Beachport, South Australia
Encyclopedia
Beachport is a small coastal town 379 kilometres south-east of Adelaide
, South Australia
, located in the Wattle Range Council
. Known for its 772 metre long jetty
(the second longest in SA), Beachport is located on the northern end of Rivoli Bay. It has a large crayfish fishing fleet.
Secretary of State for the Colonies
, Michael Hicks Beach, 1st Earl St Aldwyn, and officially proclaimed a port on 21 November 1878. In the same year a lighthouse
was erected close by on Penguin Island and a railway to Mount Gambier
was completed. The railway closed in 1956.
Beachport is also possibly the location of the first casualties of World War 2 on Australian soil. On 12 July 1941, a local fisherman discovered and towed to Beachport a German
sea mine either laid by the raider Pinguin
or the minelayer Passat
. The following day, two Able Seamen, Thomas Todd and William Danswan, part of a three man Rendering Mines Safe (REMS) team, were killed when a wave lifted the mine and caused it to explode on the beach while they were attempting to defuse it. A monument now stands in the town to honour them.
in the north and Beachport in the south stretches a series of coastal lakes which have been recognised as the Lake Hawdon System Important Bird Area
because of their global importance for waterbirds.
Popular recreational fishing spots include the Salmon Hole, jetty and 10 Mile Beach. Other attractions include the Salt Lake, Lake George and the rugged coastal views of the Scenic Drive. The Beachport Conservation Park includes 710 ha of beaches, rocky headlands and boobialla scrub.
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, located in the Wattle Range Council
Wattle Range Council
Wattle Range Council is a local government area in the Limestone Coast region of south eastern South Australia. It stretches from the coast at Beachport east to the Victorian border...
. Known for its 772 metre long jetty
Jetty
A jetty is any of a variety of structures used in river, dock, and maritime works that are generally carried out in pairs from river banks, or in continuation of river channels at their outlets into deep water; or out into docks, and outside their entrances; or for forming basins along the...
(the second longest in SA), Beachport is located on the northern end of Rivoli Bay. It has a large crayfish fishing fleet.
History
The town was named on 23 May 1878 for the then BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Secretary of State for the Colonies
Secretary of State for the Colonies
The Secretary of State for the Colonies or Colonial Secretary was the British Cabinet minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various colonial dependencies....
, Michael Hicks Beach, 1st Earl St Aldwyn, and officially proclaimed a port on 21 November 1878. In the same year a lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
was erected close by on Penguin Island and a railway to Mount Gambier
Mount Gambier, South Australia
Mount Gambier is the largest regional city in South Australia located approximately 450 kilometres south of the capital Adelaide and just 17 kilometres from the Victorian border....
was completed. The railway closed in 1956.
Beachport is also possibly the location of the first casualties of World War 2 on Australian soil. On 12 July 1941, a local fisherman discovered and towed to Beachport a German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
sea mine either laid by the raider Pinguin
German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin
The Pinguin was a German auxiliary cruiser which served as a commerce raider in World War II. The Pinguin was known to the Kriegsmarine as Schiff 33, and designated HSK 5. The most successful commerce raider of the war, she was known to the British Royal Navy as Raider F...
or the minelayer Passat
Passat (ship)
Passat is a German four-masted steel barque and one of the Flying P-Liners, the famous sailing ships of the German shipping company F. Laeisz. The name "Passat" means trade wind in German. She is one of the last surviving windjammers.-History:...
. The following day, two Able Seamen, Thomas Todd and William Danswan, part of a three man Rendering Mines Safe (REMS) team, were killed when a wave lifted the mine and caused it to explode on the beach while they were attempting to defuse it. A monument now stands in the town to honour them.
Environment
Between RobeRobe, South Australia
Robe is a town and fishing port on the South East Limestone Coast of South Australia. The town's distinctive combination of historical buildings, ocean, fishing fleets, lakes and dense bush is widely appreciated. Robe lies on the southern shore of Guichen Bay, just off the Princes Highway. At the...
in the north and Beachport in the south stretches a series of coastal lakes which have been recognised as the Lake Hawdon System Important Bird Area
Lake Hawdon System Important Bird Area
The Lake Hawdon System Important Bird Area comprises a 374 km2 series of five coastal lakes on the Limestone Coast of south-eastern South Australia. They are the most important of a string of regional lakes occupying swale corridors between modern and historical sand dunes.-Description:The...
because of their global importance for waterbirds.
Popular recreational fishing spots include the Salmon Hole, jetty and 10 Mile Beach. Other attractions include the Salt Lake, Lake George and the rugged coastal views of the Scenic Drive. The Beachport Conservation Park includes 710 ha of beaches, rocky headlands and boobialla scrub.