__NOTOC__ Sleaford Bay is a bay located in the Australian state of

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 ...

on the southern coast of

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named af ...

. It was named by the British navigator, Matthew Flinders in 1802.

Extent & description

Sleaford Bay is located on the south coast of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia about south-west of the municipal seat of

Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a town on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia. It is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, which opens eastward into Spencer Gulf. It is the largest city in the West Coast region, and is located a ...

. It lies between the headland of

Cape Wiles Cape Wiles is a headland located on the west side of the southern tip of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia about south west of the city of Port Lincoln. The cape is described by one source as being the south east extremity of “a broad promont ...

at its western extremity and headland of Cape Tournefort at its eastern extremity. A subsidiary bay named Fishery Bay is located on its west side about north of Cape Wiles.

History

The bay was named after the town of

Sleaford Sleaford is a market town and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. Centred on the former parish of New Sleaford, the modern boundaries and urban area include Quarrington to the south-west, Holdingham to the nor ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

by the British navigator, Matthew Flinders in 1802. The

Barngarla The Barngarla, formerly known as Parnkalla and also known as Pangkala, are an Aboriginal people of the Port Lincoln, Whyalla and Port Augusta areas. The Barngarla are the traditional owners of much of Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. Languag ...

name for Sleaford Bay is ''Dhanana''. Zuckermann, Ghil'ad and the Barngarla (2019)
Manoo (Speaking Barngarla Together)''
, Barngarla Language Advisory Committee.
''Barngarlidhi Manoo'' – Part II
The Baudin expedition who visited after Flinders gave it two names – Baudin used the name ''Anse des Nerlans'' while Peron and Freycinet revised it to ''Baie Lavoisier'' after Baudin’s death. A

whaling station Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry a ...

located on the coastline within Fishery Bay was in operation from 1839 to 1841.

Settlements and infrastructure

The coastline of Sleaford Bay is occupied by the locality of

in the west and by the locality of

Lincoln National Park Lincoln National Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located about west of the state capital of Adelaide and about south of the municipal seat of Port Lincoln. It consists of a mainland area on the Jussieu Pe ...

in the east. As of 2005, port infrastructure within the bay consisted of a

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 ...

located in Fishery Bay.

Proposed seawater desalination plant

In 2018, a proposal to construct a 3 gigalitre per year seawater desalination plant at Sleaford Bay was announced. Land was purchased in July and the project is expected to cost $80 million to complete. The location is one of several prospects previously earmarked by

SA Water SA Water is a government business enterprise wholly owned by the Government of South Australia. History SA Water was established by the proclamation of the ''South Australian Water Corporation Act 1994'' on 1 July 1995. Prior to this its predec ...

in 2009.

Protected area status

The Thorny Passage Marine Park occupies the full extent of the bay while the

extents to Mean Low Water Mark on its eastern side.

References

{{Eyre Peninsula Bays of South Australia Eyre Peninsula Whaling stations in Australia