Stenhouse Bay is a place 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 ...

near the south-west extremity of the

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 ...

located in the gazetted locality of Inneston about west of the state capital of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Naming

Stenhouse Bay was named after Andrew Stenhouse who was a principal of the Permasite Manufacturing Co Pty Ltd which held "leases for the harvesting of gypsum north of Cape Spencer.” Since 1999, it has been located within the locality of Inneston. Its official status as of 2013 is that of a 'locality unbounded' which is listed on the South Australian place name gazetteer with the advice that it is "not to be used as an address".

History

Gypsum works

The Waratah Gypsum Company had works here for the

quarrying A quarry is a type of open-pit mine in which dimension stone, rock, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, gravel, or slate is excavated from the ground. The operation of quarries is regulated in some jurisdictions to reduce their environ ...

and exporting of rock gypsum. Gypsum after being washed, roasted and ground, was used in the manufacturing of

plaster of paris Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

and

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mix ...

. The quality of the gypsum in this area was exceptionally high class and most of Australia's needs were supplied from here. The Waratah Gypsum Company closed its works and the town was sold to the

South Australian Government The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

which demolished the town except for the few houses required for the rangers of the National Parks and Wildlife Organization who look after Innes National Park.

National park

Weather station

Stenhouse Bay has been the site of an automatic weather station since 20 November 1995.

Climate

Innes Park Trading Post and Rhino's Tavern

After almost 60 years, the shop at Stenhouse Bay, trading in recent years as Innes Park Trading Post and Rhino's Tavern, was demolished before Christmas in 2013. The iconic trading post and tavern was closed and fenced off just before the peak Christmas period. Park visitors must now travel 5 km out of the park back to Marion Bay for fuel, camping goods and a restaurant meal. The closure meant the department lost between $30,000 and $50,000 in annual lease revenue. File:Rhino Head, Stenhouse Bay.JPG, Rhino Head at the eastern end of Stenhouse Bay

References

Coastal towns in South Australia Investigator Strait {{SouthAustralia-geo-stub