Port Broughton is a small
South Australian town located at the northern extent of the
Yorke Peninsula on the east coast of
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 ...
. It is situated about 170 km north-west of
Adelaide, and 56 km south of
Port Pirie. At the , the town of Port Broughton had a population of 1,034.
The close proximity to Adelaide (two hours' drive) makes it a popular tourist destination, with the number of people in town swelling to over 4000 in the summer holidays.
History
The land around Port Broughton was initially used for
grazing, however the local conditions were unsuitable and the land was divided up into
acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
lots and sold.
Port Broughton was surveyed in 1871 to service the surrounding
wheat and
barley growers on the recommendation of Captain Henry Dale. It is on a sheltered inlet called Mundoora Arm Inlet at the extreme northern end of
Yorke Peninsula. The town is named after the
Broughton River (named by
Edward John Eyre after
William Broughton), the mouth of which is about north of the township.
Transport
Built in 1876, the 'T'-shaped jetty was serviced by an isolated
narrow gauge railway line from
Mundoora, 16 km inland and uphill. The
Port Broughton railway line
Port Broughton railway line was an isolated narrow gauge railway line serving Port Broughton on Spencer Gulf in South Australia. It opened in 1876 and closed in 1942.
The railway was built to service the port of Port Broughton, and opened on 1 ...
, officially opened on 11 March 1876, brought the grain down to the port.
Horses
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
were used to tow the empty wagons uphill, but they were sent downhill powered only by gravity, with a driver to operate the brakes. The passenger service ceased on 17 September 1925, but the grain traffic continued. During January, 1926, a Fordson rail tractor displaced the animal power. From 1931, the railways contracted out the service to a private operator.
The service ceased altogether on 3 August 1942, but the tractor continued to shunt wheat wagons between the station yard and the jetty until moved elsewhere.
Ketches carried the grain from the jetty 8 kilometres out into the gulf where the larger
windjammers were anchored to carry the grain back to England. The windjammers ceased to call in 1949.
Locomotives were proposed in 1906.
Disappearance of aviator Edward Gage
In June 1943, Edward Gage, an electrical fitter who worked for BHP in
Whyalla, was killed after his
Tiger Moth plane ran out of fuel and crash landed in Spencer Gulf. He was last seen flying over Port Broughton, en route to Whyalla from
Parafield. A
coronial inquiry followed but neither his remains nor that of the plane were found. In January 1990, Goolwa man Ron Anchor arranged a search party to find the wreck.
Geography
Lying on the eastern side of
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 ...
, Port Broughton's coastline is relatively protected, resulting in large expanses of shallow water and
seagrasses,
tidal flats and vast areas of
mangroves that flank the inlet on which the town is built. The small town of
Fisherman Bay lies 5 km north of Port Broughton and has much the same coastal features. Between the mouth of Fisherman Bay and Port Broughton lies
Shag Island, an important breeding site for several species of
cormorant
Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven ge ...
. The Broughton River lies further north toward
Port Pirie, where its
estuary is located. Further inland, most of the land is fairly featureless farming country, with only fragments of the original
vegetation remaining.
Media
Port Broughton was briefly home to a short lived newspaper published by William John George and James Sisely.
Originally called ''Port Broughton Echo'' (1887), it was printed by the
''Northern Argus'' in
Clare Clare may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land
Australia
* Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley
* Clare Valley, South Australia
Canada
* Clare (electoral district), an electoral district
* Cl ...
. It was then renamed to ''Broughton Echo'' (1887-1888), but soon ceased publication in July 1888.
Economy
Since its establishment, Port Broughton's
economy has largely been driven by
agriculture, in particular
cereal
A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...
crops.
Commercial fishing is also an important part of the economy, with
scalefish and
Blue swimmer crabs accounting for much of the catch. Port Broughton supports a
prawning fleet.
Like many towns on the
Yorke Peninsula, Port Broughton is a
tourist destination, with activities such as
fishing,
crabbing and a variety of
watersports being popular. The town has a boat ramp for such activities. Short-term accommodation includes two
caravan parks, a number of units and a motel. Nearby
Fisherman Bay has many
shack
A shack (or, in some areas, shanty) is a type of small shelter or dwelling, often primitive or rudimentary in design and construction.
Unlike huts, shacks are constructed by hand using available materials; however, whereas huts are usually ru ...
s belonging to holiday-makers, as well a boat ramp for small vessels.
Community
The recorded population the township of Port Broughton at the time of the 2011
census was 982 (Port Broughton district population 1424). The majority of the population (838) were Australian born, with the majority of
immigrants coming from the United Kingdom. The census also found that over half the population of Port Broughton is over 55, with the median age being 61, suggesting the town is popular with retirees.
Christianity is the dominant
religion in the region, and is well serviced by a number of
churches.
The town has a number of sporting clubs including
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
and
Netball clubs, and an
Australian rules football
Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
club playing in the
Northern Areas Football Association as the Broughton-Mundoora Eagles.
Port Broughton Area School and Port Broughton District Hospital & Health Service provide the towns educational and medical needs respectively
Notable residents
*
Phil Cummings
Phil Cummings is a South Australian children's fiction author. Born in Port Broughton, his first book, "Goodness Gracious", was published in 1989.Heuzenroeder, Catherine (1 July 2012).Children's author draws from book of life. ABC RiverRetrieved ...
. Author
*
George Hewett (footballer)
George Hewett (born 29 December 1995) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), having been initially drafted to the Sydney Swans. Started in Port Broughton. He ...
. AFL player
*
Sally Sara AM. Journalist (ABC)
Government
Port Broughton is the seat of the
District Council of Barunga West. The mayor currently is Cynthia Axford. It is in the
state electoral district of Narungga and the
federal Division of Grey
The Division of Grey is an 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 October 1903 and is named for Sir George Grey, who wa ...
.
References
External links
Yorke Peninsula website
{{authority control
Coastal towns in South Australia
Spencer Gulf
Ports and harbours of South Australia
Fishing communities in Australia