Ardrossan is a town in the

Australian state The states and territories are the national subdivisions and second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereignty, sovereign, administrative divisions that are autonomous administrative division, self-governing polity, ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

located on the eastern coast of the

Yorke Peninsula The Yorke Peninsula, known as Guuranda by the original inhabitants, the Narungga people, 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 ...

, about by road from the

Adelaide city centre Adelaide city centre () is the inner city locality of Adelaide, Greater Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia. It is known by locals simply as "the City" or "Town" to distinguish it from Greater Adelaide and from the City of Adelaide l ...

. It is notable for its deepwater

shipping port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manches ...

and its towering coastal cliffs of red clay. ArdrossanFirstStreet1

History

The

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

people who are the

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

of the land on which Ardrossan was developed were the

Narungga The Narungga people, also spelt Narangga, are a group of Aboriginal Australians whose traditional lands are located throughout Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. Their traditional language, one of the Yura-Thura grouping, is Narungga. Countr ...

people. They comprised four

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

s sharing the Guuranda (the Yorke Peninsula): Kurnara in the north, Dilpa in the south, Wari in the west and Windarra in the east. The first European settlers after the

British colonisation of South Australia British colonisation of South Australia describes the planning and establishment of the colony of South Australia by the British government, covering the period from 1829, when the idea was raised by the then-imprisoned Edward Gibbon Wakefield ...

were

pastoralists Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The anima ...

who established sheep runs.

Pastoral Lease A pastoral lease, sometimes called a pastoral run, is an arrangement used in both Australia and New Zealand where government-owned Crown land is leased out to Pastoral farming, graziers for the purpose of livestock grazing on rangelands. Austral ...

No. 232, comprising , was taken up in 1852 by William Sharples. Stretching along the coastline, this was known as ''Parara'' (or Parrana/Pirana), meaning "middle" in the Narungga language, with the

homestead Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (building), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Nguni homestead, a cluster of houses inhabited by a single extended family, typically with a kraal ...

near Parara Landing, about south of present Ardrossan. Northward of Ardrossan are coastal springs, named Tiddy Widdy or Tittiwitti by the Narungga, being a scarce natural source of fresh water in this region. In 1859 partners Parker Bowman (1831–1911) and Edmund Parnell (1834–87) took over the Parara leases. After these expired in 1865 the government moved toward establishing closer settlement and grain farming. The Hundred of Cunningham was proclaimed on 19 June 1873, comprising , and surveying commenced. The Hundred had two government surveyed towns, namely Ardrossan, proclaimed 13 November 1873, and

Price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation expected, required, or given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, especially when the product is a service rather than a ph ...

, proclaimed 3 August 1882. Being at a site formerly known as Clay Gully, after a deep gully leading to its red clay coastal cliffs, the surveyed town of Ardrossan was named by Governor Fergusson after the

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns#Scotland, Three Towns'. Ardrossan is loca ...

seaport in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

which shared similar geography – "ard" meaning a height, and "ros" prominent rock or

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...

. The site was largely chosen because of its potential for shipping infrastructure, allowing

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

farmers to ship their produce across the

Gulf St Vincent Gulf St Vincent, sometimes referred to as St Vincent Gulf, St Vincent's Gulf or Gulf of St Vincent, is the eastern of two large inlets of water on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, the other being the larger Sp ...

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, 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 t ...

. The residents of the new township petitioned the government for a

jetty A jetty is a man-made structure that protrudes from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater (structure), breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French la ...

in 1874. Completed in 1877, this was later extended to better accommodate the larger

steamships A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

and

windjammers A windjammer is a commercial sailing ship with multiple masts, however rigged. The informal term "windjammer" arose during the transition from the Age of Sail to the Steam-powered vessel, Age of Steam during the 19th century. The Oxford English ...

used to export grain overseas. By 1878 there were six houses, a post office, a flour mill, a Methodist church, and a hotel. That same year a public school opened, having 53 pupils. During the late 1800s, and into the early 20th century, the town expanded steadily due to income from the surrounding farms. As well, it became notable as the location of Clarence Smith's factory where he manufactured the

Stump-jump plough The stump-jump plough, also known as stump-jumping plough, is a kind of plough invented in South Australia by Richard Bowyer Smith and Clarence Herbert Smith to solve the particular problem of preparing mallee lands for cultivation. The probl ...

between 1880 and 1935. This South Australian invention was vital in opening mallee country throughout Australia to the plough.

20th century

Although the surrounding grain farmers continued to prosper, there was little change in the size of the town during the early 1900s. After the depression in the 1930s, the town and its businesses were largely stagnant until a large open-cut dolomite mine was opened by

BHP BHP Group Limited, founded as the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, is an Australian multinational mining and metals corporation. BHP was established in August 1885 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. As of 2024, BHP was the world� ...

in the 1950s for use at its

Whyalla Steelworks The Whyalla Steelworks is a fully integrated steelworks and the only manufacturer of rail in Australia. It produces 75% of all structural steel in Australia. Iron ore is mined in the Middleback Range to feed the steelworks, resulting in the dist ...

on the

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. Earlier called Eyre's Peninsula, it was named after e ...

and

Port Kembla A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inla ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. A new long jetty was added and at the same time construction was started with grain

storage silo A silo () is a structure for storing Bulk material handling, bulk materials. Silos are commonly used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, woodchips, food products and sawdust. Three types of silos are in widespread use toda ...

s. The "new" jetty currently services ships loading dolomite, grain and salt from the solar salt pans at

, located approximately . The

wharf A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (mo ...

is located south of the town jetty, and can accommodate vessels of

Handymax Handymax and Supramax are naval architecture terms for the larger bulk carriers in the Handysize class. Handysize class consists of Supramax (50,000 to 60,000 DWT), Handymax (40,000 to 50,000 DWT), and Handy (<40,000 DWT). The ships are used f ...

class. The wharf was being considered for the future 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 f ...

and copper concentrates by Rex Minerals Ltd in 2013.

Governance

Ardrossan is in the local government area of

Yorke Peninsula Council The Yorke Peninsula Council is a Local government areas of South Australia, local government area in South Australia. Its boundaries include most of the Yorke Peninsula. The main Council office is at Maitland, South Australia, Maitland; the coun ...

, the state

electoral district of Narungga Narungga is a single-member Electoral districts of South Australia, electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. It was created by the redistribution of 2016, and was contested for the first time at the 2018 South Australian sta ...

and the federal

division of Grey The Division of Grey is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, 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 ...

Flora and fauna

The coast and water bodies of Ardrossan bear populations of

water-fowl The Anatidae are the biological family of water birds that includes ducks, geese, and swans. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on all the world's continents except Antarctica. These birds are adapted for swimming, floating on ...

, sea and

shorebird 245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...

s, and support migratory waders during their summer visitations. ''

Portunus pelagicus ''Portunus pelagicus'', also known as the blue crab, blue swimmer crab, blue manna crab and flower crab is a species of large crab found in the Indo-Pacific, including off the coasts Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines, and V ...

'', or blue swimmer crabs, are plentiful between September and April.

Sperm whale stranding

South Australia's only recorded group stranding of

sperm whale The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the Genus (biology), genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the s ...

s occurred on Parara Beach about south of Ardrossan on 8 December 2014. Seven dead or dying whales were discovered stranded in the intertidal zone south of the BHP jetty. Six of the whales were located in a loose group along several hundred metres of shoreline, with another whale located further to the north. The South Australian museum announced that it would sample the bodies and attempt to collect a complete skeleton for the museum, commencing work on 10 December. Biopsy samples were formally taken from five of the whales by Australian Marine Wildlife Research & Rescue Organisation (AMWRRO) for analysis on 9 December. AMWRRO rejected the proposition that any whales featured propeller strike marks, claiming that the marks they observed were tooth-raking marks, resulting from behavior more commonly known to occur among

orca The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopol ...

s. Several teeth were illegally removed from the animals overnight on 8 December.

Windara Reef

Windara Reef is Australia's largest

oyster reef restoration Oyster reef restoration refers to the reparation and reconstruction of degraded oyster reefs. Environmental changes, modern fishing practices, over harvesting, water pollution, and other factors, have resulted in damage, disease, and ultimately, ...

project, and the largest outside of the United States. The name "Windara" refers to the Narungga name for the area where the reef is located.Media statement
/ref> It is situated about south of Ardrossan, near Rogues Point, at a depth of about 8 to 10 metres.

Oyster reef The term ''oyster reef'' refers to dense aggregations of oysters that form large colonial communities. Because oyster larvae need to settle on hard substrates, new oyster reefs may form on stone or other hard marine debris. Eventually the oyster ...

s, mostly created by Australian flat oysters, once spread along of coastline in South Australia, but by the 21st century, there were none left. Since the

, the waters have been subject to overfishing (and in particular

dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing d ...

the

sea floor The seabed (also known as the seafloor, sea floor, ocean floor, and ocean bottom) is the bottom of the ocean. All floors of the ocean are known as seabeds. The structure of the seabed of the global ocean is governed by plate tectonics. Most of ...

, which destroys the oyster beds),

water pollution Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of Body of water, water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and ...

and disease. The project was undertaken with collaborating partners

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

state government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonom ...

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

, the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

and RecFishSA. It also received funding assistance from the

Ian Potter Foundation Sir William Ian Potter (25 August 190224 October 1994), known as Ian Potter, was an Australian stockbroker, businessman and philanthropist. Potter was knighted in 1962. The Ian Potter Foundation, which he established in 1964, has made grants to ...

. Stage 1 of the project was completed in June 2017, with work on Stage 2, involving the addition of reef over , completed in September 2018. More than 7 million juvenile Australian flat oysters were placed on the reef's foundation. The native oysters improve marine

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

: the adults are able to filter in excess of litres of water a day, and excrete a nutrient-rich substance which provides food for small shellfish, that in turn are food for larger fish. Through this process, the native oyster reefs can drive greater fish production than other types of

artificial reef An artificial reef (AR) is a human-created freshwater or marine benthic structure. Typically built in areas with a generally featureless bottom to promote Marine biology#Reefs, marine life, it may be intended to control #Erosion prevention, erosio ...

Industry

Grain farming and pastoralism continue to be a mainstay of the local economy. The existing dolomite mine and jetty are currently owned and operated by

Arrium Arrium was an Australian mining and materials company, employing nearly 10,000 workers before going into voluntary administration in 2016 with debts of more than $2 billion. In 2017 it was acquired by British-owned Liberty House Group. H ...

(formerly Onesteel).

Tourism

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

plays an increasingly large part in Ardrossan's economy, with the town being a popular destination for Adelaide residents on weekends. While it lacks an attractive swimming beach, it is a popular location to catch fish and blue swimmer crabs, and the new Windara Reef is open to recreational fishers. The town's two jetties are also suitable for

scuba-diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scuba'' is an acronym for ...

, with easy entries and plentiful marine life to observe.

Shipwrecks

The historic shipwreck of the ''

Zanoni ''Zanoni'' is an 1842 novel by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, a story of love and occult aspiration. By way of framing device, the author says: "... It so chanced that some years ago, in my younger days, whether of authorship or life, I felt the desir ...

'' is located approximately offshore and used to be a popular fishing location. This ship originally sank on 11 February 1867 and was discovered on 17 April 1983 after 116 years. It is one of the best preserved examples of 19th century merchant sailing vessels in Australia. However, a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

was declared in May 1983, which included a

radius In classical geometry, a radius (: radii or radiuses) of a circle or sphere is any of the line segments from its Centre (geometry), center to its perimeter, and in more modern usage, it is also their length. The radius of a regular polygon is th ...

of around the ''Zanoni''. After this, boating and diving activities in the area require a permit. In order to provide a recreational alternative, the then Department of Fisheries acquired a disused

hopper barge A hopper barge is a type of barge commonly designed to transport commodities like coal, steel, rocks, sand, soil and waste. 'Hopper barge' can also refer to a barge that dumps cargo at sea. These are now commonly called 'split hopper barge', bec ...

from the Department of Marine and Harbours, and

scuttled Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull, typically by its crew opening holes in its hull. Scuttling may be performed to dispose of an abandoned, old, or captured vessel; to prevent the vesse ...

it on 11 April 1984 in order to create a new

, about one nautical mile south of the wreck of the ''Zanoni''. The barge, known as the No. 5 Barge, the Ardrossan Barge or the Zanoni Barge, is now the only vessel within the Ardrossan ships' graveyard.

Oyster farming

Windara Reef (see above) is both a boost to

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism intended to contribute to the Ecological conservation, conservation of the natural environment, generally defined as being minimally impactful, and including providing both contributions to conserv ...

and a to jobs, through development of a new "

blue economy Blue economy is a term in economics relating to the exploitation, preservation and regeneration of the marine environment. Its scope of interpretation varies among organizations. However, the term is generally used in the scope of internati ...

". However,

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...

, anchoring,

spearfishing Spearfishing is fishing using handheld elongated, sharp-pointed tools such as a spear, gig, or harpoon, to impale the fish in the body. It was one of the earliest fishing techniques used by mankind, and has been deployed in artisanal fishi ...

, and the removal of animals and plants such as crabs, oysters,

sea urchin Sea urchins or urchins () are echinoderms in the class (biology), class Echinoidea. About 950 species live on the seabed, inhabiting all oceans and depth zones from the intertidal zone to deep seas of . They typically have a globular body cove ...

s, and seaweed from the reef are not allowed.

Climate

Ardrossan, like most of the Yorke Peninsula, has a

maritime climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring ...

. Summers are warm and winters are mild (although mornings and nights tend to be cool/cold) and usually wet.

Media

The ''Ardrossan News'' (3 February – 7 July 1911) was briefly printed for the town by Thomas Corrigan in Port Wakefield.

Gallery

File:Ardrossan coast line.jpg, Ardrossan coastline at night File:Ardrossan jetty at night.jpg, Ardrossan jetty at night File:Ardrossan sunset.jpg, Ardrossan sunset

Notable residents

* Clarence Herbert Smith * Sam Jacobs, AFL footballer *

Caleb Poulter Caleb Poulter (born 12 October 2002) is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Collingwood Football Club. Early life and state footbal ...

, AFL footballer

References

External links

Yorke Peninsula website Yorke Peninsula: ArdrossanScuba Dive the Ardrossan Jetty , Diving Adelaide
{{authority control Populated places established in 1873 Coastal towns in South Australia Gulf St Vincent Port cities in South Australia