Grindal Island facts for kids

This lifeboat, named "City of Adelaide," was seen near Grindal Island around 1950.

Grindal Island is a small island in South Australia. It is also sometimes called Garden Island. This island is about 90 hectares in size. That's like 90 football fields! It is part of a group of islands called the Taylor Islands. You can find Grindal Island near the mouth of Spencer Gulf. It sits between the Jussieu Peninsula and Thistle Island.

Discovering Grindal Island

Grindal Island is located in a beautiful part of Australia. It is surrounded by the waters of Spencer Gulf. This gulf is a large inlet of the ocean. The island's location makes it a home for different kinds of wildlife.

A Glimpse into History

In 1895, a person named G. Dorwald bought Grindal Island. For many years, the island was used for raising sheep. Farmers would let their sheep graze, or eat grass, on the island. This was a common use for islands like Grindal.

The Curious Case of the Rats

Back in the 1890s, a sea captain named R.R. Tapley visited Grindal Island often. He sailed on a ship called the Martindale. Captain Tapley noticed something very interesting about the island. He saw hundreds of Cape Barren geese living there. These are large, grey birds found only in Australia.

But Captain Tapley also saw something else. He saw what looked like "buggy wheel tracks" all over the island. He soon learned these were not tracks from a buggy. They were actually paths made by many, many rats! The island was full of them. He said the rats would run over "everything and everybody at night."

Then, something strange happened. Captain Tapley remembered this in 1936, 40 years later. He said, "The rats suddenly disappeared, and have not been seen since." No one knows exactly why the rats vanished. It remains a mystery of Grindal Island.