John Stokes is recorded as arriving at Kangaroo Island in 1817 and living at Stokes Bay.
...
The name occurs in Hampshire, England. An informative letter appeared in 1883:
It will perhaps be of interest… to learn that John Stokes, of Stokes Bay, for whom a public subscription was taken up a few weeks ago… is not the man who landed on Kangaroo Island in 1838 (sic) and who lived at Emu Bay till a year or two ago, when some neighbours [reported] that he was in a starving condition. The Fairy steam launch was engaged by the Destitute Board and medical assistance and provisions were sent expressly to him, but upon arrival it was found that he did not want for food…
As he was very old he was persuaded to come up to Adelaide and become an inmate of the Destitute
Asylum. He did not like the confinement, though, and asked to be removed to the Reformatory Hulk off the Semaphore… A few weeks ago he was stricken down with a paralysis and removed to the Adelaide Hospital, whence, after a few days, he was returned to the Infirmary at the Destitute Asylum… [Signed] Albert Molineux.
http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/digitalpubs/placenamesofsouthaustralia/S.pdf
... Mr John Stokes, better known to Islanders as the ' Little Carpenter.' He was a master mariner and it was known that he had lived there [Stokes Bay] before 1836. We landed and pulled the boat up on the beach. We were cold and wet and so we spent a few minutes running around to warm ourselves. We could see Stokes walking around near his hut and he was carrying a gun about with him. Mr Calnan knew Stokes well and said that at times he appeared funny in the head. We stayed by the boat while Mr Calnan went and spoke to Stokes and explained who we were and a few minutes afterwards he beckoned as to come up to the hut. We did so and found that Stokes was a rather small man and looked feeble. He appeared to be intelligent and said that he was a Sea Captain and he settled therein 1817 and had lived there most of the time, but he would not say how or why he had settled there and lived so many years like a hermit. His hut was a small two roomed affair and he did not like us to go inside. Things looked very poor and miserable and we tried to be nice to him and not make him nervous. ...
Early Days on Kangaroo Island. (1928, March 24). The Kangaroo Island Courier (Kingscote, SA : 1907 - 1951), p. 3. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article191553603
Given Name(s): John
Last Name: STOKES
Death Date: 28 Feb 1884
Gender: M
Age: 81y
Approx. Birth Year: 1803
Marital Status: N
Relative 1:
Relative 2:
Residence: Kangaroo Island
Death Place: Adelaide
District: Adelaide
Symbol: S
Book/Page: 135/252
Source: SAGHS https://www.genealogysa.org.au