Tumby Bay is a coastal town situated on the

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 ...

, on the eastern 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 aft ...

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 ...

, north 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 ...

. The town of Tumby Bay is the major population centre of the

District Council of Tumby Bay The Tumby Bay District Council is a local government area of South Australia covering an area of the North Eastern Eyre Peninsula. It was established in 1906, only six years after the town of Tumby Bay was established, when the district was seve ...

, and the centre of an agricultural district farming cereal crops and sheep, as well as having established fishing and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

industries.

History

The bay was first explored and given the name ''Tumby Bay'' by

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 ...

in 1802, after a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

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. In 1840

Governor Gawler Lieutenant-Colonel George Gawler, KH, (21 July 1795 – 7 May 1869) was the second Governor of South Australia, at the same time serving as Resident Commissioner, from 17 October 1838 until 15 May 1841. Biography Early life Gawler, born on 21 ...

renamed the bay ''Harvey('s) Bay'' after one other district's early settlers. Then on 15 November 1900 the town of ''Tumby'' was proclaimed by Governor Tennyson, and the name of the bay itself reverted to ''Tumby Bay''. On 14 June 1984 the town officially became known as ''Tumby Bay''. The earliest settlers to the district arrived in the 1840s, and farmed the area with

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

and sheep predominantly. The town soon grew into an important grain storage and loading point, with a jetty constructed in 1874, only the second to be built on the

. This provided a much needed outlet for the copper ore which was coming from the Burrowing Mine. The original jetty was taken down in 1999 due to safety concerns, but the other newer jetty is still in use. The town's first school was opened in 1881 as 'Tumby', and the district's first

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

opened in 1913. Tumby Bay hosted the popular event

Triple J's One Night Stand Triple J's One Night Stand is a concert hosted in a remote town or city in Australia annually. It is promoted and organised by national radio station Triple J. In previous years, the host town was selected in the form of a competition where resid ...

on 2 April 2011, featuring the bands

Birds of Tokyo Birds of Tokyo are an Australian alternative rock band from Perth, Western Australia. Their debut album, ''Day One,'' gained them domestic success, reaching number three on the AIR Independent Album charts and spending a total of 36 consecuti ...

, Art vs. Science and

The Jezabels The Jezabels are an Australian indie rock band formed in Sydney in 2007. The band consists of lead vocalist Hayley Mary (born Hayley Frances McGlone), lead guitarist Sam Lockwood, pianist and keyboardist Heather Shannon, and drummer and percus ...

and locally "Unearthed" musician Joshy Willo. The town's population swelled from 1,000 to over 12,000 for the event. The historic

Tumby Bay Hotel Tumby may refer to: Australia * Tumby Bay, South Australia (previously known as Tumby), a town * Tumby Island, an island in Tumby Bay in South Australia England * Tumby Woodside, Lincolnshire * Tumby, Lincolnshire Tumby is a village in the Eas ...

in North Terrace is 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'' ...

Geography

Tumby Bay lies on the large, sheltered bay of the same name on the western side of

. Much of the land surrounding Tumby Bay is used for agriculture. The coast is predominantly white, sandy beaches, on which the town itself is situated, as well as towering cliffs to the south. Inside the bay,

Tumby Island Tumby Island is a low bedrock island located 500 m east of the southern tip of Tumby Bay (Tumby Point) in Spencer Gulf, South Australia. The island is a conservation park comprising 35 hectares. The island can be accessed on foot at low tide by ...

is the only island but further offshore lie the

Sir Joseph Banks Group The Sir Joseph Banks Group is an archipelago in the Australian state of South Australia located in Spencer Gulf about off the eastern coast of the Eyre Peninsula. It consists of 21 islands of which eighteen are in the Sir Joseph Banks Group Co ...

, a small

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Archi ...

that is easily accessed by boat from Tumby Bay. Like much of coastal South Australia, Tumby Bay experiences a Mediterranean climate with warm to hot summers and moderately wet winters.

Economy

Since it was first settled, Tumby Bay has predominantly been an agriculturally driven town, with cereal crops, sheep and beef commonly farmed. As with many towns on the

, Tumby Bay also has a well-established professional fishing industry. Tumby Bay DSC04664

Tourism

Tumby Bay is a popular

holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or tra ...

destination during the summer months. One of the major drawcards to the area is its fishing, with a wide array of fish species available, including

King George Whiting The King George whiting (''Sillaginodes punctatus''), also known as the spotted whiting or spotted sillago, is a coastal marine fish of the smelt-whitings family Sillaginidae. The King George whiting is endemic to Australia, inhabiting the s ...

and Snapper. Fishing can be enjoyed from the town

jetty 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 ...

, the surrounding beach and rock areas, as well as from a boat, which allows access to the

. In 2001, a

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

was constructed to allow easy all weather boat launching for a range of

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

sizes, as well as opening up new real estate options. The safe, calm waters and the white sand of the bay lend themselves to a variety of watersports including swimming, snorkelling, scuba diving and water skiing for those with access to a boat. The town has a caravan park and a number of hotels and apartments offering tourist accommodation. The township affords easy access to a variety of facilities and shops.

Scuba diving

The ecological communities on and around the pylons supporting the Tumby Bay jetty make for an interesting and easy shore dive. Visiting divers must bring their own equipment, as no dive shop exists in the town. Alternatively, equipment can be hired from dive shops in Port Lincoln (45 km south-west) or Whyalla (221 km north-east).

Community

Tumby Bay had a town

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 1228 in the 2001

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

, with the vast majority being Australian born. Of those that immigrated (about 100 people), most are from the United Kingdom, with others coming from a variety of European countries, the United States and New Zealand. The 2001 census by the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that the main religion followed in Tumby Bay was

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, with the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and Uniting denominations having the strongest followings. The overall religious affiliations are summed up in the chart, derived from the census data. There are a number of churches in the town, including Anglican, Uniting, Church of Christ and

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

Churches. There are also a large number of sporting groups in the town, including football, cricket, netball, basketball, tennis, bowls and golf clubs, with most of the clubs competing in local leagues. The Tumby Bay Area School provides education for students from Reception through to Year 12. A public library is located on the school grounds. A hospital is also in place to serve the health needs of the town. The region's history is celebrated by a National Trust Museum which is staffed by volunteers. Social historian and Tumby Bay resident

Eric Kotz Eric Kotz is a South Australian fisherman, scuba diver, mariner and social historian. He is the self-published author of three books: ''The Jawesome Coast'' (2016) and ''The Butcher's Son from Tumby Bay'' (2015) and ''Sir Joseph Banks Group'' (2 ...

has also published two books about life in the region.

Media

The town was briefly the home to a newspaper, the ''Western People and Tumby Bay Times'' (19 June - 3 July 1912), which was printed locally by Walter Augustine Wade.

Government

Tumby Bay is encompassed in the

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

with the current mayor being Sam Telfer. The town is also incorporated in the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...

electoral district of Flinders Flinders is a single-member electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. It is named after explorer Matthew Flinders, who was responsible for charting most of the state's coastline. It is a 58,901 km² coastal rural elect ...

and the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members of the ...

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 ...

Transport

Tumby Bay is normally reached by private

car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

via the

Lincoln Highway The Lincoln Highway is the first transcontinental highway in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobiles. Conceived in 1912 by Indiana entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, and formally dedicated October 31, 1913 ...

that runs along the east coastline of the Eyre Peninsula. Although the town does have a sealed airfield, it is not usually used for private flights, but for the Flying Doctor and

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponic ...

spraying aircraft. The town is serviced daily by

Stateliner Stateliner is South Australia's largest long-distance coach operator, running services from Adelaide across the state. History In 1966, Alan Crawford established Premier Roadlines. In 1980, Stateliner was purchased, with the business rebranded ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

es.

Port and Rail

Land has been purchased north east of Tumby Bay for the purposes of developing a bulk commodities export port. The site has been referred to as Sheep Hill, and the project now bears the name of Port Spencer.

Centrex Metals Centrex Metals Limited is an Australian resources exploration and mining company. History Founded in 2001, Centrex Metals was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2006 with the aim of developing several iron ore projects on the Eyre ...

is the project proponent. The site is located immediately north of

Lipson Cove Lipson Cove is a tranquil sandy bay in the Australian state of South Australia on the east coast of Eyre Peninsula overlooking Spencer Gulf. It features in the 2012 book ''101 Best Australian Beaches'' by Andy Short and Brad Farmer. Location ...

. The proposed port (if approved) will be capable of loading

Capesize Capesize ships are the largest dry cargo ships with ball mark dimension: about 170,000 DWT (deadweight tonnage) capacity, 290 m long, 45 m beam (wide), 18m draught (under water depth). They are too large to transit the Suez Canal ( Suezmax limi ...

ships (either directly or by

transshipment Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination. One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g. ...

) for export of

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

and potentially, grain. The port will be completed by 2023. A potential rail connection to the

Eyre Peninsula Railway The Eyre Peninsula Railway is a gauge railway on the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia. Radiating out from the ports at Port Lincoln and Thevenard, it is isolated from the rest of the South Australian railway network. Peaking at 777 kilometr ...

at Ungarra, away, has been discarded in preference for a slurry pipeline for iron ore transport.

References

External links

Tourism Site

Council Site

Street-Directory.com Map

SD Map
{{authority control Coastal towns in South Australia Eyre Peninsula Bays of South Australia Spencer Gulf