Smoky Bay, South Australia
Encyclopedia
Smoky Bay is a small coastal village
located on the West Coast of the Eyre Peninsula
, South Australia
. Previously used as a port
, the town is now a residential settlement and popular tourist destination known for its recreational fishing
, with a boat ramp and jetty
located in the town. At the 2006 census
, Smoky Bay had a population of 577.
in 1802, who named it 'Smoky Bay' after the amount of smoke
from fire
s lit by the area's Aboriginal people
.
Whalers
were the first European
s to inhabit the coastline near the current site of the town, just north of Pt. Collinson. Recently, dune
erosion
has uncovered parts of the ruins
of their camps, with pieces of whale
bone and three one-hundred gallon cooking pots were recovered.
In the early 1860s pastoralists arrived in the district. Former Adelaide civil servant Charles Francis Heath (1832–83) established a sheep grazing property which he named Wallanippie Station after the Aboriginal name of a waterhole near his homestead at the back of Point Brown peninsula.
A feud took place in 1865 between two Aboriginal men at Wallanippie Station, resulting in one being speared and the other charged with murder
. Heath was required to attend the Supreme Court in Adelaide as a witness. The trial was notable in that it was an instance of British law intervening in traditional Aboriginal law.
Following that the government decided that the developing district needed established law and order. On 16 November 1865, Heath was appointed the first justice of the peace
and local magistrate
for Smoky Bay. After nearly ten years on Eyre Peninsula, Heath returned to Adelaide and rejoined the civil service.
In the early 1900s the town area was opened up, with the first building a tin hut erected in 1905. Scrubcutters cleared the area by 1906, and by 1911 a post office
, repeating station and living quarters had been built.
The town continued to grow, with a school
and hall
opened in 1909. A jetty
was proposed for erection in 1908, and finally completed in 1913.
The town of Smoky Bay was surveyed in 1913 under the name of Wallanippie, along with the aforementioned jetty and a Harbour's Board reserve. A large galvanised iron
goods shed and a railway line extending to the far end of the jetty were established, allowing the town to operate as a port.
The town's original name of 'Wallanippie' was officially changed to 'Smoky Bay' in 1940, after continued use of this name by locals since the town's establishment. The town became less important throughout the mid 1900s, and its capacity as a port was diminished, leaving the town as a residential, as well as an agricultural centre for the surrounding community.
The growing of Oysters was established in the bay in 1988, providing a new economic facet for the town, and adding to the town's promise as a tourist destination.
During the 2002/2003 summer, a ban on taking all shellfish from the waters of the bay was imposed after a deadly biotoxin was discovered in the shellfish.
swell
s by a small promenade of land that leads to Point Brown. Around 10 km offshore lies 'Eyre Island', a small, sandy island that also protects the bay
.
Offshore lie a number of small, granitic
islands which are home to many seabird
s and tiger snakes that feed on the birds. The Nuyts Archipelago
lies to the west, the islands of which are not easily accessible.
Inside the bay, the calm waters are dominated by shallow stretches of seagrass
, sandflats, mudflats, as well as numerous channels or 'creeks' that allow boat
access, with slightly deeper water.
Surrounding the bay is a mixture of mangroves to the south and coastal sand dune vegetation
to the north. The mangroves tend to give the water in some parts of the bay a yellow stain, presumed to be from tannins and decaying leaf
matter.
The town itself is situated on a long, sandy beach
that ends at the boat ramp. Inland is dominated by agricultural land, used for crop
ping and grazing
of sheep.
The bay is home to a large variety of seabird
s, as well as many fish
species, including Great White Shark
s, which are frequent visitors from the offshore islands. Seals
also enter the bay, providing further incentive for sharks to enter the bay.
, but since 1988 has experienced a surge in the aquaculture
of oysters. The initial area allocation was of 85 ha within Smoky Bay, with individual farms having a maximum size of 10 ha. This has since been increased to 165 ha (including 40 ha of subtidal or deepwater
culture). Smoky Bay oysters are well recognized within South Australia
, along with other producers such as Coffin Bay.
Tourism
has been a rapidly expanding sector of the town's economy, with a caravan park and numerous beach
side shack
s established. Recreational fishing
is the largest draw to the town, with the jetty
and boat ramp heavily used in the summer holidays. Other water based sports such as swimming and snorkelling are popular, with a large shark proof cage constructed on the side of the jetty. Swimming outside of this enclosure can be risky, as evident by a recent death caused by a large shark in the bay.
The local oyster
industry has been the source of tourist attractions also, with guided tours now established.
There is a sporting club north of the caravan park with an oval
and tennis courts. The club serves meals and is open to the general public.
There is a single church, of the Uniting denomination
opposite the caravan park. The town has a recently constructed boat ramp with a fee payable to Ceduna Council
for its use. The old jetty, which has been shortened due to storm
damage still stands, with the remnants of the original structure still standing off the end of the jetty.
Marilyns Country Music Festival is a unique annual event held in Smoky Bay, It is the only music event in the world using an Oyster Barge as a stage, Held in September this event attracts artists and patrons from all over Australia
, which runs along the coast of the Peninsula
. Stateliner bus
services also run buses to the town, with the town's station located opposite the general store
.
The Streaky Bay and Ceduna airfields also offer flights to the area, however another form of transport must be found to get down to Smoky Bay.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
located on the West Coast of the Eyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded on the east by Spencer Gulf, the west by the Great Australian Bight, and the north by 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...
, 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...
. Previously used as a port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
, the town is now a residential settlement and popular tourist destination known for its recreational fishing
Angling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
, with a boat ramp and 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...
located in the town. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Smoky Bay had a population of 577.
History
Smoky Bay's coastline was first sighted and mapped by Captain Matthew FlindersMatthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders RN was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age. In a career that spanned just over twenty years, he sailed with Captain William Bligh, circumnavigated Australia and encouraged the use of that name for the continent, which had previously been...
in 1802, who named it 'Smoky Bay' after the amount of smoke
Smoke
Smoke is a collection of airborne solid and liquid particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires , but may also be used for pest...
from fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
s lit by the area's Aboriginal people
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
.
Whalers
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
were the first European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
s to inhabit the coastline near the current site of the town, just north of Pt. Collinson. Recently, dune
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...
erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
has uncovered parts of the ruins
Ruins
Ruins are the remains of human-made architecture: structures that were once complete, as time went by, have fallen into a state of partial or complete disrepair, due to lack of maintenance or deliberate acts of destruction...
of their camps, with pieces of whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
bone and three one-hundred gallon cooking pots were recovered.
In the early 1860s pastoralists arrived in the district. Former Adelaide civil servant Charles Francis Heath (1832–83) established a sheep grazing property which he named Wallanippie Station after the Aboriginal name of a waterhole near his homestead at the back of Point Brown peninsula.
A feud took place in 1865 between two Aboriginal men at Wallanippie Station, resulting in one being speared and the other charged with murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
. Heath was required to attend the Supreme Court in Adelaide as a witness. The trial was notable in that it was an instance of British law intervening in traditional Aboriginal law.
Following that the government decided that the developing district needed established law and order. On 16 November 1865, Heath was appointed the first justice of the peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
and local magistrate
Magistrate
A magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
for Smoky Bay. After nearly ten years on Eyre Peninsula, Heath returned to Adelaide and rejoined the civil service.
In the early 1900s the town area was opened up, with the first building a tin hut erected in 1905. Scrubcutters cleared the area by 1906, and by 1911 a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, repeating station and living quarters had been built.
The town continued to grow, with a school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
and hall
Hall
In architecture, a hall is fundamentally a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age, a mead hall was such a simple building and was the residence of a lord and his retainers...
opened in 1909. A 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...
was proposed for erection in 1908, and finally completed in 1913.
The town of Smoky Bay was surveyed in 1913 under the name of Wallanippie, along with the aforementioned jetty and a Harbour's Board reserve. A large galvanised iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
goods shed and a railway line extending to the far end of the jetty were established, allowing the town to operate as a port.
The town's original name of 'Wallanippie' was officially changed to 'Smoky Bay' in 1940, after continued use of this name by locals since the town's establishment. The town became less important throughout the mid 1900s, and its capacity as a port was diminished, leaving the town as a residential, as well as an agricultural centre for the surrounding community.
The growing of Oysters was established in the bay in 1988, providing a new economic facet for the town, and adding to the town's promise as a tourist destination.
During the 2002/2003 summer, a ban on taking all shellfish from the waters of the bay was imposed after a deadly biotoxin was discovered in the shellfish.
Geography
The town of Smoky Bay lies on the bay of the same name, north of Streaky Bay. The bay is shielded from oceanOcean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
swell
Swell (ocean)
A swell, in the context of an ocean, sea or lake, is a series surface gravity waves that is not generated by the local wind. Swell waves often have a long wavelength but this varies with the size of the water body, e.g. rarely more than 150 m in the Mediterranean, and from event to event, with...
s by a small promenade of land that leads to Point Brown. Around 10 km offshore lies 'Eyre Island', a small, sandy island that also protects the bay
Bay
A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...
.
Offshore lie a number of small, granitic
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
islands which are home to many seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
s and tiger snakes that feed on the birds. The Nuyts Archipelago
Nuyts Archipelago
The Nuyts Archipelago, including the Isles of St Francis, comprises a group of mainly small and mostly granitic islands lying off Ceduna, South Australia, at the eastern end of the Great Australian Bight and the north-western coast of the Eyre Peninsula...
lies to the west, the islands of which are not easily accessible.
Inside the bay, the calm waters are dominated by shallow stretches of seagrass
Seagrass
Seagrasses are flowering plants from one of four plant families , all in the order Alismatales , which grow in marine, fully saline environments.-Ecology:...
, sandflats, mudflats, as well as numerous channels or 'creeks' that allow boat
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
access, with slightly deeper water.
Surrounding the bay is a mixture of mangroves to the south and coastal sand dune vegetation
Vegetation
Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
to the north. The mangroves tend to give the water in some parts of the bay a yellow stain, presumed to be from tannins and decaying leaf
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
matter.
The town itself is situated on a long, sandy beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
that ends at the boat ramp. Inland is dominated by agricultural land, used for crop
Crop
Crop may refer to:* Crop, a plant grown and harvested for agricultural use* Crop , part of the alimentary tract of some animals* Crop , a modified whip used in horseback riding or disciplining humans...
ping and grazing
Grazing
Grazing generally describes a type of feeding, in which a herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs...
of sheep.
The bay is home to a large variety of seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
s, as well as many fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
species, including Great White Shark
Great white shark
The great white shark, scientific name Carcharodon carcharias, also known as the great white, white pointer, white shark, or white death, is a large lamniform shark found in coastal surface waters in all major oceans. It is known for its size, with the largest individuals known to have approached...
s, which are frequent visitors from the offshore islands. Seals
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
also enter the bay, providing further incentive for sharks to enter the bay.
Economy
The town has long since ceased function as a portPort
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
, but since 1988 has experienced a surge in the aquaculture
Aquaculture
Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...
of oysters. The initial area allocation was of 85 ha within Smoky Bay, with individual farms having a maximum size of 10 ha. This has since been increased to 165 ha (including 40 ha of subtidal or deepwater
Deepwater
Deepwater or Deep Water may refer to ocean water in the abyssal zone, hadal zone, or other deep ocean zones. Other meanings include:- Locations :* In the United States:** Deepwater, Missouri, a small town located in west-central Missouri...
culture). Smoky Bay oysters are well recognized within 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...
, along with other producers such as Coffin Bay.
Tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
has been a rapidly expanding sector of the town's economy, with a caravan park and numerous beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
side shack
Shack
A shack is a type of small house, usually in a state of disrepair. The word may derive from the Nahuatl word xacalli or "adobe house" by way of Mexican Spanish xacal/jacal, which has the same meaning as "shack". It was a common usage among people of Mexican ancestry throughout the U.S...
s established. Recreational fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
is the largest draw to the town, with the 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...
and boat ramp heavily used in the summer holidays. Other water based sports such as swimming and snorkelling are popular, with a large shark proof cage constructed on the side of the jetty. Swimming outside of this enclosure can be risky, as evident by a recent death caused by a large shark in the bay.
The local oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
industry has been the source of tourist attractions also, with guided tours now established.
Community
The town has around 200 permanent residents, with that number swelling to around 1000 in the peak summer months. The small town has a basic general store and petrol and diesel are available.There is a sporting club north of the caravan park with an oval
Oval
An oval is any curve resembling an egg or an ellipse, such as a Cassini oval. The term does not have a precise mathematical definition except in one area oval , but it may also refer to:* A sporting arena of oval shape** a cricket field...
and tennis courts. The club serves meals and is open to the general public.
There is a single church, of the Uniting denomination
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and doctrine within Christianity. In the Orthodox tradition, Churches are divided often along ethnic and linguistic lines, into separate churches and traditions. Technically, divisions between one group and...
opposite the caravan park. The town has a recently constructed boat ramp with a fee payable to Ceduna Council
District Council of Ceduna
The District Council of Ceduna is a Local Government Area located on the far west coast of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The district has a diverse business and industry with an estimated 240,000 tourists passing through every year....
for its use. The old jetty, which has been shortened due to storm
Storm
A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface, and strongly implying severe weather...
damage still stands, with the remnants of the original structure still standing off the end of the jetty.
Marilyns Country Music Festival is a unique annual event held in Smoky Bay, It is the only music event in the world using an Oyster Barge as a stage, Held in September this event attracts artists and patrons from all over Australia
Transport
Smoky Bay is accessed from the Flinders HighwayFlinders Highway, South Australia
Flinders Highway connects the South Australian towns of Ceduna and Port Lincoln, a distance of 410 kilometres. The highway was formerly designated as National Route Alternate 1 and currently signed as B100...
, which runs along the coast of the Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded on the east by Spencer Gulf, the west by the Great Australian Bight, and the north by 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...
. Stateliner bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
services also run buses to the town, with the town's station located opposite the general store
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
.
The Streaky Bay and Ceduna airfields also offer flights to the area, however another form of transport must be found to get down to Smoky Bay.