Eyre Peninsula west coast at Elliston, South Australia
Eyre Peninsula is a triangle shaped peninsula in South Australia. On the east is Spencer Gulf, and on the west is the Great Australian Bight. Its north boundary is the Gawler Ranges. It is named after explorer Edward John Eyre who explored some of it in 1839-1841. The coastline was first explored by Matthew Flinders in 1801-1802. The west coast was also visited by Nicolas Baudin at around the same time.
Overview[change | change source]
The main towns are Port Lincoln on the southern point, Whyalla and Port Augusta at the north east, and Ceduna at the northwest. They are joined by the Eyre Highway across the inland edge, and the Flinders Highway and Lincoln Highway along the west and east coasts.
The major industry is farming - cereal crops, sheep, and cattle in the dry north area. More water-intensive farming such as dairy farming and growing wine industry happen in the south. Many coastal towns have commercial fishing. Port Lincoln had a large tuna fishing fleet, which is now changing to fish farming in bays along the coast. The Eyre Peninsula has a growing population of around 55,390 people.
National Parks located on the Eyre Peninsula include Lincoln National Park, Coffin Bay National Park, Gawler Ranges National Park, and several conservation parks and reserves like Acraman Creek Conservation Park.
In January 2005, bushfires on the Eyre Peninsula killed nine people.
Transport[change | change source]
References[change | change source]
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Eyre Peninsula (Indigenous Location)". 2006 Census QuickStats. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=ILOC1800501&producttype=QuickStats&breadcrumb=PL&action=401. Retrieved 2011-08-06.
Other websites[change | change source]
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Eyre Peninsula|
|Wikivoyage has a travel guide about: Eyre Peninsula|
- Terraserver.com navigable satellite map of the Eyre Peninsula.
- SouthAustralia.com Eyre Peninsula - Travel Guides, Accommodation, Online Booking