www.theislanderonline.com.au The Islander, Thursday, November 27, 2014 Page 11

Special feature

❒ 1989: Philanderer ferry operation pur-chased from the March family by Malaysiancompany Mbf and renamed Kangaroo IslandSeaLink❒ 1991: Purchased second ferry, the Is-land Navigator to operate fuel and freightservices to/from KI❒ 1996: A group of South Australian in-vestors and staff members purchasedSeaLink from Mbf, returning it to local owner-ship❒ 1998: Launched luxury passenger andvehicle ferry Sealion 2000 built at a cost of$9.1million❒ 2000: Adelaide Sightseeing Day Toursand City Centre Travel purchased❒ 2003: Australian Holiday Travel Centre inMelbourne and Sydney acquired❒ 2004: Launched second luxury passen-ger and vehicle ferry Spirit of KI built at acost of $14.3 million❒ 2004: Auckland, New Zealand basedSubritzky Ferries purchased❒ 2004: The Ski Connection ski packagingand express coach transport company ac-quired❒ 2005: Purchased Vivonne Bay OutdoorEducation Centre, renamed Vivonne BayLodge❒ 2005: $2.4 million invested into buildingCape Jervis Ferry Terminal

❒ 2006: Kangaroo Island Adventure Tourstouring business purchased❒ 2006: Opened CJ’s by the Sea cafe inthe Cape Jervis ferry terminal❒ 2006: Launched ‘FreightLink’ NZ brand❒ 2007: Kangaroo Island Booking Centreretail specialist agency purchased❒ 2007: SeaLink selected as Facility Man-ager for the new Adelaide Central Bus Sta-tion❒ 2007: SkyLink Adelaide Airport ShuttleService and fleet of coaches purchased❒ 2007: Phase One of $1.2 millionVivonne Bay Eco Adventures redevelopment -built bistro and function centre❒ 2008: Big B Cartage Limited - NZ freight

and trucking company, majority shareholderpurchased❒ 2009: Premier Day Tour business pur-chased❒ 2010: Construction of $1.2 million busoperations and maintenance facility in Pen-neshaw❒ 2010: Phase Two of Vivonne Bay Lodgeredevelopment completed - accommodation,common room, dining, bar and deck❒ 2010: Kangaroo Island Odyssey 4x4touring business purchased❒ 2011: Sunferries Townsville to Magneticand Palm Island purchased - rebrandedSeaLink Queensland❒ 2011: Captain Cook Cruises and MatildaCruises, Sydney Harbour and Murray RiverCruises purchased❒ 2011: Sold SeaLink New Zealand includ-ing the sale of majority shareholding in Big BCartage Limited❒ 2011: SkyLink Adelaide Airport ShuttleService sold❒ 2013: Over $3 million invested in pas-senger ferries Sealion 2000 and Spirit of KI❒ 2013: SeaLink Travel Group listed on theASX❒ 2013: Commenced ferry operations inDarwin to Tiwi Islands and Mandorah underSeaLink Northern Territory brand

❒ 2013 - 2014: Construction and launchof four new vessels, Elizabeth Cook, MaryReibey, Annabelle Rankin and VioletMcKenzie for Captain Cook Cruises, SydneyHarbour❒ 2013: Purchased new passenger ferryJames Grant for SeaLink Northern Territory❒ 2013: Purchased ‘Freedom Sovereign’ferry ($3.1m) (vessel name changed to ‘TiwiMantari’)❒ 2014: $3.5 million invested into buildingnew Penneshaw Ferry Terminal❒ 2009-2014: $4 million invested on newtouring coaches and vehicles❒ 2014: SeaLink Queensland signed 5year contract to provide ferry services toMagnetic Island❒ 2014: SeaLink Queensland signed 5year contract to provide ferry services toPalm Island, Queensland❒ 2014: Signed contract with the NorthernTerritory Government to provide ferry serv-ices to Tiwi Islands❒ 2014: Refurbishment of John Cadman 2completed ($1.7m)❒ 2014: Captain Cook Cruises signed con-tract to ferry passengers to the Biennale ofSydney Art Festival❒ 2014: Captain Cook Cruises awarded a3 year charter contract with Harbour City Fer-ries

Twenty five years ago SeaLinkbegan, taking over the PhilandererIII ferry service to Kangaroo Island.

Today, SeaLink Travel Group is amulti-million dollar, publicly-listedcompany owning businesses acrossAustralia, including iconic CaptainCook Cruises on Sydney Harbourand on the Murray River, and it in-jects many millions of dollars intothe Kangaroo Island communityeach year.

“In just 25 years our staff num-bers have grown from 15 employeesto over 600 and today we servicemore than three million passengersa year in Queensland, New SouthWales, Northern Territory and SouthAustralia,” Managing Director JeffEllison said.

“What began as a one-ferry oper-ation now includes a fleet of 26 com-mercial vessels and brands such asCaptain Cook Cruises, Australian

Holiday Centre, Adelaide Sightsee-ing, Hop-On Hop-Off, Kangaroo Is-land Odysseys, Kangaroo IslandAdventure Tours, Vivonne BayLodge, SeaLink Queensland andSeaLink Northern Territory.

“SeaLink is a South Australiansuccess story and while our companycontinues to grow, Kangaroo Islandhas, and always will, play an impor-tant and central role in our opera-tions.”

Chairman of Tourism KangarooIsland, Pierre Gregor, said there wasno doubt that the professional andreliable service provided by SeaLinkhad contributed to the island’s de-velopment.

“SeaLink’s domestic and interna-tional marketing plus the holidaypackaging has been pivotal in thegrowth of tourism on Kangaroo Is-land,” Mr Gregor said.

“The positive direct and indirect

economic impacts on the island arereflected in part through the devel-opment of new tourism products andexperiences and associated employ-ment outcomes.”

Mr Gregor also recognisedSeaLink’s encouragement and men-toring of tourism business relatedskills through the virtual tourismbusiness program conducted at theKingscote campus of Kangaroo Is-land Community Education.

“It is a great initiative that seeksto develop skills valuable to the in-dustry which may also assist withsome of the youth retention chal-lenges facing the island,” he said.

“The company’s sponsorship sup-port to a significant range of com-munity clubs, associations andindividuals also helps to demon-strate SeaLink’s commitment toKangaroo Island.”

SeaLink SA General Manager

Donna Gauci said island communi-ties needed a ferry service they coulddepend on and while other ferrieshad come and gone, SeaLink hadstood the test of time.

“What began as a one-ferry oper-ation on Kangaroo Island has beenbuilt up over time and that has giveneveryone ongoing security and cer-tainty,” Ms Gauci said.

“With a fleet of two modern fer-ries and millions of dollars investedin terminals at Penneshaw and CapeJervis as well as land-based trans-portation including coaches and fourwheel-drives, SeaLink continues toinvest heavily in the future of Kan-garoo Island.”

“We’re proud of what SeaLinkhas achieved over the past 25 yearsand look forward to many moredecades of continued growth for thecompany.”

SeaLink turns 25SeaLink ManagingDirector Jeff Ellison.

SeaLink SA GeneralManager Donna Gauci.

The Island Navigator ferry which SeaLinkpurchased in 1991, to run the KI serviceand then it went to SeaLink NZ. SeaLinkNZ has since been sold but the Island Navi-gator still operates to Great Barrier Islandfrom Auckland.

Milestones From The Philanderer to tourism projects and inter-state operations

Page 12 The Islander, Thursday, November 27, 2014 www.theislanderonline.com.au

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When Clifford’s Honey Farm openedin December 1993, business owners Daveand Jenny Clifford welcomed self-drivevisitors travelling on the SeaLink ferryto their farm gate shop and visitor cen-tre.

In 1997, SeaLink began bringing vis-itors to the honey farm in bus groups andthe farm’s relationship with the SA-based company has flourished ever since.

“We were very honoured thatSeaLink were keen to bring their visitorsto our honey farm for tours,” Jenny Clif-ford said.

“Local people, including many whohave worked for SeaLink, have been keyin word-of-mouth advertising, promotingthe honey farm to visitors from far andwide.”

Over the years the honey farm hasshared its knowledge about what makes

Kangaroo Island honey so special and theunique and rare Ligurian Honey Beeswhile Jenny has made her now famoushoney ice-cream for the shop since open-ing day.

Jenny said from the beginning, adaily tour time slot was negotiated withSeaLink.

“What has been key is all the won-derful SeaLink staff, particularly thecoach drivers,” Jenny said.

“They have been fantastic promotingthe farm’s honey and in particular our

honey ice-cream so when groups arrive tothe farm their mouths are already wa-tering in anticipation.”

Today, Clifford’s Honey Farm wel-comes a SeaLink coach daily and otherspecial groups are regularly booked.

Jenny said she fondly rememberedSeaLink promotional events, particularlyone where local business owners trav-elled with SeaLink staff on the SeaLinkferry to Port Adelaide for an onboardKangaroo Island presentation to agents.

Another fond memory was when theHoney Farm renovated its interpretivecentre and Dave and Jenny asked thenSeaLink coach driver Michael Clark tocut the ribbon.

“We’ve always enjoyed a great rela-tionship with SeaLink and wish themevery success as they celebrate their 25thyear of service to KI,” Ms Clifford said.

SeaLink TravelGift Vouchers make agreat Christmas gift.

SeaLink gift vouch-ers start from $20 andcan be redeemedagainst any productoffered by the SeaLinkTravel Group includ-ing ferry fares, accom-modation, packages,tours, experiences andmore.

Gift vouchers canbe purchased onlinethrough a secure pay-ment gateway andsent to you or directlyto the recipient, andwith no fare restric-tions or block outdates applying, all therecipient has to do isto call 13 13 01 to re-deem the value of thegift voucher.

Some of the greatideas available are:

• Two-day Self-Drive Package includ-ing return ferry withcar and 1 night ac-commodation from$214pp

• KI Farmers Mar-ket Tour and CookingClass at Kangaroo Is-land Source from$99pp

• Family ticket tothe ‘Birds of Prey In-Flight’ Show at RaptorDomain $50.

Tour a sweet success story

Great gift ideaThe Sealion 2000.

Dave and Jenny Clifford - Clifford’s Honey Farm.

What has been key isall the wonderful SeaLink

staff, particularly thecoach drivers

“”

Penneshaw Terminal

25 yearsCongratulations on

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Nat, Dave and all the staff at theRabbitt Warren Bakery

Congratulates

SeaLinkon 25 years of service

to the Island.

8553 3299

VR2034104

Wow 25 years.Looking forward to working with

you for 25 more

SeaLinkon this amazing milestone.

CongratulationsCongratulations

LLookkingg forrward to woorking wwitf 25youu for 25 moore

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www.kangarooislandbirdsofprey.com.au

CASTROL AUSTRALIAwould like to

congratulate

over the last 25 years

and we are

proud to be associated.

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Turner’s Tyre Service would like to

CongratulateSeaLink

over the last 25 years and we are proud to

be associated.

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It’s been a privilege to have

been associated with

SeaLink for the last 24 years,

congratulations,

and we wish you

continued success.www.emuridge.com.au

KANGAROO ISLANDFOOTBALL LEAGUE

On behalf of its member clubs - Wisanger, Dudley United, Western

Districts, Parndana and Kingscote - and the many people playing, offi ciating and

participating in football, we take this opportunity to congratulate SeaLink and

its people in celebrating 25 years of moving people and freight to and from Kangaroo Island, from the President,

Andrew (Aphid) Heinrich.

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www.theislanderonline.com.au The Islander, Thursday, November 27, 2014 Page 13

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Two-time AustralianTourism Award winner andSouth Australian Hall ofFame inductee, SeaLink,has won at the South Aus-tralian Tourism Awards fol-lowing a four year absencefrom entering.

SeaLink received theaward in the Major Tourand Transport category atthe Awards ceremony re-cently, and also won a goldmedal in the AdventureTourism category for Kan-garoo Island AdventureTours, which attracts inde-pendent travellers lookingfor an authentic and adven-turous KI experience.

SeaLink Managing Di-rector Jeff Ellison said thewins reflected the hardwork of SeaLink’s SouthAustralian team and itsBoard who had ensuredthat SeaLink remained atthe forefront of tourism na-tionally.

“SeaLink has experi-enced an amazing period ofgrowth over the past fewyears and we’re proud that

a South Australian com-pany which began with justone ferry service has growninto a major tourism andtransport company thatemploys 600 people andtransports more than threemillion guests every year,”he said.

“We couldn’t havewished for a better way tocelebrate our 25th year ofbusiness success.”

Mr Ellison said Kanga-roo Island was Australia’smust-see destination, fa-mous for its wildlife, foodand wine and stunningscenery and extremely pop-ular with domestic and in-ternational visitors alike.

“There is so much to seeand do on Kangaroo Islandfrom getting up close andpersonal with AustralianSeaLions, kangaroos, Tam-mar wallabies and koalasto wandering along pristinebeaches, sampling localproduce and wines andstaying in romantic light-house accommodationalong a wild coast,” he said.

SeaLink is a family affair for theHoward clan.

Fourth generation islander KevinHoward has been showing off hishome to holidaymakers from aroundthe globe for 14 years as a coach driverfor Kangaroo Island SeaLink whilehis son Luke is the operations man-ager of Kangaroo Island Odysseys,owned by SeaLink.

Over the years Kevin’s wife, Sandy,and his other son, Jimmy, haveworked on the Island Navigator ferry.

“Four out of five of us have workedwith SeaLink and they’ve always beengood to us,” Mr Howard said.

“I really enjoy my job. I work in aluxury coach with 50 people who are

on holidays and having a good timethat rubs off. It’s almost a bit of a hol-iday for me every day too.”

Kevin joined the company in 1999at a time when the farming commu-nity was doing it tough. He was work-ing on the breakwater at Penneshawwhen one of the other coach driverstold him about a job going at SeaLink.

“I did three tours as an observerand three accompanied by an experi-enced driver. Then I was on my own,”he said.

“Of course I was nervous.“I’d spent most of my life on our

family farm working with sheep andyelling at dogs and all of a sudden Iwas speaking to 30 to 50 people from

all over the world.”Kevin said the tours showed Kan-

garoo Island’s main attractions suchas Seal Bay, Remarkable Rocks andAdmirals Arch but he also gets to tellguests about island life and the manydiverse businesses that drive theeconomy.

“Most days on tour I would seemembers of my family and the localcommunity I grew up with. Guests onboard the bus are amused by my wav-ing to everyone,” he said.

“We always see wildlife from thecoach and the stunning coastalscenery on the walks that we do. Theisland is a pretty special place to me.”

“No two tours are the same.”

SeaLink Travel Groupwins another award

Part of SeaLink familyKevin Howard - Kangaroo Island Sealink coach driver.

Congratulations SEALINKKangaroo Island Freight Services Pty. Ltd. took the plunge with you 25 years ago and started a daily freight service to Kangaroo Island which changed the 2 days per week service we had to today’s reliable daily service.Thanks SeaLinkKangaroo Island Freight Services Pty. Ltd.“Daily freight to the best part of the state”

KANGAROO ISLAND FREIGHT SERVICES P /LBox 15 Kingscote 5223 • Phone: Kingscote 8553 2274 Fax: 8553 2755Phone: Adelaide 8240 1144- DAlLY FREIGHT TO THE BEST PART OF THE STATE - VR2034095

Kangaroo Island Bakery would like to congratulate

SeaLink on 25 years of service to the Island.

Get your bakery products at your local supplier

Phone 8553 2056

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Congratulates SEALINK forits fantastic achievement of

25 years of valuabletransport and tourism

services, to the KangarooIsland Community.

Ourmanagement andstaff congratulate

SeaLink on25 years25 yearsof tourism and

yytransport to the

local KI community

is a highly valued partner and along term supporter of the Hotel.

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Page 14 The Islander, Thursday, November 27, 2014 www.theislanderonline.com.au

Special feature

When Joylene Ingram and TheresaCussans joined SeaLink, ferry ticketswere still being written out by hand.

They’ve both seen the company growfrom a one ferry operation into one ofAustralia’s most significant tourism andtransport companies and say they areproud to work for a South Australian suc-cess story.

“I spent six months working some-where else but I came back,” TheresaCussans said.

She has been with SeaLink for 23years, spending her first six months inPenneshaw before moving to Adelaide.

“It’s like a big family here and I’vebeen lucky enough to work in so manydifferent areas of the company,” she said.

“I’ve made snow holiday bookings forthe Ski Connection, booked travel for in-

terstate guests to Clipsal 500 and organ-ised accommodation along the Adelaideto Melbourne touring route.

“I’ve been to Falls Creek, stayed onthe Great Ocean Road and of coursespent plenty of time on Kangaroo Island,which is wonderful.”

Theresa, who is Team Leader for thegroup’s international, trade and retailareas, said plenty of opportunities tomove around the company and experi-ence different parts of the business hadkept her interested.

“And I love working with the clients. Ihave people who have been phoning mesince I first started and you become apart of their lives as well,” she said.

Joylene is a familiar face on Kanga-roo Island, working with the previousferry operators for two years and then

staying on when SeaLink took over 25years ago.

“It used to be nothing like now wherethere are multiple services a day,” shesaid.

Joylene, who works in the Kingscoteoffice and has lived on Kangaroo Islandall her life, said she had met people fromall over the world and had become usedto “using her hands” when trying to com-municate with people who understood lit-tle or no English.

“It’s always interesting when some-one wanders into the office and wants toknow what they can see and do,” she said.

“We always seem to work it out some-how.

“There are so many people from theisland working for SeaLink now - it’s agreat place to work.”

Joylene Ingram lovesworking for SeaLink.

Theresa Cussans hastravelled extensively tosee other SeaLink-runoperations.

Experiencing the changes first-hand

Mike Smith, from Kangaroo Island FreightOperators, is one businessman who rememberscarrying freight on the Troubridge and Island Sea-way,

“The Troubridge used to take six hours andthe Island Seaway took eight hours with justthree services a week,” Mr Smith said.

He always supported the short Penneshaw toCape Jervis crossing over the longer Kingscote toPort Adelaide service, which was often cancelleddue to bad weather.

“I remember pointing out at a meeting inKingscote that I’d taken 3000 sheep out ofJamestown and had them home before my com-petitor could even get to Jamestown,” he said.

“As a company, I think SeaLink has done awonderful job and if reliability is what you go on,they have certainly been the most reliable and runa great schedule for Kangaroo Island.”

Connecting KI freight to the world

Mike Smith - Kangaroo Island Freight Operators.

Congratulationsto SeaLink and

staff for 25 greatyears,

from the editorand staff at The

Islander.

SeaLink 25Breaking news

CONGRATULATIONS SEALINK25TH ANNIVERSARY

OF TOURISM AND TRANSPORT TO THE LOCAL KI COMMUNITY

&6 YEARS SERVICING KIPG AND KI GRAIN GROWERS

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Andermel Marron, Marron CafeTwo Wheeler Creek Wines

Congratulate SeaLink on their25 years of Service to KI.

Long may they bring tourists to our shores,and so to our UNIQUE 3 in 1 experience,

particularly the MARRON CAFÉ.

804 Harriet Rd, Kangaroo Island08 8559 4114 • www.andermel.com

VR

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090

The Seafront and Penneshaw Hotel wish to congratulate SeaLink on 25 years of

tourism and transport services to Kangaroo Island and

we wish you all the successfor the next 25 years.

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Congratulations to SeaLink on 25 years of service.As new owners of Wanderers Rest, we lookforward to working together in the future.

4 STAR ACCOMMODATIONRestaurant open for lunch/dinner Hosts Steve and Kim Gutteridge

Bayview Road, American River SA 5221

Phone 08 8553 7140 • Fax 08 8553 7282www.wanderersrest.com.au stay@wanderersrest.com.au VR2034164

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Thomas Willson Street Penneshaw8553 1044

PENNESHAWFUEL AND HARDWARE

For all your fuel and hardware

Congratulations on 25 years of service to the KI Community.

Supplying our services to wash the seat covers for the SeaLink ferry is only one of

our specialities.

Our laundry systems also consist of servicing holiday

rental properties, hotels, resorts etc., with hiring of quality linen & towelling.

We also provide laundering of property owner linen.

A professional service with a friendly smile.

Email : thelaundryshed@bigpond.com | Ph : 8553 9012

SuSupplyining ouur servrvices too

CONGRATULATIONSSEALINK

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Congratulations

on 25 yearsof service

Congratulations

on 25 yearsof service

Kangaroo Island Netball Association would like to thank SeaLink for their

generous sponsorship of netballers on Kangaroo Island