Yorke Peninsula
Encyclopedia
- Yorke Peninsula is in South Australia, and should not be confused with Cape York PeninsulaCape York PeninsulaCape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
, in QueenslandQueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
.
The Yorke Peninsula is a peninsula located north-west and west of Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide 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...
in South Australia
South Australia
South 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...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, between Spencer Gulf
Spencer Gulf
The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost of two large inlets on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. The Gulf is 322 km long and 129 km wide at its mouth. The western shore of the Gulf is the Eyre Peninsula, while the eastern side is the...
on the west and Gulf St Vincent on the east. It has geographic coordinates of 34°21′S 137°37′E. The peninsula is separated from Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf St Vincent. Its closest point to the mainland is off Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia. The island is long...
to the southeast by Investigator Strait
Investigator Strait
Investigator Strait is a body of water lying between the Yorke Peninsula, on the Australian mainland, and Kangaroo Island in South Australia. It was named by Matthew Flinders after his ship, HMS Investigator, on his voyage of 1801–1802.-References:...
.
Overview
Yorke Peninsula is named by Captain Matthew FlindersMatthew Flinders
Captain 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...
, R.N., after the Right Honourable Charles Philip Yorke
Charles Philip Yorke
Charles Philip Yorke PC, FRS, FSA , was a British politician. He notably served as Home Secretary from 1803 to 1804.-Background:...
(1764-1834) (later Lord Hardwicke), narrowly beating French navigator Captain Nicolas Baudin
Nicolas Baudin
Nicolas-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...
(who preferred the name 'Cambaceres Peninsula'). Charles P. Yorke came from a very distinguished political family (his father had been Lord High Chancellor and grandfather had been Lord Chief Justice, Speaker of the House, and Lord High Chancellor), and had a lengthy political career of his own, serving as Member of Parliament (1790-1810), Secretary of State for War (1801-1803), Home Secretary (1803-1804), and First Lord of the Admiralty (1810-1812). The cartography and coastline of the Southern Yorke Peninsula was confirmed by relentless explorers, Glads and Boz, early in the New millennia.
Before white settlement around 1840, Yorke Peninsula was the home to the Narungga
Narungga
The Narungga are a group of Indigenous Australians whose traditional lands are located on Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. The boundary of their traditional lands runs roughly between the towns of Port Broughton and Port Wakefield....
people. Today the descendants of these people still live on Yorke Peninsula, supported by the Narungga
Narungga
The Narungga are a group of Indigenous Australians whose traditional lands are located on Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. The boundary of their traditional lands runs roughly between the towns of Port Broughton and Port Wakefield....
Aboriginal Progress Association in Maitland
Maitland, South Australia
Maitland is a town in South Australia located 168 km west of Adelaide by road, 164 km south of Port Pirie and 46 km north of Minlaton known as the "heart of Yorke Peninsula" due to being near the center of the region...
, and in the community at Point Pearce
Point Pearce, South Australia
Point Pearce is a town in South Australia. The town is located in the District Council of Yorke Peninsula local government area, north west of the state capital, Adelaide. At the 2006 census, Point Pearce had a population of 147....
near the northern end of Gulf St Vincent.
Principal towns include, The Pines, Copper Coast
Copper Coast
*This article is about a region in Australia. For coast of County Waterford, Ireland, see Copper Coast .Copper Coast is a region of South Australia situated in Northern Yorke Peninsula and comprising the towns of Wallaroo, Kadina, Moonta, Paskeville and Port Hughes. The area approximately bounded...
towns of Kadina
Kadina, South Australia
Kadina is a town located on the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia, approximately 144 kilometres north-northwest of the state capital of Adelaide. The largest town of the Peninsula, Kadina is one of the three Copper Triangle towns famous for their shared copper mining history...
, Moonta
Moonta, South Australia
Moonta is a town located on the Yorke Peninsula of South Australia, 165 kilometres north-northwest of the state capital of Adelaide. It is one of three towns known as the Copper Coast or "Little Cornwall" for their shared copper mining history....
and Wallaroo
Wallaroo, South Australia
Wallaroo is a port town on the western side of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, 160 kilometres north-northwest of Adelaide. It is one of the three Copper Triangle towns famed for their historic shared copper mining industry, and known together as "Little Cornwall", the other two being Kadina ...
; farming centres of Maitland
Maitland, South Australia
Maitland is a town in South Australia located 168 km west of Adelaide by road, 164 km south of Port Pirie and 46 km north of Minlaton known as the "heart of Yorke Peninsula" due to being near the center of the region...
, Minlaton
Minlaton, South Australia
Minlaton is a town in central Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. At the 2006 census, Minlaton had a population of 773. It is known as the "Barley capital of the world"....
and Yorketown
Yorketown, South Australia
←Yorketown is a town in southern Yorke Peninsula, South Australia.Yorketown is in the District Council of Yorke Peninsula, the South Australian House of Assembly electoral district of Goyder and the Australian House of Representatives Division of Grey.-External links:*** Yorke Peninsula Visitor...
; and the port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
of Ardrossan
Ardrossan, South Australia
Ardrossan is a small town on the east coast of the Yorke Peninsula, about 150 km from Adelaide, South Australia.The town was largely initiated by wheat farmers and wheat transporters in the late 19th century who needed infrastructure to ship their produce across the Gulf St. Vincent to Port...
. A number of smaller coastal towns are popular destinations for fishing and holidays, particularly from Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide 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...
. The south-western tip is occupied by Innes National Park
Innes National Park
Innes is a national park on the southwest tip of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia , 160 km west of Adelaide.-Environment:Innes is the largest area of native vegetation remaining on the Yorke Peninsula, providing habitat for 115 species of conservation significance...
.
Yorke Peninsula is a major producer of grain, particularly barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
. Historically this has been sent out by sea because there are no rail services. Most coastal towns on the peninsula have substantial jetties. In the past these were used by ketch
Ketch
A ketch is a sailing craft with two masts: a main mast, and a shorter mizzen mast abaft of the main mast, but forward of the rudder post. Both masts are rigged mainly fore-and-aft. From one to three jibs may be carried forward of the main mast when going to windward...
es, schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
s, and later steamships, to collect the grain in bags, and deliver fertiliser and other supplies. As roads in the region improved, and freight-handling techniques changed from bags to bulk, this became obsolete. A deep-water port was opened in 1970 near the south-eastern tip at Port Giles
Port Giles, South Australia
Port Giles is the newest port on Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, between Stansbury and Edithburgh. Port Giles is not a town, but simply a large jetty equipped for bulk handling of grain, operated by Flinders Ports, and a similarly large grain storage facility operated by ABB Grain...
to export grain in bulk), and almost all the other ports ceased to be used for freight in the 1950s and 1960s. The only other ports with bulk-handling facilities are Wallaroo
Wallaroo, South Australia
Wallaroo is a port town on the western side of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, 160 kilometres north-northwest of Adelaide. It is one of the three Copper Triangle towns famed for their historic shared copper mining industry, and known together as "Little Cornwall", the other two being Kadina ...
at the north-western side, and Ardrossan
Ardrossan, South Australia
Ardrossan is a small town on the east coast of the Yorke Peninsula, about 150 km from Adelaide, South Australia.The town was largely initiated by wheat farmers and wheat transporters in the late 19th century who needed infrastructure to ship their produce across the Gulf St. Vincent to Port...
at the top of Gulf St Vincent, also used to ship dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
from a nearby mine for OneSteel
OneSteel
OneSteel is an Australian-based mining, ore processing and steel manufacturing company specialising in steel-long products for the construction, mining, transport and agricultural industries...
. Maitland has a grain-receiving depot operated by AWB
AWB Limited
AWB Limited is a major grain marketing organisation based in Australia. It was a government body known as the Australian Wheat Board until 1 July 1999, when the AWB was transformed into a private company, owned by wheat growers...
, serviced only by road.
Physiography
Australian Shield
The Australian Shield, also called the Western Australian Shield or Western Plateau, occupies more than half of the continent of Australia. It occupies the portion of Australia west of a line running north-south roughly from the eastern shore of Arnhem Land on the Bay or Gulf of Carpentaria to the...
physiographic division. Along with Cape Eyre the peninsula is also part of the Eyre Yorke Block
Eyre Yorke Block
The Eyre Yorke Block is an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia region and a World Wildlife Fund ecoregion covering the Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas around the Spencer Gulf on the coast of South Australia. -Location and description:...
bioregion
Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia
The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia is a biogeographic regionalisation of Australia developed by the Australian Government's Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts...
.
Transport
Sea SA Car & Passenger Ferries has a daily service between WallarooWallaroo, South Australia
Wallaroo is a port town on the western side of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, 160 kilometres north-northwest of Adelaide. It is one of the three Copper Triangle towns famed for their historic shared copper mining industry, and known together as "Little Cornwall", the other two being Kadina ...
and Lucky Bay
Lucky Bay
Lucky Bay is a bay located at on the south coast of Western Australia.It received its name from Matthew Flinders, who discovered it in January 1802. Flinders had sailed into the hazardous Archipelago of the Recherche, and found his ship surrounded by islands and rocks with nightfall coming on:...
, near Cowell
Cowell, South Australia
Cowell is a coastal town on Franklin Harbour on the eastern side of the Eyre Peninsula, in South Australia on the Lincoln Highway 111 km south from the major town of Whyalla...
on Eyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded on the east by Spencer Gulf, the west by the Great Australian Bight, and the north by the Gawler Ranges. It is named after explorer Edward John Eyre who explored some of it in 1839-1841. The coastline was first explored by...
. The ferry service is suspensed until early 2011 when the new vessel commences.
Notable residents - past and present
Politics- John OlsenJohn OlsenJohn Wayne Olsen, AO was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001.-Parliament:Olsen was a member of the Liberal Party and Member of Parliament for more than 20 years...
- former Premier of South Australia
Sports
- Richard ChampionRichard ChampionRichard Champion was a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League....
- former AFL Footballer - Adam GoodesAdam GoodesAdam Goodes is a professional Australian rules football player with the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League ....
- Australian Rules Footballer and dual Brownlow MedalBrownlow MedalThe Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
winner - Bernie VinceBernie VinceBernie Vince is an Australian Rules footballer who plays for the Adelaide Crows in the Australian Football League. Originally from the Yorke Peninsula, he attended school at Minlaton District School until his senior years, which were spent in Adelaide at Prince Alfred College where he represented...
- Adelaide CrowsAdelaide CrowsThe Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia, playing in the Australian Football League ....
player - Sam Jacobs - Adelaide CrowsAdelaide CrowsThe Adelaide Football Club, nicknamed The Crows, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Adelaide, South Australia, playing in the Australian Football League ....
player - Scott McMahonScott McMahonScott McMahon is an Australian Rules football player currently on the roster of the North Melbourne Kangaroos.McMahon played for Woodville-West Torrens Football Club in the SANFL in South Australia before being rookie-listed for the Kangaroos at number 38 in the AFL NAB Rookie Draft...
- North Melbourne Kangaroos footballer - Fiona Pointon- former Adelaide ThunderbirdsAdelaide ThunderbirdsThe Adelaide Thunderbirds are an Australian netball team based in Adelaide that currently compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The Thunderbirds were formed as one of the foundation teams of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy , previously the premier netball league in Australia, which was...
netballer
Other
- Fiona O'LoughlinFiona O'LoughlinFiona O'Loughlin is an Australian comedian, known primarily for her stand-up comedy; for her television performances, on ABC TV's Spicks and Specks, and Channel Ten's Rove Live and GNW; and a series of advertisements for Heinz soups...
- Comedian - Emily TahenyEmily TahenyEmily Taheny is an Australian television actress, comedienne, and singer known for her multiple appearances on the sketch comedy television series Comedy Inc. from 2003 through 2007, and for her role as "Kat" on the 2009 series The Jesters. She was born at Warooka, Yorke Peninsula, South...
- actress - Ronnie Taherny - musician, http://ronnietaheny.myshopify.com/
- Henry John ButlerHenry John ButlerHenry John Butler was an early Australian aviator, he was the first to fly over a large body of water in Australia when he flew across the Spencer Gulf in 1919.-Early Years:...
, Captain Harry Butler - aviator - Alby MangelsAlby MangelsAlbertus Zwier "Alby" Mangels is a Dutch-born Australian adventurer and documentary film-maker widely remembered for his "World Safari" adventure travel films .-Early life:...
- adventurer and documentary-maker
Copper CoastCopper Coast*This article is about a region in Australia. For coast of County Waterford, Ireland, see Copper Coast .Copper Coast is a region of South Australia situated in Northern Yorke Peninsula and comprising the towns of Wallaroo, Kadina, Moonta, Paskeville and Port Hughes. The area approximately bounded...
Since the discovery of Copper on Yorke Peninsula over 150 years ago, the towns of Kadina, Moonta and WallarooWallaroo, South Australia
Wallaroo is a port town on the western side of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, 160 kilometres north-northwest of Adelaide. It is one of the three Copper Triangle towns famed for their historic shared copper mining industry, and known together as "Little Cornwall", the other two being Kadina ...
have been collectively known as the Copper Coast.
Kernewek LowenderKernewek LowenderThe Kernewek Lowender is a Cornish-themed biennial festival held in the Copper Coast towns ofKadina, Moonta and Wallaroo on Yorke Peninsula, South Australia....
The world's largest Cornish Festival takes place every 2 years (in odd-numbered years) in the Copper Coast towns of Kadina, Moonta and WallarooWallaroo, South Australia
Wallaroo is a port town on the western side of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia, 160 kilometres north-northwest of Adelaide. It is one of the three Copper Triangle towns famed for their historic shared copper mining industry, and known together as "Little Cornwall", the other two being Kadina ...
.
Yorke Peninsula Field DaysYorke Peninsula Field DaysThe Yorke Peninsula Field Days are three-day, biennial field days, held on a permanent site outside Paskeville on Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. The Field Days have a major focus on agriculture...
Acknowledged as Australia's oldest Field Days, the Yorke Peninsula Field Days have been held since 1894. The Field Days site just outside of Paskeville is a hive of agricultural activity every 2 years, at the end of September.Brown Point
A unique boat winching system can be seen at Brown Point, 13 kilometres west of Minlaton.External links
- Yorke Peninsula Website Yorke Peninsula Tourism
- Yorke Peninsula Fishing Guide Yorke Peninsula Fishing Guide
- Yorke Peninsula Yorke Peninsula Map
- SouthAustralia.com Yorke Peninsula - Travel Guides, Accommodation, Tours, Online Booking, Maps etc Official SA Website
- Harvest Corner Website Yorke Peninsula Visitor Information Centre at Minlaton