Hardwicke Bay is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

in the

Australian state The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

located on the west coast of

Yorke Peninsula The Yorke Peninsula 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 Strai ...

Spencer Gulf The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost and larger of two large inlets (the other being Gulf St Vincent) on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. It spans from the Cape Catastrophe and ...

Extent & description

Hardwicke Bay is located on the west coast of the Yorke Peninsula within

in South Australia. It lies between the headland of Corny Point at its southern extremity and the southern end of

Wardang Island Wardang Island, also known as Waralti (also spelled Waraldi or Wauraltee) is a low-lying 20 km2 island in the Spencer Gulf close to the western coast of the Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. It acts as a natural breakwater, protecting the f ...

at its northern extremity.BIA, 2005, page 201 The depth of water within the bay is reported as generally in the range of to with the exception of the waters within of the south coast of Wardang Island where the depths are reported as being “very irregular”. The bay is reported as being suitable as an anchorage where there is a need to shelter from southerly winds, particularly as most parts of the bay has rocky bottom suitable for anchoring on. The bay’s coastline consists generally of sandy beaches that rise into low sandhills with a woodland cover with occasional rocky headlands. As of 2005,

navigation aid Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

s within Hardwicke Bay include the

Corny Point Lighthouse Corny Point lighthouse is a lighthouse located in Spencer Gulf, South Australia, on the headland known as Corny Point about west of the town of Corny Point. It was commissioned in March 1882 to assist southbound shipping to avoid hazards on ...

at the Corny Point headland and a light on Wardang Island.BIA, 2005, page 201

History

The bay was named after the

Earl of Hardwicke Earl of Hardwicke is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1754 for Philip Yorke, 1st Baron Hardwicke, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain from 1737 to 1756. He had already been created Baron Hardwicke, of Hardwicke in ...

by the British navigator,

Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...

on 19 March 1802.

Settlements and port infrastructure

Settlements located on the coast of Hardwicke Bay (from south west to north east) within localities include the following - Corny Point, The Pines,

Point Turton Point Turton is a coastal town west of Adelaide, South Australia. It is located in the Yorke Peninsula Council. History The town was named by a marine surveyor, Captain John Hutchinson, as a commemoration of a double wedding of two daughters ...

, Hardwicke Bay, Bluff Beach,

Port Rickaby Port Rickaby is a town on the Spencer Gulf coast of Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. Port Rickaby is in the Yorke Peninsula Council, the South Australian Legislative Assembly, state electoral district of Narungga and Australian House of Repre ...

and Port Victoria. Port infrastructure within the bay consists of

jetties A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...

and

boat ramp A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...

s. Jetties are located at Point Turton, Port Rickaby and Port Victoria. Boat ramps are located (from the south west to north east) at The Pines, Point Souttar, Point Turton, the settlement of Hardwicke Bay, Port Minlacowie, Bluff Beach, Port Rickaby and Port Victoria.

Economic use

As of 2013, three areas within the southern end of the bay have been zoned under state planning legislation for

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

. As of 2011, part of the north end of the bay was proposed for aquaculture under the name of the “Point Pearce prospective aquaculture zone.” RDA-Y&MN, 2011, page 5 of 21

Protected area status

Protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

s located within and adjoining the bay’s extent include the following. The

Eastern Spencer Gulf Marine Park Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

occupies the northern end of the bay as far south as Wauraltee Beach.DEWNR (Eastern Spencer Gulf Marine Park), 2012, pages 22 & 24 The

Southern Spencer Gulf Marine Park Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

occupies the southern end of the bay.DEWNR (Southern Spencer Gulf Marine Park), 2012, pages 24 & 27 The

Leven Beach Conservation Park Leven Beach Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia, located on the north coast of the lower part of Yorke Peninsula within the boundaries of the gazetted localities of Point Souttar and The Pines about ...

adjoins part of the south coast of the bay to the immediate west of the settlement at Point Turton.

Citations and references

Citations

References

* * * * * {{Bays of South Australia, state=collapsed Bays of South Australia Spencer Gulf Yorke Peninsula