The island forming the recreation park first received protected area status on 9 October 1958 as a recreation reserve proclaimed under Crown Lands Act 1929 and to be managed by the Corporate Town of Murray Bridge.[3] On 1 September 1966, it was proclaimed as a fauna sanctuary under the Fauna Conservation Act, 1964-1965.[5] On 8 July 1976, the recreation reserve was resumed under Crown Lands Act 1929 and then proclaimed as the Long Island Recreation Park under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972.[6][7]
As of 1980, it was reported as having "aesthetic and recreational value", as being a refuge for waterfowl and as supporting "a dense forest of introduced willow species with emergent Eucalyptus camaldulensis".[8]
^Boating Industry Association of South Australia (BIA); South Australia. Department for Environment and Heritage (2005), South Australia's waters an atlas & guide, Boating Industry Association of South Australia, p. 61, ISBN978-1-86254-680-6