Inneston (previously known as Cape Spencer) is a locality in the Australian state of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

located on the south-western end of

Yorke Peninsula 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 ...

about west of the state capital of

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

. Historically, it is notable as a site for the mining of

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate Hydrate, dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk ...

and since 1970, the majority of the land within the current extent of the locality is within the

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

called the

Dhilba Guuranda–Innes National Park Dhilba Guuranda–Innes National Park, formerly Innes National Park, is an IUCN-designated protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located on the southwest tip of Yorke Peninsula about west of the state capital of Adelaide c ...

Description

Inneston is located about west of the state capital of Adelaide. It occupies all of the land on the south western tip of Yorke Peninsula south west of a line running from Willyama Bay on the south coast of the peninsula near Marion Bay to Gym Beach on the west coast of the peninsula.DEWNR, 2014 The coastline extending from Willyama Bay to Cape Spencer consists of a number of bays such as Cable Bay and Stenhouse Bay with some prominent headlands such as Rhino Head and a line of cliffs between Cable Bay and Stenhouse Bay. From Cape Spencer to

West Cape West Cape is the westernmost point in the main chain of islands of New Zealand. It is located in the far southwest of the South Island, within Fiordland National Park, between Tamatea / Dusky Sound and Taiari / Chalky Inlet. The cape consists ...

, an unbroken line of cliffs ranging in height between and with some sandy beaches at their feet make up the south west coast of Yorke Peninsula. From West Cape to

Pondalowie Bay Pondalowie Bay is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the west coast of the south-west tip of Yorke Peninsula in Spencer Gulf about west of Marion Bay, South Australia, Marion Bay. The coastline of Pondalowie Bay is bot ...

, the cliff line is of a relatively lower height. From the south end of Pondalowie Bay to Gym Beach, areas of sand dunes dominate the shoreline and the land immediately adjoining it with the exception of Royston Head and the cliff line extending eastward to Dolphin Beach. The land between the locality’s north-eastern boundary and the coastline is dominated in part by a network of saline lakes including lakes such as Inneston Lake, Marion Lake and Spider Lake. The locality is serviced by a road connected to the western end of the

Yorke Highway Yorke Highway is the main road from Adelaide to the southern parts of the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. It runs from the northeast to the southwest of the peninsula. It branches off Copper Coast Highway after rounding the top of Gulf St V ...

which passes through Marion Bay and then Stenhouse Bay and which follows the coastline as a sealed road passing Chinamans Hat Island, Cable Bay and the turn-offs to Cape Spencer, Ethel Beach, West Cape and Pondalowie Bay. The road concludes as a sealed road at the Pondalowie Bay and continues as an unsealed road, passing turn-offs to Dolphin Beach and Shell Beach, to terminate at Browns Beach in the north west.

History

Agriculture

Land within Inneston was first used in 1847 by William Burrage to graze

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

near Cape Spencer. In 1851, land in the vicinity of Cape Spencer became available for leasing and by 1855, Burrage held two leases. Water for grazing was sourced from wells fed by “ natural springs.” Wells were established at Pondalowie Bay and Browns Beach during the 1850s and allowed “the establishment of sheep stations at Cape Spencer, Carribie and Stone Hut in the 1860s.”

Crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. In other words, a crop is a plant or plant product that is grown for a specific purpose such as food, Fiber, fibre, or fuel. When plants of the same spe ...

ping was carried out within the locality with “poor yields due to the intense coastal environment and soil infertility.” After 1927, land under cultivation increased due to “a better understanding of the importance of

trace element __NOTOC__ A trace element is a chemical element of a minute quantity, a trace amount, especially used in referring to a micronutrient, but is also used to refer to minor elements in the composition of a rock, or other chemical substance. In nutr ...

s (mainly

manganese Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...

).”DEH, 2003, page 27

Mining

In 1889, the mining of gypsum began at Marion Lake by the Australian Gypsum and Whiting Company who developed infrastructure both at the lake and at the township of Marion Bay including a railway connecting both the mine and the town.DEH, 2003, page 28 In 1913, the mining of gypsum was commenced at Inneston Lake by the Permasite Company, a

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

enterprise owned by Messrs. Bell, Stenhouse and Innes, and who developed infrastructure at both the lake and at a settlement on the coastline that would subsequently be named as Stenhouse Bay and including a railway connecting both sites. The development at Inneston Lake grew into a town known as Inneston and which by the early 1900s has a population of about 150 people and included facilities such as “a public hall, butcher, baker, bank and post office.” Later developments included a plaster factory built in 1916, a chalk factory opened in 1922 and as of 1927, the town had “tennis court, cricket and other recreational facilities.” Development at Stenhouse Bay included the construction of a

jetty A jetty is a man-made structure that protrudes from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater (structure), breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French la ...

for the loading of goods onto ships. The two mining operations were consolidated under the control of one company, the Waratah Gypsum Pty Ltd, at a time during the late 1920s or the 1930s. It is reported that of gypsum was extracted from sites at Marion, Inneston and Spider Lakes between the years 1905 and 1973. In 1970, mining continued on land not included in Innes National Park and is reported as ceasing sometime immediately prior to 2003.

National park

Land within what is now Inneston was declared under the South Australian ''National Parks Act 1966'' as Innes National Park in 1970 to “conserve important habitat for the

western whipbird The western whipbird (''Psophodes nigrogularis'') is a passerine bird found in several scattered populations in Southwest Australia. It is predominantly olive green in colour. The western whipbird has sometimes been split into two species: the b ...

, the

mallee fowl The malleefowl (''Leipoa ocellata'') is a stocky ground-dwelling Australian bird about the size of a domestic chicken (to which it is distantly related). It is notable for the large nesting mounds constructed by the males and lack of parental ca ...

and to protect a number of heritage buildings at Inneston” (sic). The national park was enlarged during the years 1977, 1984 and 1993 in “response to significant recreational use.”

Official naming

Land in the locality was originally known as Cape Spencer. The mining settlement located at Inneston Lake and which was known as Inneston was officially proclaimed as a town in 1927. In 1999, boundaries were created for the “long established name.” In 2011, these boundaries were adjusted specifically to remove part of the locality and place it in the adjoining locality of Marion Bay to “ensure the whole of the residential area is located within Marion Bay.” The locality also includes the following places that are also gazetted under the South Australian ''Geographical Names Act 1991'' - Pondalowie Bay and Stenhouse Bay.

Land use

As of 2014, the majority of the land within Inneston is located within the Innes National Park which is an area zoned for “Coastal Conservation” within the remainder of the locality being zoned as “

Mineral Extraction Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

” and “

Primary Production In ecology, primary production is the synthesis of organic compounds from atmospheric or aqueous carbon dioxide. It principally occurs through the process of photosynthesis, which uses light as its source of energy, but it also occurs through ...

.” The following three lakes which support a population of

stromatolite Stromatolites ( ) or stromatoliths () are layered Sedimentary rock, sedimentary formation of rocks, formations (microbialite) that are created mainly by Photosynthesis, photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing micr ...

s are listed on the

South Australian Heritage Register The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia. It extends legal protection regarding demolition and development under the ''Heritage Places Act 1993'' ...

maintained by the

South Australian Government The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government or the SA Government, is the executive branch of the state of South Australia. It is modelled on the Westminster system, meaning that the highest ranking mem ...

- Deep Lake, Inneston Lake and Marion Lake. The following places associated with the mining of gypsum at the former town of Inneston and Stenhouse Bay are listed on the South Australian Heritage Register - the Inneston Gypsum Complex and the Stenhouse Bay Jetty."Stenhouse Bay Jetty" in SAHR, 2015

Governance

Inneston is located within the federal

Division of Grey The Division of Grey is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in South Australia. The division was one of the seven established when the former Division of South Australia was redistributed on 2 ...

, the state

electoral district of Narungga Narungga is a single-member Electoral districts of South Australia, electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. It was created by the redistribution of 2016, and was contested for the first time at the 2018 South Australian sta ...

and the local government area known as the

Yorke Peninsula Council The Yorke Peninsula Council is a Local government areas of South Australia, local government area in South Australia. Its boundaries include most of the Yorke Peninsula. The main Council office is at Maitland, South Australia, Maitland; the coun ...

Citations

References

* * * * * * * *

External links

the “Inneston” page on the Flinders Ranges Research websiteBoral Website
{{authority control Towns in South Australia Yorke Peninsula Gypsum mines in Australia