Torrens Island Sanctuary which overlays the entire island. Torrens Island Torrens Island is an island in the Australian state of South Australia located in the Port River Estuary between the Port River and Barker Inlet, about northwest of the state capital of Adelaide. Since European settlement of Adelaide in 1836, it has been used for a number of purposes. Being uninhabited, an island, adjacent to Port Adelaide, and near Outer Harbor, Torrens Island was initially used as the site of a Quarantine Station for new arrivals (by sea) to South Australia. One example of its use was during the so-called "Boonah crisis".
River Torrens Park through which the creek flows. First, Second and Third Creeks have been particularly heavily modified. Some sections have been converted to concrete channels; others run through landscaped private gardens and some run in underground pipes. Much of the original vegetation has disappeared from the creeks, particularly those closest to the city. Introduced species including Olives, bamboo, boxthorn, watsonia and blackberries have displaced native flora. The largest catchment of the Torrens is Sixth Creek in the Adelaide Hills, which joins the Torrens at Castambul on Gorge Road. At the time of European settlement the river was a summertime chain of