Ceduna Oyster Fest
STAY AWHILE
Ceduna Denial Bay Smoky Bay
Point Bell Penong Fowlers Bay
Southern Right Whales Sunsetsa Nuyts Archipelago
Yalata Aboriginal Lands Davenport Creek National Parks
Fishing Googs Lake Snapper Industry
Cactus Beach Nullarbor Plain
"You will find us on the western edge of Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, a patchwork of grain farms, natural bush and rugged rocky bays, secluded white sandy beaches, shelly beaches and ever-changing seas. Ceduna is far enough from bustling city life to keep its pristine conditions and solitude, and more and more is becoming a mecca for those who love to explore the great outdoors. We offer spectacular beaches bordered by isolated bushland, giving an unspoilt, uncrowded and uniquely different holiday experience.
It is an ideal place to relax, unwind and get away from it all, to enjoy life’s simple pleasures - sunshine and mild weather, lazy days and lonely beaches, hiking along dramatic coastal cliffs and rocks, whale watching on the Nullarbor, camping, fishing, diving or surfing. Visitors can stroll along clean white sandy beaches, go surfing, swimming, boating, sailing, windsurfing, water ski-ing, look for shells or simply explore tidal rock pools and spectacular coastal scenery.
Just a short distance from our fabulous beaches are dry salt lakes, natural mallee scrubs, wonderful wildflowers and granite outcrops. This region’s ever-increasing popularity comes as no surprise to people who have sampled its hospitality and, with many kilometers of beautiful coastline, there’s a relaxed feeling, which creates just the right atmosphere for a memorable holiday.
You are guaranteed to find unspoilt areas, isolated and captivating. While you are there, sit in solitude and watch our wonderful sunsets.
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Four Wheel Drive enthusiasts have a huge choice of camping sites and don’t forget, camping on the Nullarbor also offers its own unique adventure. And it won’t cost you the earth to experience all of this. The natural treasures of the region are for all of us to share.
A memorable holiday is more than just postcards, souvenirs and a collection of photographs to share with family and friends when you get back home. We are sure it is our friendly locals - people really do make the difference between a great holiday and an ordinary one - the fun times, the remote and rugged beauty of our coastline and outback and our leisurely, relaxed lifestyle that will give you those lasting memories...
Our area exudes a gentle charm which grows increasingly powerful as you get to know the country. Ultimately, the environment of "The Far West Coast" holds one as powerfully as any landscape on earth.
We hope your time in our part of South Australia will be as pleasurable to you as it is to those of us who are fortunate enough to live here.
Come, we invite you to join us..." Ceduna Mayor, Peter Duffy
If you are looking for a more detailed history of the area, call the District Council of Ceduna office to purchase a copy of the book "Life on the Edge".
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Our Region
Our region offers you a huge choice of coastline for your favourite outdoor activities, or try something new; scuba diving, surfing or ski-ing, fish for the delicious King George Whiting or Snapper, explore our outback, come on a Nullarbor adventure - and everyone must see the nearby Southern Right Whales at least once!
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Our Mediterranean climate and ever changing seas are an invitation to tourists who want to get away from it all. Our diverse scenic beauty varies from outback wilderness, to untouched coastline, to the castaway islands of St Peter and St Francis, making it a tourist destination with its own natural charm, having everything you need for a leisurely holiday, without the hustle and bustle of ... anything. Just do what you choose!
Industry
The large agricultural community surrounding Ceduna supports and depends on the town for its facilities and services. The small township of Thevenard extends out on the peninsula south of Ceduna and is an ideal location for the deep sea port. Huge white silos there, visible for many miles, are a sign of grain growing in the area and bulk handling of huge quantities of grain, gypsum and salt takes place. Across the water, you glimpse Denial Bay, home of the oyster industry. Travel further west to Penong, and see the salt and gypsum works. Mineral exploration in the Gawler Craton - the heart of which is just north of Ceduna - is becoming more and more likely.
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Fishing
Our area offers a great opportunity for tourists to sample all the delights of the sea and local jetties entice fishermen to try for fish, crabs and squid.
Beach fishermen can be rewarded with catches of salmon and mulloway. Jetty and boat fishing can give a mixed bag of snapper, whiting, trevally, garfish, salmon, mullet, tommies, snook, blue crabs and squid.
Handlines or small fishing rods are suitable for use from a jetty or boat, and a medium size rod and reel are suitable for most beach fishing situations. You will need a reasonable selection of hooks, lures and sinkers. Bait, mainly pilchards and cockles, is available at many outlets in the district, or use fresh squid or pick your own razorfish.
The choice is yours - jetty fishing; boat fishing; hire a charter boat to fish from; beach fishing; rock fishing; surf fishing. Whatever you like, the opportunities to fish along the whole stretch of coastline that we call the Far West Coast, are innumerable
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Thevenard is the home port to a fleet of fishing vessels, and fish processors market catches of whiting, lobster, prawns, shark, garfish, squid, snapper, abalone and locally farmed oysters. Fish factories are generally open seven days a week from 6.30am to 6.30pm, and you are welcome to buy fresh or frozen fish when workers are there.
National Trust Museum
The Museum is located in Park Terrace and is opened Monday to Saturday. Built in 1912, this was the first school in Ceduna and was opened in 1981 as a museum. On display are historic items from pioneering families, antiques and restored farm machinery. Features are the Maralinga Room with artifacts from the 1950s Maralinga era and the British Atomic Program and the Medical room dedicated to the Bush Church Aid Society. Make sure you see the cast of the basking shark found at Fowlers Bay in 1914.
Memorial Plaques in Poynton St median strip:
Matthew Flinders: Situated on the Roundabout Signpost, this plaque commemorates Flinders’ voyage in 1802.
Railway Sidings: This plaque is to commemorate the old Railway Sidings that existed from 1924. The railway line served many small farming areas from Ceduna to Penong, delivering water and superphosphate and taking milk, cream, grains, salt and gypsum. This railway line closed in 1966 when a new narrow gauge line, direct from the gypsum field to Thevenard, was built.
Australia Remembers: As with many towns throughout Australia, Ceduna commemorated 50 years since the end of World War II and this plaque was unveiled by Tobruk RAT veteran, Sydney Arthur (Art) Trewartha on ANZAC day 1995.
William McKenzie: Known as the father of the district, William McKenzie was the first farmer to come here and lived 14 kms west of Ceduna on the Denial Bay Road. The ruins of his homestead are still visible.
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Other Things to See
The Big Oyster: Call into the Ceduna Tourist Information Bay on the western outskirts, to see the Big Oyster. Made by local oyster growers for use in the Ceduna Oyster Fest Street Parade, this oyster now invites you to visit an oyster farm and sample the great oysters that are grown in this district.
Thevenard Jetty: The construction of the port was started in 1916, when a contract was let to construct a concrete jetty 1160 ft long, the first of its kind in Australia. It was completed in 1920.
Gypsum and Salt: Gypsum and salt works are in evidence by the stockpiles which are on either side of the entrance to the jetty. Salt is on the right and trucked down from Penong when a shipment is needed. Gypsum is in huge stockpiles on the left brought down by train from Penong, on a regular basis.
Silos: Silos were first erected in 1960 by Dillingham Constructions and, over the next 20 years, the whole system was built and now has a carrying capacity of 208,000 tonnes. Wheat, barley and oats are exported all around the world from farms in this district. The SACBH, South Australian Co-operative Bulk Handling, is a grower owned co-operative which organises receivals, handling, storage and export of the State’s grain harvests.
Smoky Bay
Smoky Bay is a popular seaside town offering a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. With good fishing from the jetty or in a boat, and safe sandy beaches, Smoky Bay is ideal for a holiday. Oyster farms here produce fantastic top quality Pacific oysters. Today a thriving town exists, supported by a popular caravan park, general store, wonderful beaches and great fishing.
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Denial Bay
Denial Bay is 12 kms west of Ceduna. Denial Bay served as the loading point for sea cargo and the original McKenzies Landing still stands. In 1909 the jetty was constructed south of McKenzies Landing. The home of the Pacific Oyster, these succulent shellfish are available direct from the oyster farm door.
Davenport Creek
Davenport Creek is around 40 kms west of Ceduna. It is a sheltered salt creek, with a wonderful sandy beach lined with mangroves. Fishing and camping are popular.
Rocky Point and Point Bell
Rocky Point and Point Bell are only accessible by 4WD vehicles. The long white beaches and secluded bays are spectacular and surfing, swimming, rock and surf fishing are all activities that can take place here. A popular camping area. No facilities.
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Penong
Gravelle's Surfboard Factory: A surfboard factory at Penong is owned and run by Paul Gravelle. His working hours are irregular - open when he is there, closed when he is not - dictated to by the quality of the waves at Cactus!
The Woolshed: The Woolshed, established long before there was a town, has now been renovated and is an evocative reminder of the past, with its arts, crafts and museum.
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Salt: Salt is one of the most commonly occurring and most widely used minerals on earth. Much of the harvested salt from Penong is exported through the port of Thevenard, 100 kms to the east.
Gypsum: Gypsum is a common soft material, which consists of hydrated calcium sulphate with a proportion of water. The Lake McDonnell deposit, near Sinclair, 13 kms south of Penong, is the largest in the southern hemisphere, covering 87 sq kms, to an average depth of 4.8 m, with reserves estimated at over 300 million tonnes.
Lake McDonnell
As you drive to Sinclair, you drive through Lake McDonnell which is very high in salt concentration and gives the impression of a salmon pink lake on clear days. The lake waters may be blue in one direction and pink in another. The lakes often reflect the white sandunes. The bays have wonderful sandy beaches, some have spectacular shells and there are excellent fishing spots. The jetty and swimming enclosure make it a favourite picnic area.
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CACTUS: Catching waves!: Pick any day with an off-shore north-east wind and afternoon seabreezes and you will see surfers catching waves, single-mindedly trying for the ultimate manoeuvre, waiting for that next wave, that next adrenalin hit! What gets them in? Those who don’t surf will never know the feeling of riding a board along the face of a wave, the dynamic acceleration of powerful waves, the sound and feel of roaring water, white foam and iridescent spray. If you are up to it, surfing big waves is a heart-in-the-mouth experience creating many never-to-be-forgotten moments
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Head of the Bight
Great Australian Bight: It is where the cliffs of the Nullarbor meet sand dunes and the beach and is a newly proclaimed Marine Park and one of the premier whale viewing areas in the world. The Head of the Bight and the Nullarbor cliffs are a geographical feature of national significance. The southern coast of Australia, from Tasmania to Cape Leeuwin, is the longest stretch of south-facing coastline in the Southern Hemisphere. The Nullarbor Cliffs, which average 80 m in height, stretch unbroken for 209 kms to Western Australian border. These spectacular steep tertiary limestone cliffs provide some of the best coastal wilderness scenery in Australia.
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Nullarbor Plain: The Nullarbor Plain spans around 260,000 square kms and is a vast treeless plain bordered in the south by limestone cliffs which drop into the Southern Ocean. Its name is derived from Latin words nulla arbor meaning no tree.
The Dog Fence: One of the longest continuous fences in the world, at a length of 5614 kilometres, the Dog Fence starts in Queensland and extends to the Great Australian Bight in SA. The Fence was built to keep the wild dingoes out of pastoral lands and away from livestock.
Whales
Southern Right Whales Eubalaena australis
The Southern Right whale frequents inshore waters from April/May to October. During this time it calves and breeds in southern Australia before it returns to its sub-Antarctic feeding grounds.
The Right whale is solidly built, reaching maximum lengths of 18.3 mts (60 feet) and may weigh 50 to 90 tonnes. They are renown for their leaping, known as breaching.
The land surrounding the Head of the Great Australian Bight lies within Yalata Aboriginal Lands and is managed by the Yalata Community. Whales are seen from April-May to October. This area offers the best cliff based views of whales in Australia. Each summer, whales leave their feeding grounds in the sub-Antarctic and migrate north to warmer waters, covering thousands of kilometres on their trip. The Head of the Bight is transformed into a marine whale nursery as mothers and their calves visit. At other times, the Head of the Bight is an excellent fishing location.
Permits: Permits are required for whale watching, fishing and camping and money raised from these permits help the Yalata Community manage the area. They are available from Yalata and Nullarbor Roadhouses, Ceduna Gateway Tourist Centre and at the site. In July 1997, a new information centre, roads, walkways, toilets and other facilities were opened at the Head of the Bight.
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Fowlers Bay
In 1925, there were the Globe Hotel, two stores, a saddler, a boarding house and a wheat agent, but by 1940, the only businesses that still existed at Fowlers Bay, were the boarding house, the Post Office and the school. When the east-west Eyre Highway bypassed them in the 1970s, it seemed the town was doomed. However, today Fowlers Bay is a thriving tourist area, with a modern, clean caravan park and a small kiosk with groceries, take-aways, bait and tackle, diesel and a playground, public telephone and toilets. In the much earlier days of Fowlers Bay, there was a whaling station on the shore at Point Fowler, and it is still possible to see whale bones around the area. Sightseeing reveals some of the most wild, beautiful, isolated coastal scenery, pristine beaches and fabulous fishing spots in SA.
National Parks
For more information on any of the National Parks in the area you can contact the DEHAA, 11 McKenzie Street, or PO Box 569, Ceduna, 5690, phone 08 8625 3144, fax 08 8625 3123.
Decrees Bay National Park and Laura Bay Conservation Park: Situated south east of Ceduna, these small coastal parks have a series of dunes behind the beach, grading into a small area of mallee, open scrub and saltmarsh. Laura Bay's sandy white coves, mangroves, sand dunes and rocky headlands encourage the tourist to enjoy the untouched beauty of the area.
Goog's Track: Granite outcrops and dry salt lakes intrigue the visitor and locals alike. Advice must be obtained locally. No facilities. Definitely well prepared 4WD vehicles only. After 50 kms, you come to the junction to Goog’s Lake and Mt Finke. Note the memorial monuments there. Veer right to go to Goog’s Lake and left to continue north to Mt Finke, which stands sentinel over vast areas of sandhills and scrub. From here, the 200 km sandhill track continues on to the Dog Fence, the East West Railway line and on to Tarcoola, reached after crossing more than 300 huge sandhills and which is a fascinating old gold mining area. Many four wheel drive enthusiasts take day trips from Ceduna to Goog’s Lake to view this dry salt lake.
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Nuyts Archipelago: Nuyts Archipelago includes the offshore islands between Rocky Point and Point Brown. They include a wide variety of limestone capped islands on massive granite bases, generally supporting a low shrubland of Marsh Saltbush. Most islands have large Short-tailed Shearwater (Mutton birds) breeding colonies in the summer months and Purdie, Lounds and the islets off Franklin Island support breeding colonies of Australian Sea Lions. Goat and Franklin Islands have dense populations of very large Black Tiger Snakes. Franklin Island has the last known population of Greater Stick-nest Rats Leporillus conditor.
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Web site design by Tarnya Adams, University of South Australia
Copyright (c) 2002 Last updated 18th November 2002