Victor Harbor is a city located on the coast of the
Fleurieu PeninsulaThe Fleurieu Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Adelaide in South Australia, Australia. It was named after the French explorer and hydrographer Charles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin as he mapped the south coast of Australia in 1802.Towns of interest in the...
, about 80 km south of
AdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
,
South AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. The city is the largest population centre on the peninsula, with an economy based upon
agricultureAgriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, fisheries and various industries. It is also a highly popular tourist destination, with the city's population greatly expanded during the summer holidays.
History
Traditionally home of the
RamindjeriRamindjeri are a clan of Australian Aboriginal people forming part of the Ngarrindjeri people. Ramindjeri land is the most westerly of the Ngarrindjeri, covering the area around Encounter Bay in southern South Australia, including Victor Harbor and Port Elliot, however an ongoing native title...
clan of the
NgarrindjeriThe Ngarrindjeri are a nation of eighteen "tribes" consisting of numerous family clans who speak similar dialects of the Ngarrindjeri language and are the traditional Aboriginal people of the lower Murray River, western Fleurieu Peninsula, and the Coorong of southern, central...
people, the bay on which Victor Harbor sits was discovered by
Matthew FlindersCaptain Matthew Flinders RN was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent, which had previously been...
in the
HMS Investigator in April 1802. Flinders was surveying the then unknown southern Australian coast from the west. He encountered
Nicolas BaudinNicolas-Thomas Baudin was a French explorer, cartographer, naturalist and hydrographer.Baudin was born a commoner in Saint-Martin-de-Ré on the Île de Ré. At the age of fifteen he joined the merchant navy, and at twenty joined the French East India Company...
in the Le Geographe near the Murray Mouth several kilometers to the east of the present day location of Victor Harbor. Baudin was surveying the coast from the East for Napoleonic France. The ships returned to the bay and sheltered while the captains, who were probably unaware their countries were at war, compared notes. Flinders named the bay
Encounter BayEncounter Bay is located on the south central coast of South Australia, some 100 km south of Adelaide, South Australia. It is named after the encounter on 8 April 1802 between Matthew Flinders and Nicolas Baudin, both of whom were charting the Australian coastline for their respective countries...
after the meeting.
In 1837 Captain Richard Crozier who was en-route from Sydney to the
Swan River ColonyThe Swan River Colony was a British settlement established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. The name was a pars pro toto for Western Australia. In 1832, the colony was officially renamed Western Australia, when the colony's founding Lieutenant-Governor, Captain James Stirling,...
in command of the
Cruizer-classThe Cruizer class was an 18-gun class of brig-sloops of the Royal Navy. Brig-sloops were the same as ship-sloops except for their rigging...
“HMS Victor”, anchored just off
Granite IslandGranite Island is a small island next to Victor Harbor, South Australia, not far from South Australia's capital city, Adelaide.It is unpopulated, however there are buildings and shelters on the island, including a cafe...
and named the sheltered waters in the lee of the island 'Victor Harbor' after his ship. About the same time two
whalingWhaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
stations were established, one at the Bluff (Rosetta Head) and the other near the point opposite Granite Island. Whale oil became South Australia’s first export. The town of Port Victor was laid out on the shores of Victor Harbor in 1863 when the horse-drawn tramway from Goolwa was extended to the harbor. The last whale was caught off Port Victor in 1872.
The town's name was changed to 'Victor Harbor' in 1921, as a result, it is said, of a near shipwreck blamed on confusion with
Port VictoriaPort Victoria is a town on the Spencer Gulf coast of southern Yorke Peninsula. At the 2006 census, Port Victoria had a population of 345.Like many other coastal towns on the peninsula, it has a jetty and used to be a thriving port for the export of grain to England. Its anchorage is sheltered from...
in the
Yorke PeninsulaThe Yorke Peninsula is a peninsula located north-west and west of Adelaide in South Australia, Australia, between Spencer Gulf on the west and Gulf St Vincent on the east. It has geographic coordinates of...
. Despite the fact that
harbour is normally spelt with a
u in modern
Australian EnglishAustralian English is the name given to the group of dialects spoken in Australia that form a major variety of the English language....
, the name of the city is spelt
Victor Harbor. This spelling, found in several geographical names in South Australia, including
Outer HarborOuter Harbor is a north-western industrial suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, located at the northern tip of the Lefevre Peninsula; administratively, it lies in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield, 22 km from the Adelaide city centre. It is adjacent to Osborne, North Haven and Pelican Point...
, is the result of spelling errors made by an early Surveyor General of South Australia. Conversely Victor Harbour railway station is spelt with the
u.
Government
In 2006, the resident population of the City of Victor Harbor was 10,380, but over the summer holiday season the population almost trebles. Victor Harbor was declared a city in 2000. As a Local Government Area, the City of Victor Harbor includes the surrounding rural area and the contiguous township of Encounter Bay as well as the town of Victor Harbor itself; its total area is 34,463
hectareThe hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
. It shares boundaries with the District Council of
YankalillaThe District Council of Yankalilla is a Local Government Area centred on the town of Yankalilla on South Australia's Fleurieu Peninsula. The council was established in 1854, two years after legislation was passed allowing the formation of District Councils in South Australia.The district has a rich...
and the
AlexandrinaThe District Council of Alexandrina was a small local government area in regional South Australia, centred on Clayton on the shore of Lake Alexandrina. It was amalgamated into the District Council of Strathalbyn prior to 1900....
Council. The city is in the state
electoral district of FinnissFinniss is an electoral district of the House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia. It is named after Boyle Finniss, the first Premier of South Australia...
and the federal
Division of MayoThe Division of Mayo is an Australian Electoral Division located in the hills, east of Adelaide, South Australia and currently includes the towns of Victor Harbor, Lobethal, Mount Barker, Strathalbyn, Woodside and Kingscote....
.
Attractions
A popular site for visitors is
Granite IslandGranite Island is a small island next to Victor Harbor, South Australia, not far from South Australia's capital city, Adelaide.It is unpopulated, however there are buildings and shelters on the island, including a cafe...
, which is connected to the mainland by a short
tramA tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
/
pedestrianA pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In some communities, those traveling using roller skates or skateboards are also considered to be pedestrians. In modern times, the term mostly refers to someone walking on a road or footpath, but this was not the case...
causewayIn modern usage, a causeway is a road or railway elevated, usually across a broad body of water or wetland.- Etymology :When first used, the word appeared in a form such as “causey way” making clear its derivation from the earlier form “causey”. This word seems to have come from the same source by...
. The tram service is provided by the
Victor Harbor Horse Drawn TramThe Victor Harbor Horse Drawn Tram is located in the city of Victor Harbor, South Australia, Australia. The tramway links the visitor information centre in downtown Victor Harbor with the nearby Granite Island, running for half of its route over a 630 metre wooden viaduct or pier, locally described...
, one of the very few
horse-drawn tramA horsecar or horse-drawn tram is an animal-powered streetcar or tram.These early forms of public transport developed out of industrial haulage routes that had long been in existence, and from the omnibus routes that first ran on public streets in the 1820s, using the newly improved iron or steel...
routes remaining in public transit service. Granite island is home to a large colony of Fairy Penguins which are a popular attraction on the island. These penguins shelter on the island during the night, departing in the morning to hunt for fish before returning at sunset.
The
Cockle Train heritage railwaythumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
operated by
SteamRangerSteamRanger is an historic train society in South Australia running trains on the Victor Harbor railway line. They are the only group regularly running broad gauge steam locomotives in South Australia...
runs
steam locomotiveA steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
and other antique train services between Victor Harbor and Goolwa stations. This route includes the oldest rail route in Australia, between Port Elliot and Goolwa.
During the months of June to September, whale spotting is a popular attraction.
Southern Right WhaleThe southern right whale is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus Eubalaena. Like other right whales, the southern right whale is readily distinguished from others by the callosities on its head, a broad back without a dorsal fin, and a long arching...
s come to the nearby waters to calve and to mate. The South Australian Whale Centre located at Victor Harbor provides hands on interactive activities and presentations as well as information on whale watching tips.
Greenhills Adventure Park offers activities including: waterslides, canoes, rock wall climbing, archery, mini golf, and go-karting.
Victor Harbor is the centre of the surf zone known as the "South Coast" to
AdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
and local surfers. Popular surf beaches in the area include Parsons, Waitpinga, Middleton and Goolwa. The Granite Island
breakwaterBreakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...
usually shields the town from waves.
Victor Harbor also offers numerous fishing opportunities varying from offshore reefs for larger boat based anglers to excellent surf fishing on the beaches closer to the
Murray MouthMurray Mouth is the point at which the River Murray meets the southern Southern Ocean. The Murray Mouth's location is changeable. Historical records show that the channel out to sea moves along the sand dunes over time...
.
Festivals and events
This town hosts a three day
Schoolies WeekSchoolies or schoolies week refers to the Australian tradition of high-school graduates having week-long holidays following the end of their final exams in late November and early December."Toolies" refers to older revelers who participate in Schoolies week but are...
festival in late November mainly for South Australian school leavers. Victor Harbor hosts the second largest Schoolies Week Festival after the
Gold CoastGold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
. The centre of the town is a dry zone and hosts various live music and other events for participants.
External links