The
Eyre Peninsula is named after the explorer Edward Eyre who
explored some of the area around 1840 and has a total population
of some 55000 people. The Gawler Ranges which form the "northern
border" of the peninsula were named after the Governor
of South Australia in 1839, George Gawler.
The
city of Port Lincoln in the south has an enormous fishing
industry focussing on tuna, abalone, kingfish and prawns.
Port Lincoln is one of few places in the world, apart from
South Africa and California, where you can go cage-diving
with white pointer sharks.
The first European visitor was Matthew Flinders who discovered
the harbour in February 1802 and, in a rare act of self-indulgence,
possibly precipitated by the death of eight of his sailors,
he named it in honour his native province having been born
at Donington in Lincolnshire.
Port
Lincoln hosts a series of annual aquatic festivals: Tunarama
(spread out over four days around the Australia Day long
weekend in January), the Lincoln Lexus Blue Water Classic
Yacht Race in February, the Lincoln Week Regatta in March
and the Port Lincoln Game Fishing Club Tournament.
Ceduna
is really the start of the trek across the Nullabor. The
town of Ceduna, probably named as a corruption of the local
Aboriginal word 'chedoona' which supposedly means 'a place
to sit down and rest', was surveyed in 1901.
37
km to the north of the town is the OTC (Overseas Telecommunications
Commission) Ceduna station which handles all international
telecommunications from Europe, Japan and the Middle East.
It is open to the public with guided tours. The Ceduna coast
is a popular location for whale watching between June and
October.
Whyalla
was originally called Hummock Hill and was proclaimed a
town in 1914 and was a BHP company town until 1945 when
the Whyalla Town Commission was formed to carry out the
duties of local government. It was proclaimed a city in
1961 when its population reached 14000. Key tourist "must
do" agenda items include a visit to HMAS Whyalla and
the Whyalla Maritime Museum. Whyalla is still the only steelworks
in Australia to hold regular public tours.
In
May 2010 it was announced that Whyalla is set to become
Australia's first Solar City following the Federal Government's
commitment of $60 million to the Whyalla Solar Oasis project.
The concentrating solar thermal project will use the world's
largest parabolic solar dishes which are 500 square metres
in surface area and capable of generating temperatures in
excess of 2000 degrees.
The Eyre Peninsula is a truly unique place in the world
and any visitor to South Australia who fails to visit is
really doing themselves a disservice.
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