Penneshaw, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Penneshaw stands on the Dudley Peninsula at the eastern end of Kangaroo Island, looking across Backstairs Passage about 107 kilometres south of Adelaide. As the island's ferry gateway, it receives the regular SeaLink service from Cape Jervis on the mainland. The settlement was first called Hog Bay, after pigs left there by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin, and was later renamed Penneshaw by joining the names of two colonial figures, Pennefather and Shaw. Its jetty, first built early last century, was extended in 2012 to take cruise-ship tenders. Visitors come for the little penguins that nest along the shore, the 1803 carving at Frenchman's Rock, and the local maritime and folk museum.
Less advantaged than the national average
Penneshaw is more socio-economically advantaged than about 39% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 968, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Is Penneshaw a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Around the national middle
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Penneshaw from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
39/100Less advantaged than the national average
Less advantaged than the national average — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (39/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
71/100More affordable than the national median
Median weekly rent was $215 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 71% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Penneshaw at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 269
- Median age
- 54
- Median weekly household income
- $961
- SEIFA score
- 968
- Local government area
- Kangaroo Island
- Coordinates
- -35.7287, 137.9443
Map of Penneshaw
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Penneshaw
What it costs to live in Penneshaw and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $215
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,400
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 67%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 30%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Penneshaw demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Penneshaw demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Penneshaw using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is seniors (65+) at 35% and 21% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 26 | 10% |
| Youth (15–24) | 16 | 6% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 52 | 20% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 76 | 29% |
| Seniors (65+) | 93 | 35% |
Share of the 263 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 54 | 46% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 24 | 21% |
| Rented | 35 | 30% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 112 | 100% |
| Townhouses & semis | 0 | 0% |
| Flats & apartments | 0 | 0% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 112 occupied private dwellings in Penneshaw.
- Average household size
- 1.9 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,375
- Median weekly personal income
- $701
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 52 (21%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 12 (5%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 5 (2%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 117 (49%)
- Labour-force participation
- 55.5%
- Unemployment rate
- 5.3%
- Employed full-time
- 46
- Employed part-time
- 63
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Share your local knowledge of Penneshaw
Lived here or spent time in Penneshaw? Add a review or a quick tip. Reviews and tips are moderated before they appear.
Common questions about Penneshaw
Is Penneshaw a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Penneshaw rates 50/100 overall (Around the national middle). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Penneshaw?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Penneshaw was $215, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,400. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Penneshaw?
Penneshaw is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Kangaroo Island local government area.
What is the population of Penneshaw?
At the 2021 Census, Penneshaw had a population of about 269.
Is Penneshaw an advantaged area?
Penneshaw has an ABS SEIFA score of 968, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 39 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 39% of Australian suburbs.
Nearby suburbs in South Australia
More suburb guides in South Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.