Port Lincoln is a city on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australianstate of South Australia. Known as Galinyala by the traditional owners, the Barngarla people, it is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, which opens eastward into Spencer Gulf. It is the largest city in the West Coast region, and is located approximately 280km (170mi) from the state's capital city of Adelaide (646km (401mi) by road).
In June 2019 Port Lincoln had an estimated population of 26,418,[7] having grown at an average annual rate of 0.55% year-on-year over the preceding five years. The city is reputed to have the most millionaires per capita in Australia,[8] as well as claiming to be Australia's "Seafood Capital".[9]
The Eyre Peninsula has been home to Aboriginal people for over 40 thousand years, with the Barngarla (eastern Eyre, including Port Lincoln), Nauo (south western Eyre), Wirangu (north western Eyre) and Mirning (far western Eyre) being the predominant original cultural groups present at the time of the arrival of Europeans.[10]
The Barngala people have been acknowledged as the traditional owners, and their name for Port Lincoln is Galinyala, which in the Barngarla language[11] means "place of sweet water".[12]
Matthew Flinders was the first European to reach Port Lincoln under his commission by the British Admiralty to chart Australia's unexplored coastline. On 25 February 1802, Flinders sailed his exploration vessel HMS Investigator into the harbour, which he later named Port Lincoln after the city of Lincoln in his native county of Lincolnshire in England.[13] A couple of months later on 19 April, Nicolas Baudin entered the same port and named it Port Champagny.[14]
Sealers had visited the area around 1828 and the mainly French whaling ships were fishing the local bays and island regions by the 1820s and up to the 1840s. In 1836 Governor Sir John Hindmarsh, the first Governor of South Australia, gave instructions to Colonel William Light to find a capital for the "New British Province of South Australia". With boatfuls of immigrants set to arrive and impatient settlers already camping at Holdfast Bay, Rapid Bay and Kangaroo Island, Light was under immense pressure to identify a location with a suitable harbour, sufficient agricultural land and fresh water. After assessing a number of other potential locations, Light was ordered by England to consider Port Lincoln as a possible site for the capital. While Thomas Lipson had arrived in Port Lincoln earlier and approved of its "beautiful harbour" and "fertile land", Light was unconvinced from the beginning, as he faced fierce westerly gales, ill-placed islands and rocky reefs on arrival.
Light decided that it might be dangerous for merchant ships trying to enter the unfamiliar territory after a long voyage and that there was not enough of what he thought was good agricultural land, nor enough fresh water to sustain a city. Instead he selected Adelaide as the most suitable place for settlement.
Port Lincoln, however, proved popular with pioneers and developers. The first settlers arrived on 19 March 1839 aboard the ships Abeona, Porter and Dorset. On 3 October 1839, Governor George Gawler proclaimed the whole area from Cape Catastrophe to the head of the Spencer Gulf as one district, which he named the District of Port Lincoln.
In 1840, one year after settlement, the population of Port Lincoln was 270. There were 30 stone houses, a hotel, blacksmith's shop and a store in the Happy Valley area. Around this time, Edward John Eyre explored the peninsula that was subsequently named in his honour.
In early 1842, local Aboriginal resistance to the British settlement became so successful that it prompted the near abandonment of Port Lincoln. As a result, Governor George Grey ordered a detachment of the 96th Regiment of the British Army under the command of Lieutenant Hugonin to enforce control in the area. After an initial defeat at Pillaworta, the 96th in combination with the Mounted Police and armed settlers were able to restore full British authority by the end of 1843. A section of Native Police were later deployed to the area to maintain this control.[15] An unknown number of Aboriginal people were killed by soldiers near Pillaworta in retribution for the presumed killings of colonists.[16]
In 1849, five Aboriginal people including an infant were poisoned after being given flour mixed with arsenic by hutkeeper Patrick Dwyer near Port Lincoln. Despite being arrested with strong evidence against him, Dwyer was released from custody by Charles Driver, the Government Resident at Port Lincoln.[17]
Local government formally began on the Eyre Peninsula on 1 July 1880, with the establishment of the District Council of Lincoln. The township of Port Lincoln naturally was included in that area. On 18 August 1921, the Municipality of Port Lincoln was formally proclaimed.
By 1936 the population had grown to 3200 and the town had a first-class water supply. The port had become the commercial pivot for the area, providing for its many agricultural and commercial requirements. City status was granted to Port Lincoln on 21 January 1971 and the proclamation was read at the opening of the tenth annual Tunarama Festival on the Australia Day weekend.
Water supply
The lack of a reliable surface water supply was a factor preventing Port Lincoln from being proclaimed the colony's capital city in the 1830s. Even as a small town, Port Lincoln outgrew its fresh water supplies. It is now largely dependent on water drawn from groundwater basins in the south of the peninsula.
The southern and western parts of the Eyre Peninsula region also share this resource via the Tod-Ceduna pipeline. The Iron Knob to Kimba pipeline completed in 2007 provides limited transfer capacity of River Murray water into the Tod-Ceduna system. Following the development of a long term water supply plan for Eyre Peninsula, the South Australian government is progressing detailed investigation of augmentation options. These include seawater desalination.[18]
Formerly a potable water resource fed by the Tod River, the Tod Reservoir was taken offline in 2001–2002 due to concerns about rising levels of agricultural chemical contamination and salinity.[19]
Port Lincoln has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb). The climate is highly variable due to the town's position between the Outback and Southern Ocean. Summers alternate between frequent southerly sea breezes (keeping maxima under 30.0°C (86.0°F)), with occasional northerly heatwaves (that raise the temperature to well over 40.0°C (104.0°F)). Meanwhile, winters are cool and cloudy, with frequent drizzle, showers and cold fronts, albeit with frost being very rare.
There is moderate seasonal temperature variation and seasonal lag, with average maxima ranging from 26.2°C (79.2°F) in January to 16.1°C (61.0°F) in July, while average minima vary from 16.1°C (61.0°F) in February to 7.2°C (45.0°F) in August. Average annual rainfall is rather low: 392.5mm (15.45in), occurring within 127.1 rainfall days, and the wettest month on record was 200.4mm (7.89in) in June 1981. Despite the low intensity of rainfall: there are 154.5 cloudy days and only 57.2 clear days annually.[28] Extreme temperatures have ranged from −0.3°C (31.5°F) on 16 July 2016 to 48.3°C (118.9°F) on 24 January 2019.[29]
Climate data for Port Lincoln (34º36'00"S, 135º52'48"E, 9 m AMSL) (1992-2024 normals and extremes, sun 1973-1991)
The economy is based on the huge grain-handling facilities (with a total capacity of over 337,500tonnes), the canning and fish processing works, lambs, wool and beef, and tuna farming for the Japanese market.[32] Home of Australia's largest commercial fishing fleet,[citation needed] Port Lincoln now has a thriving aquaculture industry that farms the following species: southern bluefin tuna, yellowtail kingfish, abalone, mussels, oysters, and experimentally, seahorses and spiny lobsters. Before the advent of aquaculture, the main fishing was for southern bluefin tuna.[citation needed]Frank Moorhouse recommended the South Australian government lend the Haldane family 20,000 pounds which they used to build a super vessel. The MFV Tacoma was Australia's first purpose-built tuna fishing vessel. It revolutionised the industry and began catching the fish off the coast of Port Lincoln in the early 1950s.[33]
The city also functions as a regional centre for government administration, corporate services and commerce to Eyre Peninsula; however, many state government functions are gradually being withdrawn as they become more centralised in Adelaide. During the early years of this century, housing demand has led to a boom in property development, both residential and commercial.
A proposal by Centrex Metals to export iron ore through an expanded facility at the existing Port Lincoln wharf was approved by the South Australian Government c. Oct 2009.[34] The proposal was abandoned by the company following strong public opposition. The chief public concern was the potential harm that spillage or dust plumes might cause to the profitability or reputation of the region's dominant seafood industry.[35][36]
Port Lincoln was also the port terminus for the privately owned standard-gauge Coffin Bay Tramway that operated from 1966 to 1989 to carry lime sand to the port at Proper Bay on the south side of the town for BHP. It was used as flux in blast furnaces.[39]
The Port Lincoln Bus Service operates Monday to Friday from 9.00 am to 4.30 pm with separate morning and afternoon services. The morning service runs to a fixed route timetable and services Lincoln North and Lincoln South.
Port Lincoln was visited in 1939 by English travel author Eric Newby, while he was crew in the 4-masted barqueMoshulu, which anchored outside of Boston Island. Moshulu had taken 82 days to sail to Port Lincoln from Belfast in ballast (a fast passage for a windjammer), but there was no grain to be had there, even though Moshulu waited at anchor for most of January. The crew was given shore leave in Port Lincoln, encountering large amounts of Australian wine. Moshulu eventually carried on to Port Victoria for cargo. During the 1939 season, Passat and Lawhill were also present at Port Lincoln. Newby wrote about his experiences on the round-trip from Ireland to South Australia in his book The Last Grain Race (1956), and several pictures of Port Lincoln as it appeared in 1939 are included in his photo-essay of his voyage, Learning the Ropes.[citation needed]
The town was featured in the second series of An Idiot Abroad. British comedian Karl Pilkington was in Port Lincoln for the show where he swam with sharks.[45][46]
Historically, South Australia's first rural newspaper, the Port Lincoln Herald, owned by Robert Thomas, was published on 10 April 1839, before ceasing publication in September 1840.[50][51] According to the first edition, "...The object of the proprietors...is to promulgate just accounts of the capabilities of the only safe and commodious harbour yet known within the territories of South Australia."[52] Only six issues were released, with the first edition being printed in Hindley Street, Adelaide, and the second issue arriving seven months later, after being printed in a hut at Port Lincoln.[52]
The Western Weekly News (22 March 1902 – 1904)[53] was also briefly published in the town, as was another short lived, but outspoken publication, called Challenger (28 May 1932 - 4 June 1934), a sister publication of the West Coast Recorder.[54] The town was also the base of the Port Lincoln, Tumby and West Coast Recorder (22 July 1904 – 6 October 1909),[55] later known as the West Coast Recorder (1909-1942), which was then absorbed by the Port Lincoln Times. These days, Port Lincoln has one local newspaper (the Port Lincoln Times), a Rural Press publication first issued on 5 August 1927. It is published on Tuesdays and Thursdays and is printed in Murray Bridge at the high-tech Rural Press printing centre.
Port Lincoln has two local commercial radio stations, 89.9 Magic FM and 765 AM 5CC (the first local commercial station) broadcasting out of their Washington Street studio. It is also served by ABC West Coast SA on 1485 AM which broadcasts out of the Civic Centre on Tasman Terrace. It's also served by Triple J and ABC Radio National from Tumby Bay and satellite uplink from Melbourne respectively. ABC News Radio is also available on 91.5FM. It also receives KIXFM 87.6.
Lincoln National Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located about 249 kilometres (155 mi) west of the state capital of Adelaide and about 9.5 kilometres (5.9 mi) south of the municipal seat of Port Lincoln. It consists of a mainland area on the Jussieu Peninsula on the south eastern tip of Eyre Peninsula and a number of nearby islands. The national park contains significant sites of natural, indigenous and early European heritage.
Port Augusta is a coastal city in South Australia about 310 kilometres (190 mi) by road from the state capital, Adelaide. Most of the city is on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf, immediately south of the gulf's head, comprising the city's centre and surrounding suburbs, Stirling North, and seaside homes at Commissariat Point, Blanche Harbor and Miranda. The suburb of Port Augusta West is on the western side of the gulf on the Eyre Peninsula. Together, these localities had a population of 13,515 people in the 2021 census.
Ceduna is a town in South Australia located on the shores of Murat Bay on the coast, west of the Eyre Peninsula. It lies west of the junction of the Flinders and Eyre Highways around 786 km northwest of Adelaide. The nearby port of Thevenard lies 3 km to the west on Cape Thevenard. It is in the District Council of Ceduna, the federal electoral Division of Grey, and the state electoral district of Flinders.
Flinders Highway connects the South Australian towns of Ceduna and Port Lincoln, a distance of 396 kilometres (246 mi) Flinders Highway – along with Lincoln Highway – presents an alternative but somewhat longer coastal route between Ceduna and Port Augusta, compared to the more direct route along Eyre Highway. It is designated route B100.
The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north.
The District Council of Lower Eyre Peninsula is a local government area located on Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The district covers the southern tip of the peninsula, except for the small area taken up by the City of Port Lincoln.
Tumby Bay is a coastal town situated on the Spencer Gulf, on the eastern coast of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, 45 kilometres (28 mi) north of Port Lincoln. The town of Tumby Bay is the major population centre of the District Council of Tumby Bay, and the centre of an agricultural district farming cereal crops and sheep, as well as having established fishing and tourism industries.
Coffin Bay, originally Coffin's Bay, is a town at the southern extremity of the Eyre Peninsula, a wheat growing area of South Australia.
Streaky Bay is a coastal town on the western side of the Eyre Peninsula, in South Australia just off the Flinders Highway, 303 km (188 mi) north-west of Port Lincoln and 727 km (452 mi) by road from Adelaide. At the 2016 census, Streaky Bay recorded a population of 1,378.
Smoky Bay is a town and locality located in the Australian state of South Australia on the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula. Previously used as a port, the town is now a residential settlement and popular tourist destination known for its recreational fishing, with a boat ramp and jetty located in the town.
Penong is a town and locality on the Nullarbor Plain, in the far west of the state of South Australia located about 616 kilometres (383 mi) north-west of the state capital of Adelaide. With no settlements between it and Border Village on the border with Western Australia, 400 km (250 mi) away on the Eyre Highway, it is a popular rest-stop for travellers.
Thistle Island / Noondala is in the Spencer Gulf, South Australia, some 200 kilometres (120 mi) west of Adelaide, and northwest of the Gambier Islands. The city of Port Lincoln lies to the northwest of the island. Between them, the Gambier Islands and Thistle form a chain across the mouth of the gulf between the southern tips of the Yorke and Eyre Peninsulas, sometimes referred to as the Taylor Islands group.
The Barngarla,, are an Indigenous people of South Australia and the traditional owners of much of Eyre Peninsula. Their language, Barngarla is a Yura language and part of a revival effort by the University of Adelaide.
Sleaford Mere is a permanent saline lake, located on the Jussieu Peninsula on the south eastern tip of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia about 15 kilometres south west of Port Lincoln. The lake was given its modern name by the British explorer, Matthew Flinders, on 26 February 1802. Since 1969, the lake has been part of the Sleaford Mere Conservation Park and since 2005, it has been listed as a nationally important wetland. The lake and its environs are notable as a venue for recreational pursuits such as canoeing.
In South Australia, one of the states of Australia, there are many areas which are commonly known by regional names. Regions are areas that share similar characteristics. These characteristics may be natural such as the Murray River, the coastline, desert or mountains. Alternatively, the characteristics may be cultural, such as common land use. South Australia is divided by numerous sets of regional boundaries, based on different characteristics. In many cases boundaries defined by different agencies are coterminous.
Poonindie is a small township near Port Lincoln on the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. The land upon which it sits was originally the land of the [[Parnkalla people NAUO People are the original descendants
Charles Christian Dutton was a pastoralist in the Colony of South Australia who disappeared, believed murdered by Aboriginal people, while driving cattle from Port Lincoln to Adelaide in July 1842.
The Nauo people, also spelt Nawu and Nhawu, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the south-western Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The Nauo language became extinct by the twentieth century, but efforts are being made to revive it.
Sleaford Bay is a bay located in the Australian state of South Australia on the southern coast of Eyre Peninsula. It was named by the British navigator, Matthew Flinders in 1802.
Fish farming is a major economic contributor to South Australia's seafood sector. The most valuable species is the Southern bluefin tuna, which is caught in the wild then transferred into sea cages in southern Spencer Gulf where they are fed locally caught sardines. The second most valuable species is the Yellowtail kingfish, which is farmed near Port Lincoln and Arno Bay. A tourist venture called Oceanic Victor located in Encounter Bay allows paying customers the opportunity to swim in a sea cage with the Southern bluefin tuna and handfeed the fish. Prominent companies in the fish farming sector in South Australia include Clean Seas and Tony's Tuna International.
↑ "Professor Ghil'ad Zuckermann, Chair of Linguistics and Endangered Languages at the University of Adelaide [...] told NITV: 'I urge Australia to define the 330 Aboriginal languages, most of them sleeping beauties, as the official languages of their region. [Australia should] introduce bilingual signs and thus change the linguistic landscape, of this beautiful country. So, for example, Port Lincoln should also be referred to as Galinyala, which is its original Barngarla name '", article by Sophie Verass (NITV), Indigenous meanings of Australian town names, 10 August 2016.
↑ "Hawson's Grave, Hawson Square". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
↑ "Port Lincoln Railway Station". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
↑ "Dwelling ('Ravendale House')". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
↑ Ward, T. M., McLeay, L. J., Dimmlich, W. F., Rogers, P. J., McClatchie, S., Matthews, R., Kämpf, J. and Van Ruth, P. D. (2006), Pelagic ecology of a northern boundary current system: effects of upwelling on the production and distribution of sardine (Sardinops sagax), anchovy (Engraulis australis) and southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) in the Great Australian Bight. Fisheries Oceanography, 15: 191–207. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2419.2006.00353.x
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