Eyre Peninsula

Eyre Peninsula is a triangular land mass separated from Yorke Peninsula by Spencer Gulf, and extending westwards to Ceduna on Denial Bay. In 1981, its local government areas had 32,326 people - 2.5% of the State's population - including 10,675 in Port Lincoln, the largest urban centre. The region produced 14.5% of the value of the State's farm output in 1981, including about 40% of its wheat and 17% of its wool.

Ancient metamorphic rocks form the basement of the peninsula. They outcrop in the Gawler Ranges in the north and scattered places in the east, including the uplands near Cleve and north of Port Lincoln. Isolated granite outcrops give rise to some distinctive low hills, especially in the Minnipa-Wudinna District, which were locally important catchment of domestic and stock water supply before the extension of reticulated water. The greater part of the peninsula is of gently undulating terrain on sand and clay sediments, rarely more than 90 metres above sea-level. The scalloped western coastline contains some impressive stretches of rugged cliffs, high sandhills and sheltered coves.

European settlement began at Port Lincoln in 1839 and pastoral occupation extended slowly along the coasts until the 1890s. Occupation of the more fertile soils of the interior was delayed by difficulties of transport and water supply. Only about 4% of the region receives 500 mm or more of annual rainfall, and the only reliable watercourse is the Tod River.

The State Government built railways from Port Lincoln to Thevenard and Kimba between 1907 and 1915, and in 1913 began three small reservoirs in the uplands near Cleve. In 1918, it began a scheme to dam the Tod River and pump water from the reservoir to an adjacent hill, from which it flows by gravity nearly 400 kilometres westwards to Ceduna and Thevenard. Land clearance has reduced the native vegetation cover of the Tod River catchment to approximately 20% of the area, while the salinity of the reservoir has risen steadily since 1930. Today 3000 kilometres of mains and sixteen pumping stations serve most of the peninsula with domestic and stock water drawn from four surface reservoirs and five underground basins.

Those developments opened the interior to agricultural settlement. Where there is 300 to 400 mm of annual rainfall, wheat and barley and oats are grown. Since the Second World War, increased use of superphosphate and medic pastures has improved soil fertility and grain yields. The drier areas carry sheep for wool and meat. An extensive stretch of land on the west coast from Mount Hope to Port Kenny has higher-than-average rainfall but is suitable only for sheep grazing because its surface is of sheet limestone. In 1981, 50% of the value of farm production on Eyre Peninsula came from wheat, 17% from barley and 26% from sheep.

Australia's only major deposits of nephrite jade occur in the hills north of Cowell. Since their discovery in 1965 approximately 1000 tonnes have been mined. Jade jewellery and ornaments are fashioned in workshops at Cowell and Adelaide.

Port Lincoln has the best natural harbour in South Australia. In 1836, Governor Hindmarsh wanted to locate the capital there, but Colonel Light rejected it because of a lack of available water. The port now contains the State's biggest grain terminal and most of its tuna fishing fleet. About 500 commercial fishing boats operate from the peninsula. Port Lincoln factories process tuna, crayfish, abalone and other seafoods. Oysters are cultivated in Coffin Bay.

The second largest urban centre on the peninsula, and the westernmost in the State, is Ceduna. With its port at Thevenard it had 2794 people in 1981. Nearby, the Overseas Telecommunications Earth Station faces west to link Australia with Asia, Africa and Europe through satellites positioned above the Indian Ocean.

Besides grain exports the port at Thevenard handles large quantities of high grade gypsum from Lake Macdonnell, 55 kilometres west by rail. These deposits form the largest reserve in Australia, sufficient for many years ahead to meet Australian and New Zealand needs for plasterboard and Portland cement. The port has recently been deepened to handle ships of up to 20,000 tonnes capacity.

Of the other urban centres on Eyre Peninsula, none had more than 1000 people in 1981. Tourist activity is concentrated in the coastal towns and at Coffin Bay. With the sealing of the Eyre Highway in 1976 there has been a marked increase in summer visitors attracted by the coastal scenery and the excellent boating and recreational fishing facilities.

The South Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service manages about fifty parks on Eyre Peninsula which occupy approximately 5% of the peninsula. They include a number of spectacular and little-disturbed islands off the west coast and 118 hectare Verran Tanks Conservation Park. This park is representative of the many granite hills on the peninsula which have been used as catchments for local water supplies and are connected by conduits to roofed underground tanks. Five large parks in the centre of the peninsula occupy extensive systems of sand dunes and sand plains and, although periodically swept by fire, are important biological reserves for native plant and animal life.