Victor Harbor is a town 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 ...

located within the

City of Victor Harbor The City of Victor Harbor is a local government area of South Australia. It covers an area of along the coast, about south of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. The council is responsible for the town of Victor Harbor, which contains ...

on the south coast of the

Fleurieu Peninsula The Fleurieu Peninsula () is a peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia located south of the state capital of Adelaide. History Before British colonisation of South Australia, the western side of the peninsula was occupied by the ...

, about south 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 ...

. The town is the largest population centre on the peninsula, with an economy based upon

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

, fisheries and various industries. It is also a highly popular tourist destination, with the area's population greatly expanded during the summer holidays, usually by Adelaide locals looking to escape the summer heat. It is a popular destination with South Australian high school graduates for their end of year celebrations, known colloquially as schoolies.

History

Adare House in Victor Harbour, South Australia

Victor Harbor lies in the traditional lands of the

Ramindjeri The Ramindjeri or Raminjeri people were an Aboriginal Australian people forming part of the ''Kukabrak'' grouping now otherwise known as the Ngarrindjeri people. They were the most westerly Ngarrindjeri, living in the area around Encounter Bay an ...

clan of the

Ngarrindjeri The Ngarrindjeri people are the traditional Aboriginal Australian people of the lower Murray River, eastern Fleurieu Peninsula, and the Coorong of the southern-central area of the state of South Australia. The term ''Ngarrindjeri'' means "belo ...

people. Matthew Flinders in visited the bay on 8 April 1802 while on the first circumnavigation of the continent, mapping the unsurveyed southern Australian coast from the west. He encountered

Nicolas Baudin Nicolas Thomas Baudin (; 17 February 1754 – 16 September 1803) was a French explorer, cartographer, naturalist and hydrographer, most notable for his explorations in Australia and the southern Pacific. Biography Early career Born a comm ...

in '' Le Geographe'' near the

Murray Mouth Murray Mouth is the point at which the River Murray meets the Southern Ocean. The Murray Mouth's location is changeable. Historical records show that the channel out to sea moves along the sand dunes over time. At times of greater river flow ...

several kilometres to the east of the present day location of Victor Harbor. Baudin was surveying the coast from the east for

Napoleonic France The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eu ...

. Although their countries were at war, each captain was given documents by the other nation's government, stating that the ships were on scientific missions, and were therefore not to be regarded as ships of war. Together, the ships returned to the bay and sheltered, while the captains compared notes. Flinders named the bay

Encounter Bay Encounter Bay is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the state's south central coast about south of the state capital of Adelaide. It was named by Matthew Flinders after his encounter on 8 April 1802 with Nicolas Baudi ...

after the meeting. In 1837 Captain Richard Crozier who was en route from Sydney to the Swan River Colony in command of , anchored just off Granite Island and named the sheltered waters in the lee of the island 'Victor Harbor' after his ship. About the same time two

whaling 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 industr ...

stations were established, one at

Rosetta Head Rosetta Head, known as Kongkengguwar by the Ramindjeri people but more commonly known as The Bluff, is a headland located on the south coast of Fleurieu Peninsula in Encounter Bay, South Australia, within the local government area of the City ...

(popularly known as "the Bluff") and the other near the point opposite Granite Island. Whale oil became South Australia's first export. From 1839 the whaling station was managed for a time by Captain John Hart, a later Premier of South Australia. The town of Port Victor was laid out on the shores of Victor Harbor in 1863 when the horse-drawn tramway from Goolwa was extended to the harbour. The last whale was caught off Port Victor in 1872. The

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of the town of Victor Harbor was proclaimed on 7 May 1914, with Oliver Alexander Baaner appointed as the first mayor. On 26 December 1936, a one-off motor race meeting was held to the east of the town to commemorate the centenary of South Australia – the "South Australian Centenary Grand Prix". The circuit was made of public roads, measured 12.6 kilometres in length and featured two long straights, two short straights, and several corners, including the banked Nangawooka Hairpin. Winner of the 240-mile Grand Prix, which was held as a handicap, was Les Murphy in an

MG P-type The MG P-type is a sports car that was produced by MG from 1934 to 1936. This 2-door sports car used an updated version of the Wolseley Motors-designed and made overhead camshaft, crossflow engine, used in the 1928 Morris Minor and previously ...

, from Tim Joshua in another P-type and Bob Lea-Wright in a Terraplane Special. The beaches of Victor Harbour and nearby Port Elliot have been facing rising seas and more has to be done to stop this.

Town name

The spelling of Victor Harbor, spelled without a ''u'' is a curiosity as ''harbour'' normally retains the "u" in Australian English. This spelling is found in several geographical names in South Australia, including Outer Harbor or

Blanche Harbor Blanche Harbor is a natural harbour between Mono Island and Stirling Island of the Treasury Islands archipelago, located n the Western Province of the Solomon Islands Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands ...

. The township of Victor Harbor was proclaimed in 1914 with the spelling "Harbor". The harbour was proclaimed on 27 May 1915 under the ''Harbors Act 1913'', and its name established on 15 June 1921 as "Victor Harbor". The name of the harbour was changed from Port Victor as a result of a near shipwreck blamed on confusion with Port Victoria on 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 Str ...

. State Library of South Australia SA Memory. According to the State Library of South Australia, the lack of the "u" is not influenced by American spelling, but archaic English spelling. The name is not consistently applied. The ''

Victor Harbor Times ''The Times'' is a newspaper published weekly (or bi-weekly) in Victor Harbor, South Australia since August 1912. Its title has, as with most regional newspapers, undergone a series of name changes and simplifications over its history. It was la ...

'' used "Harbour" in its masthead from 1922 to 1978, before reverting to "Harbor". The Victor Harbour railway station is spelt with the ''u''.

Government

In 2016, the resident population in the town of Victor Harbor was 4,233 but over the summer holiday season the population almost triples. As at June 2018, the urban population for the built-up coastal area extending from Victor Harbor to

Port Elliot Port Elliot is a town in South Australia toward the eastern end of the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula. It is situated on the sheltered Horseshoe Bay, a small bay off the much larger Encounter Bay. Pullen Island lies outside the mouth of t ...

and nearby Goolwa was 26,503, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. having increased at an average annual rate of 1.07% year-on-year over the preceding five years. The population of the local government area of the

is 14,954. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. Victor Harbor was declared a city in 2000. As a local government area, the

includes the surrounding rural area and the contiguous township of Encounter Bay as well as the town of Victor Harbor itself; its total area is 34,463

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

s. It shares boundaries with the

District Council of Yankalilla The District Council of Yankalilla is a local government area centred on the town of Yankalilla on the Fleurieu Peninsula in South Australia. It was created on 23 October 1856, when the District Council of Yankalilla and Myponga was divided i ...

and the Alexandrina Council. The city is in the state electoral district of Finniss and the federal

Division of Mayo The Division of Mayo is an Australian electoral division located to the east and south of Adelaide, South Australia. Created in the state redistribution of 3 September 1984, the division is named after Helen Mayo, a social activist and the fir ...

Attractions

A popular site for visitors is Granite Island, which is connected to the mainland by a short

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

/ pedestrian causeway. The tram service is provided by the

Victor Harbor Horse Drawn Tram The Victor Harbor Horse Drawn Tram is located on the shores of the city of Victor Harbor, South Australia, Australia. A tramway links the city's visitor information centre with the nearby Granite Island. Much of its route is over a causewa ...

, one of the very few

horse-drawn tram A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered (usually horse) tram or streetcar. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public rail transport, w ...

routes remaining in public transit service. Granite island is home to a large colony of

little penguins The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name . The Australian ...

which are a popular attraction on the island. These penguins shelter on the island during the night, departing in the morning to hunt for fish before returning at sunset. Sadly this colony of penguins is now almost gone. At the last count in 2012, only seven were found. It is suspected that an increase in long-nosed fur seals in the area may be to blame, however incidents such as those in 1998 where locals apparently kicked several of them to death have also contributed. The

SteamRanger Heritage Railway The SteamRanger Heritage Railway is a long broad gauge tourist railway, formerly the Victor Harbor railway line of the South Australian Railways (SAR). It is operated by the not-for-profit South Australian Division of the Australian Railwa ...

runs train services, most notably ''The Cockle Train'' between Victor Harbor and Goolwa, along the

Victor Harbor railway line The Victor Harbor railway line is a broad gauge line in South Australia. It originally branched from the Adelaide to Melbourne line at Mount Barker Junction then ran south to Victor Harbor. When the mainline was converted to standard gauge ...

. During the months of June to September, whale spotting is a popular attraction. Southern right whales come to the nearby waters to calve and to mate. The South Australian Whale Centre located at Victor Harbor provides hands-on interactive activities and presentations as well as information and whale watching tips. Greenhills Adventure Park offered activities including: waterslides, canoes, rock wall climbing, archery, mini golf, and go-karting, however this attraction has since closed down. Victor Harbor is the centre of the surf zone known as the "South Coast" to

and local surfers. Popular surf beaches in the area include Parsons, Waitpinga, Middleton and Goolwa. The Granite Island breakwater usually shields the town from waves. Victor Harbor also offers numerous fishing opportunities varying from offshore reefs for larger boat based anglers to excellent surf fishing on the beaches closer to the

. The 'Urimbirra Wildlife Park' is a local attraction with a considerable collection of native (and some domestic) animals. The marsupial mammals at the park are koalas, southern hairy-nosed wombats, red kangaroos, western grey kangaroos, agile wallaby, parma wallaby and black-striped wallaby. Other mammals include short-beaked echidnas, dingoes, grey-headed flying foxes, alpacas and domestic sheep. Reptiles include saltwater crocodile, freshwater crocodile, lace monitor, eastern water dragon, inland bearded dragon, eastern blue-tongued lizard, shingleback lizard, carpet python, tiger snake, eastern brown snake and red-bellied black snake. Birds include emus, southern cassowary, wedge-tailed eagle, eastern barn owl, tawny frogmouth, laughing kookaburras, sulphur-crested cockatoos, brush turkey and many others.

Media

The main newspaper printed locally is the ''

Times Time is the continued sequence of existence and events, and a fundamental quantity of measuring systems. Time or times may also refer to: Temporal measurement * Time in physics, defined by its measurement * Time standard, civil time speci ...

'' (1987–). The newspaper was originally published as ''The Victor Harbor Times and Encounter Bay and Lower Murray Pilot'', with the first edition published on Friday 23 August 1912. On 16 May 1930, the title was briefly altered to ''Times Victor Harbor and Encounter Bay and Lower Murray Pilot'', and on 15 April 1932 until 31 December 1986 it was called ''Victor Harbor Times''. Other historical publications included the short-lived ''South Coast News'' (4- 25 June 1965), printed by A.H. Ambrose, and its "successor", ''South Coast Sports News'' (20 June – 4 July 1969), printed by The Ambrose Press.

Festivals and events

This town hosts a three-day

Schoolies Week Schoolies or schoolies week (also known as leavers' or leavers' week in Queensland and Western Australia and coasties in the Australian Capital Territory) refers to the Australian tradition of high-school graduates (also known as "schoolies" or ...

festival in late November mainly for South Australian school leavers. Victor Harbor hosts the second largest Schoolies Week Festival in Australia after the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

, centering around official activities held by the organisation Encounter Youth in Warland Reserve. The centre of the town is a dry area (no alcohol) at night and during the Christmas Pageant and New Year's Eve. Another notable event is the Art Show run by the Rotary Club of Victor Harbor and exhibits of paintings are shown from all over Australia. The event is held in January, during the summer holidays, and the 40th Art Show was held in January 2019. It has grown to become Australia's largest outdoor art exhibition, with more than 10,000 people attending over 9 nine days.

Climate

Victor Harbour experiences a

warm-summer mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

: ''Csb''), Trewartha: ''Csbl''); with warm, dry summers; mild, relatively dry springs and autumns; and mild winters with moderate precipitation. Summer average temperatures are significantly lower than most of the state, due largely to the sea breeze moderating temperatures and hot northerlies rarely extending past the hills north of the city.

References

External links

City of Victor HarborSteamRanger Heritage RailwaySouth Australia CentralTourism South Australia
{{Authority control Ports and harbours of South Australia Cities in South Australia Coastal towns in South Australia Fleurieu Peninsula Australian Grand Prix Fishing communities in Australia