The Yorke Peninsula, known as Guuranda by the original inhabitants, the Narungga people, 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; Maitland is the most central town; and the south-western tip is occupied by Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park.

History

thumb|right|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. The Narungga people also had names for the locations of many towns on the peninsula, such as Maggiwarda for Maitland. 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" 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

thumb|right|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.

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 on the peninsula is north-east of Maitland, although some debate remains as to where the peninsula borders the Mid-North, and part of the steep Hummocks terrain may be considered part of the peninsula.

A series of shallow valleys lines<!-- A series is singular--> 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.

The southern tip, sometimes termed the "foot", is surrounded on three sides by the ocean, and forms a isolated "mainland island", with large tracts of excellent native vegetation.

Yorke Peninsula Field Days

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

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. An estimated two and a half hours are needed to drive from end to end and about 30–40 minutes across the peninsula. No traffic lights are used on the peninsula.

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. a daily ferry service is operated by Spencer Gulf Searoad.

The Balaklava-Moonta railway line ran across the upper Yorke Peninsula from 1878 until the 1980s.

Flora and fauna

A programme, "Baiting for biodiversity", involving making discounted fox baits available to landowners, in order to reduce the threat of introduced foxes to native fauna, has been running across of the peninsula since 2014. The programme has been successful in helping to protect native species, such as the western pygmy possum, tammar wallaby including threatened species such as the hooded plover, mallee fowl and fairy tern. Bush stone-curlews had returned to the peninsula after not being seen there for 40 years.

In 2003, the Monarto Zoo temporarily housed 85 mainland tammar wallaby from New Zealand, awaiting reintroduction to the Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park, after they had been locally extinct there for some time.

Protected areas

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

  • National parks - Dhilba Guuranda-Innes National Park
  • Conservation parks - Althorpe Islands, Bird Islands, Carribie, Clinton, Leven Beach, Minlacowie, Point Davenport, Ramsay, Thidna, Troubridge Island, Warrenben and Wills Creek.
  • Aquatic reserves - Coobowie Aquatic Reserve

Yorke Peninsula also hosts two important bird areas (IBAs): 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.

Marna Banggara

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Marna Banggara, formerly known as the Great Southern Ark, is a grand project starting in 2019 to restore the landscape and ecology of the southern Yorke Peninsula, by reintroducing around 20 locally extinct species. The fence across the peninsula, isolating a "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 was to expand the area of control.

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 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. with another 80 to follow over time. The woylies are to be the first of about 20 locally extinct species which will be moved there by around 2040.

Notable residents

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Politics

  • Harry Bartlett (1835–1915) MHA for Yorke Peninsula 1887–1896, dubbed "Father of the West Coast".
  • Cecil Hincks - MHA for the Electoral district of Yorke Peninsula 1941-63
  • John Olsen - former Premier of South Australia
  • Leslie Heath - South Australian Member of Parliament and Horse Racing Administrator.

Sports

  • Hannah Button - Adelaide footballer
  • Richard Champion - former AFL footballer
  • Adam Goodes - former AFL footballer and dual Brownlow Medal winner
  • George Hewett - Sydney footballer
  • Malcolm Karpany - West Coast Eagles footballer
  • Sarah Klau - Adelaide Thunderbirds netballer
  • Sam Jacobs - Adelaide footballer
  • Scott McMahon - North Melbourne footballer
  • Jarrad Redden - former AFL footballer
  • Jamie Tape - former AFL footballer
  • Jay Schulz - former AFL footballer
  • Bernie Vince - Melbourne footballer

Other people

  • Mary Anne Lockwood - first president of the Yorke Peninsula District Woman's Christian Temperance Union
  • Fiona O'Loughlin - comedian
  • Emily Taheny - actress
  • Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Williams, commonly referred to as "Father of the RAAF" was born at Moonta Mines.

<gallery>

File:Stenhouse Bay Jetty, Northwest view 20230208.jpg|Stenhouse Bay Jetty

File:Hughes Enginehouse, Moonta Mines, North view 20230210 1.jpg|Moonta Mines

File:MoontaSchoolOfMines.JPG|School of Mines, Moonta

File:Wattle Point windmill.jpg|Wattle Point Wind Farm, near Edithburgh

File:ArdrossanJetty2.JPG|Ardrossan Jetty

File:Night photograph of the beach at Black Point, Yorke Peninsula, Australia.jpg|Black Point beach at dusk

</gallery>

See also

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

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

  • Yorke Peninsula Tourism Website
  • Yorke Peninsula Fishing Guide
  • SouthAustralia.com Yorke Peninsula - Travel Guides, Accommodation, Tours, Online Booking, Maps etc
  • Yorke Peninsula Visitor Information Centre at Minlaton