Quiet, low key service centre in a sheep and cattle area. Located 72 km south of Adelaide and 35 km west of Victor Harbour, Yankalilla is a small, attractive town which nestles into the surrounding hills. It is located on the main road from Adelaide to Cape Jervis, the departure point for one of the main ferries across to Kangaroo Island. A town of considerable historic interest it is one of the more important centres on the Fleurieu Peninsula. No one knows exactly how the town got its name.
Some people think it comes from a local Aboriginal word of unknown meaning.
The argument for this is that the area has such names as Tunkalilla, Yattagolinga and Carrickalinga - all of which would seem to come from the same language. There is no evidence to support this theory. There is also an argument that an American ship named 'Lilly' was wrecked off the coast. It was settled very early in the history of South Australia with the first Europeans arriving as early as 1836. 5,400 acres of land around Yankalilla was surveyed in 1838 and within the next two years sheep and dairy activities were occurring on land along the coast.