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Yorke Peninsula

Coordinates: 34°21′0″S 137°37′0″E / 34.35000°S 137.61667°E / -34.35000; 137.61667
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Not to be confused with the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland.
For other uses, see Yorke Peninsula.

Yorke Peninsula
South Australia
The town of Ardrossan, located in Yorke Peninsula
Yorke Peninsula is located in South Australia
Yorke Peninsula
Yorke Peninsula
Coordinates34°21′0″S 137°37′0″E / 34.35000°S 137.61667°E / -34.35000; 137.61667
Population25,143 (2005)[1]
Established1840s
LGA(s)
State electorate(s)Frome[2]
Goyder[3]
Federal division(s)Grey[4]
WebsiteYorke Peninsula

The Yorke Peninsula is a peninsula located northwest and west of Adelaide in South Australia, between Spencer Gulf on the west and Gulf St Vincent on the east. The peninsula is separated from Kangaroo Island to the south by Investigator Strait. The most populous town in the region is Kadina.

History

Yorke Peninsula is the central, boot-shaped peninsula above the island and between the two inlets

Prior to European settlement of the area commencing around 1840, following the British colonisation of South Australia, Yorke Peninsula was the home to the Narungga people. This Aboriginal Australian nation are the traditional owners of the land, and comprised four clans sharing the peninsula, known as Guuranda: Kurnara in the north, Dilpa in the south, Wari in the west and Windarra in the east.[5] Today the descendants of these people still live on Yorke Peninsula, supported by the Narungga Aboriginal Progress Association in Maitland, and in the community at Point Pearce.

It was named “Yorke’s Peninsula”[6] by Captain Matthew Flinders, after Charles Philip Yorke (later Lord Hardwicke), narrowly beating French navigator Captain Nicolas Baudin, who preferred the name “Cambaceres Peninsula”.

Geography

Physiography

Aerial view of Yorke Peninsula, looking south from around Ardrossan. Gulf St Vincent is in the foreground, Spencer Gulf in the background. The "foot" of the "boot" can be discerned near the horizon

The area is also known as the Yorke Horst, which is distinct physiographic section of the larger South Australian Shatter Belt province, which in turn is part of the larger West Australian Shield, a physiographic division describing a geological feature known as a shield. Along with Cape Eyre the peninsula is also part of the Eyre Yorke Block bioregion.[citation needed]

Topography

Most of Yorke Peninsula is prime agricultural land, with mostly small rolling hills and flat plains. The southern end of the Hummocks Range partially extends down the top of the Peninsula, flattening out near Clinton. The highest point[quantify] on the Peninsula is 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north-east of Maitland, although there is some debate as to where the Peninsula borders the Mid-North, and part of the steep Hummocks terrain may be considered part of the Peninsula.[citation needed]

A series of shallow valleys line the interior of the Peninsula, with the main one called the Yorke Valley extending roughly from Sunnyvale, south of Paskeville through to Ramsey, between Minlaton and Stansbury. The predominant Yorke Valley area lies roughly in the area between Arthurton, Maitland, Ardrossan and Curramulka.[citation needed]

The southern tip, sometimes termed the "foot", is surrounded on three sides by the ocean, and forms a 170,000-hectare (420,000-acre) isolated "mainland island", with large tracts of excellent native vegetation.[7]

Towns

Principal towns include the Copper Coast towns of Kadina, Moonta and Wallaroo; farming centres of Maitland, Minlaton and Yorketown; and the port of Ardrossan. A number of smaller coastal towns are popular destinations for fishing and holidays, particularly for people from Adelaide.

The south-western tip is occupied by Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park.

Climate

Typical of the southern coastal areas of the state and influenced by the surrounding bodies of water, Yorke Peninsula has a Mediterranean climate, (Koppen: borderline Csa/Csb), with some areas bordering a semi-arid climate, with hot, dry summer and cool, wet winter seasons. Maximum temperatures in summer average around 30°C and in winter average around 12–15°C.[citation needed]

Due to the surrounding bodies of water, winter temperatures are moderated and milder than most of the state, with overnight temperatures rarely falling below zero, making frost relatively uncommon in the region. Northerly winds from the desert can bring temperatures above 40°C in summer and occasionally bring very warm winter days well into the 20s. Average precipitation is 4–600 mm, most of which falls from mid-April through to September, though total and seasonal rainfall can vary greatly from year to year. Along with most of southern Australia, monsoonal lows from the north occasionally bring heavy storm events during spring and summer; rainfall is otherwise light and unreliable due to high pressure systems dominating the area.[citation needed]

Agriculture

Yorke Peninsula is a major producer of grain, particularly barley. 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 ketches, schooners, 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 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 at the north-western side, and Ardrossan at the top of Gulf St Vincent, also used to ship dolomite from a nearby mine for OneSteel. Maitland has a grain-receiving depot operated by AWB, serviced only by road.[citation needed]

Wine production commenced on the Peninsula during the 1990s, taking advantage of the rich grey, limestone-based soil.[8]

Yorke Peninsula Field Days

Further information: Yorke Peninsula Field Days

Acknowledged as Australia's oldest Field Days, the Yorke Peninsula Field Days have been held since 1894. The Field Days site just outside Paskeville is a hive of agricultural activity every 2 years, at the end of September.[9]

Transport

Access from Adelaide is by road, and a regular bus service operates from the capital to main towns on the peninsula and between some of the towns. It takes an estimated two and a half hours to drive from end to end, and about 30–40 minutes across the peninsula. There are no traffic lights on the peninsula.[10]

In December 2006, Sea SA operated the first ferry service across the Spencer Gulf, between Wallaroo and Lucky Bay, near Cowell on Eyre Peninsula, and this service continued until at least late 2015.[11] As of 2021 a daily ferry service is operated by Spencer Gulf Searoad.[12]


Flora and fauna

A "Baiting for biodiversity" program across 170,000 hectares (420,000 acres) of the peninsula since 2014 has been successful in helping to protect threatened species, including the hooded plover, mallee fowl and fairy tern. Bush stone-curlews had returned to the peninsula after not being seen there for 40 years.[13]

In 2003, the Monarto Zoo temporarily housed 85 mainland tammar wallabies from New Zealand, awaiting reintroduction to the Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park,[14] after they had been locally extinct there for some time.[13] By 2012, four releases had been made, and the population increased to 100–120 animals.[15]

Protected areas

The following statutory reserves are located within the peninsula or immediately adjoin its coastline:

Yorke Peninsula also hosts two Important Bird Areas (IBA): the Gulf St Vincent Important Bird Area and the Southern Yorke Peninsula Important Bird Area. The Gulf St Vincent IBA covers a strip of intertidal land from Ardrossan to the head of Gulf St Vincent and onto the east coast of the gulf. The Southern Yorke Peninsula IBA covers most of the southern western tip of the Peninsula and overlaps Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park and Warrenben Conservation Park.[20][21]

Marna Banggara

Marna Banggara, formerly known as the Great Southern Ark,[22] is a grand project starting in 2019 to restore the landscape and ecology of the southern Yorke Peninsula, by reintroducing around twenty locally extinct species. The 25-kilometre (16 mi) fence across the peninsula, isolating a 170,000-hectare (420,000-acre) "mainland island", will limit predation of both native species and livestock such as lambs by feral cats and red foxes. Some work on controlling foxes had been carried out around 2006, in preparation for the return of tammar wallabies to Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park, but the fence will expand the area of control.[7][23][24]

The geography of the southern tip of the peninsula makes it an excellent location for species reintroduction, as it is surrounded by the ocean on three sides. The area already possesses good native vegetation, and the area is isolated. Marna Banggara is funded through the Northern and Yorke Landscape Board, the federal government’s National Landcare Program, the South Australian Department for Environment and Water, WWF-Australia and the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife, and many organisations have been actively involved in developing the project.[7]

Twenty woylies, or brush-tailed bettongs, were the first species reintroduced in the area, translocated from Wedge Island in June 2021,[25][7][26] with another 80 to follow over time. The woylies will be the first of about 20 locally extinct species which will be moved there by around 2040.[25] Other species to be reintroduced as part of the project include western quolls and southern brown bandicoots, as well as native predators including the barn owl, red-tailed phascogale.[13]

Notable residents

Politics
Sports
Other
  • Stenhouse Bay Jetty
    Stenhouse Bay Jetty
  • Moonta Mines
    Moonta Mines
  • School of Mines, Moonta
    School of Mines, Moonta
  • Wattle Point Wind Farm, near Edithburgh
    Wattle Point Wind Farm, near Edithburgh
  • Ardrossan Jetty
    Ardrossan Jetty
  • Black Point beach at dusk
    Black Point beach at dusk

See also

Copper Coast

Further information: Copper Coast

Since the discovery of Copper on Yorke Peninsula over 150 years ago, the towns of Kadina, Moonta and Wallaroo have been collectively known as the Copper Coast.

Kernewek Lowender

Further information: Kernewek Lowender

The world's largest Cornish Festival takes place every 2 years (in odd-numbered years) in the Copper Coast towns of Kadina, Moonta and Wallaroo.

References

  1. ^ "Population health profile of the Yorke Peninsula" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  2. ^ "District of Frome Background Profile". ELECTORAL COMMISSION SA. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  3. ^ "District of Goyder Background Profile". ELECTORAL COMMISSION SA. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Federal electoral division of Grey" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  5. ^ "Windara reef". Yorke Peninsula Visitor Information. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Plan of Yorke's Peninsula showing mineral claims, townships, runs, etc.;cartographic material&;/ by J.B. Poole C.E., Licensed Surveyor". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d "Marna Banggara: Creating a safe haven for native species". Landscape South Australia. Northern and Yorke. 24 December 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Barley Stacks Wines". Barley Stacks Wines. Archived from the original on 30 November 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  9. ^ Yorke Peninsula Field Days website, The Yorke Peninsula Field Days are acknowledged as the oldest in Australia with the first trial held near Bute, SA, on 31 July 1895.
  10. ^ "Getting Here & Around". Yorke Peninsula Tourism. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  11. ^ "About Us". Sea SA Pty Lty. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  12. ^ "Timetable". Spencer Gulf Searoad. 6 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  13. ^ a b c "Yorke Peninsula sanctuary for iconic and threatened species". Department for Environment and Water. 1 February 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Tamar Wallaby Reintroduction: To breed and reintroduce Tamar wallabies into their former range in Australia". World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Archived from the original on 27 October 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  15. ^ "'Extinct' wallaby goes back on show". ABC News. 14 February 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
  16. ^ "Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park". National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  17. ^ "Parks Guide 2013 - Yorke Peninsula and Clare Valley" (PDF). Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. 2013. pp. 73–74. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
  18. ^ "National Parks and Wildlife (Thidna Conservation Park) Proclamation 2017", The South Australian Government Gazette: 5132, 19 December 2017, retrieved 31 December 2017
  19. ^ Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA) (2007), Aquatic Reserve: Coobowie (PDF), Primary Industries and Regions South Australia, archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2015, retrieved 31 October 2014
  20. ^ "Important Bird Areas factsheet: Gulf St Vincent". BirdLife International. 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  21. ^ "Important Bird Areas factsheet: Southern Yorke Peninsula". BirdLife International. 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
  22. ^ "Great Southern Ark project renamed Marna Banggara". WWF-Australia. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  23. ^ Kilvert, Nick (31 January 2019). "Rewilding project to create 'great southern ark' over former mine, farmland". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  24. ^ Corvo, Shannon; Radford, Luke; Lysaght, Gary-Jon (7 November 2019). "Controversial wire fence splits peninsula to keep native animals in, pests out". ABC News. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  25. ^ a b Stephens, Kate (4 April 2021). "Meet the woylie, an eco-engineer bringing life back to degraded ecosystems". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  26. ^ Johnson, Sarah (28 July 2022). "Endangered bettongs complete 2,000km journey to new home in South Australia". Marna Banggara. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  27. ^ "AFLW: Martin joins the ranks at Adelaide". Adelaide. Telstra Media. 23 October 2018.
  28. ^ a b Sonny Coombs (23 February 2016). "Brothers make AFL debut". Yorke Peninsula Country Times. Retrieved 4 June 2016.
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