Kangaroo Island SeaLink was established in 1989 when it purchased the ferry operations of Philanderer Ferries that connected the South Australian mainland to Kangaroo Island. What was then mainly a single ferry business has now grown into a successful enterprise operating under the name of the SeaLink Travel Group and is not just transport businesses in Australia and New Zealand, but has also built a significant tourism operation as a coach tour operator, travel wholesaler and retail travel business.