Weeroona Island is a 77 ha island 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 in Germein Bay,

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 ...

between the city of

Port Pirie Port Pirie is a small city on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia, north of the state capital, Adelaide. The city has an expansive history which dates back to 1845. Port Pirie was the first proclaimed regional city in South ...

and town of

Port Germein Port Germein is a small sea-side town in the Australian state of South Australia located about north of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide and about north of the city of Port Pirie on the eastern side of South Australia's Spenc ...

. It features the wreck of the ''York'', coastal shacks, sandy beaches and is connected with the mainland by a 300m long causeway spanning mangroves and tidal flats.

Geography

The western side of the island is free of

mangroves A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several ...

and dominated by low energy beaches fronted by wide sand flats. Weeroona Island beach wraps around the western half of the 1 km wide island for 1.6 km, the eastern half being surrounded by mangroves. While detached from the mainland at high tide, at low tide it is linked by tidal flats. Road vehicle access is provided by a 300 m long

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tra ...

. Beaches border the southern, western and northern shore and generally consist of a narrow high tide beach. 20 shacks line the southern shore, and larger freehold titles are privately owned along the northern shore. Shorelines are backed by grassy slopes which rise to a 30 m high island crest. The beaches are fronted by a narrow strip of sand, behind which vegetated tidal flats extend for hundreds of metres north and south. The western side is an exception to this, where the spread of tidal flat vegetation is limited by the tidal channel.

History

Port Flinders

In the 1850s, Weeroona Island was considered a prospective port location, and was known as Port Flinders. The port was to connect with the existing channel which serviced Port Pirie. It was considered for the possible conveyance of copper ore from Mount Remarkable and Melrose in the Southern Flinders Ranges. Port Pirie's continued expansion made the plan to establish Port Flinders obsolete.Weeroona Island
''Postcards'', South Australia (2007-03-18). Retrieved 2014-01-13.

Wreck of the ''York''

Weerona Island is the last resting place of the ''York''. The Adelaide Steam and Tug Company bought her in 1877 for use in

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

as a lighter. The ship was deliberately run aground on the island's southern side so that it could be used as a loading platform. From the loading platform, ketches could moor at Weeroona Island at high tide. Stone was then quarried on the island and transported back to Port Pirie to be used in the construction of its harbor. The wreck remains off the southern shore of the island and is exposed at low tide.

Munitions Dump

Around the time of World War II, the island was used as a munitions dump.Mayfield, Gre
"Historic ruins confirmed at Weeroona"
''The Flinders News'', South Australia (2013-05-22). Retrieved 2014-01-13. In December 1951, the Army conducted a search for unexploded ordnance in adjacent waters following weekend training exercises. Two live bombs were located off Weeroona Island. Many more 'harmless' bombs were present near the north-western corner of Weeroona Island, by the channel. Some of these were visible at low tide. Once located, the two live bombs were destroyed by Army personnel.

Weeroona Holiday Camp

In April 2013, Weeroona Island resident and historian Den Kennedy confirmed the ruins of the Weeroona Holiday Camp which was opened in 1929. The remains of a terrazzo floor, a winding dirt track and a rock-pool swimming pond exist on the island as relics of the former public camp. It served as a holiday-makers’ retreat, complete with huts, tents and a dance hall. It was officially opened as the ''South Sea Palais ''on November 10, 1934. It was decorated with a cool green colour scheme and featured palms and bamboo."South Sea Palais Opens Tonight"
''The Recorder'', Port Pirie, South Australia. (1934-11-10). Retrieved 2014-01-13. The camp came to life after the Broken Hill Associated Smelters used 13 barges to relocate the buildings from Weeroona Bay near

Point Lowly Point Lowly is the tip of a small peninsula north north-east of Whyalla in the Upper Spencer Gulf region of South Australia. The wider peninsula is shared by a combination of defence, industrial, residential, recreational and tourism interests ...

on the western side of Spencer Gulf. The Weeroona Bay resort at Point Lowly had previously offered a place for smelter employees suffering poor health to relax and recover.

References

{{Islands of South Australia , state=collapsed Islands of South Australia Spencer Gulf