Rapid Bay, South Australia

Rapid Bay South Australia
Rapid Bay
Postcode:	5204
Coordinates:	35°31′28″S 138°11′14″E
Time zone:  • Summer (DST)	ACST (UTC+9:30) ACDT (UTC+10:30)
Location:	100 km (62 mi) S of Adelaide
LGA:	District Council of Yankalilla
State electorate:	Finniss
Federal Division:	Mayo

Rapid Bay (postcode 5204) is a small seaside town in the southwest of the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia. It is approximately 100 km south of the state capital, Adelaide. Rapid Bay lies within the District Council of Yankalilla.

History

South Australia Colonial Surveyor General Colonel William Light made his first landfall on mainland South Australia at Rapid Bay on 8 September 1836. The site was named after Light's ship, the 162 ton brig Rapid. To mark this historic landfall the Colonel's initials, "W.L.", were carved into a large boulder – a replica is visible in the township, while the original is stored in the South Australian Museum, in Adelaide. The first European child born on mainland South Australia was delivered at Rapid Bay on 7 November 1836. His name was John Rapid Hoare.

For a short time Rapid Bay was considered a potential site for the new state capital,^{[citation needed]} but with the discovery of the Adelaide Plains it faded into quiet obscurity.

BHP established a limestone mine here in the early 1940s, establishing the town in its current layout.

Rapid Bay features in the creation myths of both the Kaurna and Ramindjeri people, most notably as the burial site of creation ancestor Tjilbruke's nephew.

Attractions

Rapid Bay is known for its imposing cliffs, caves and beach. It has a long jetty with a local leafy seadragon population. It is one of Australia's premiere shore scuba dive sites. The old wooden Rapid Bay jetty, built by BHP in 1940, was damaged by storms in 2004. A new 240m concrete jetty was completed in 2009. In 2002, HMAS Hobart, a guided missile destroyer, was scuttled in 30 metres of water 3 km from shore, and is also a popular scuba diving site. There is good fishing from the jetty.