Currie, where you can also book coach and bus tours around King Island. Boat hire, diving and fishing cruises depart from Grassy.
King Island Golf and Bowling Club is located at Currie, on King Island's west coast.
The Club's nine-hole course-which has been compared to St Andrew's of Scotland-is an authentic coastal links with undulating fairways. This challenging course has fantastic ocean views and is completely open to the elements, with west winds affecting almost every hole.
The two-day King Island Open, held here each November, attracts over 100 golfers from across Australia.
Getting to King Island
There are daily air services for carriage of passengers and freight between Moorabbin Airport in Melbourne and Currie King Island. TASAIR fly to King Island 7 days a week from Devonport and Wynyard with connecting flights to Hobart available.
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