Louth Bay (formerly Laurence) is a town and locality in the Australian state of

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 ...

. It is named after the bay named by

Matthew Flinders Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer, navigator and cartographer who led the first littoral zone, inshore circumnavigate, circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then ...

on 26 February 1802 which itself is derived from a place in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

. At the 2006 census, Louth Bay had a population of 408. A town was surveyed in March 1909 and proclaimed on 24 June 1909. It was named 'Laurence' after

Laurence O'Loughlin Laurence Theodore O'Loughlin (21 February 1854 – 25 January 1927) was an Australian politician who represented the South Australian House of Assembly seats of Frome from 1890 to 1902 and Burra Burra from 1902 to 1918. He represented the Libe ...

, a South Australian politician. In November 1940, the District Council of Lincoln formally endorsed a recommendation to rename the town 'Louth Bay' in order to be in line with common use. The name change was gazetted on 20 February 1941. Boundaries were created in October 2003 for a locality with the name 'Louth Bay and which included the site of Government Town of Louth Bay.

Louth Island Louth Island ( Nauo: ''Jorunu'' or ''Yoruna'') is a 135 ha island located in Louth Bay, Spencer Gulf, South Australia. The island is privately owned, and has previously been used for the grazing of sheep and mining of guano. The island has an ...

is a large privately owned island located within Louth Bay. 3 km to the south east of Louth Island lies the smaller Rabbit Island, which is part of the

Lincoln National Park Lincoln National Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located about west of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide and about south of the municipal seat of Port Lincoln, South Australia, Port Linco ...

History

The bay was a popular picnic destination in the early 20th century, but retained its serenity and wildness throughout. In the early 20th century, the bay was dredged for

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...

s. A jetty was proposed for Louth Bay in the 1878, and was constructed around that time. In 1908, the structure was damaged, allegedly by a ship. In 1949, the Government announced that it was seeking to demolish the Louth Bay jetty, and called for tenders. This was met by objections and a petition, leading to a delayed decision. In the late 20th century, aquaculture became an important industry for Louth Bay, though fishermen and local residents have expressed concerned about stock escapees and pollution impacts from existing operations. Concerns included algal growth and seagrass degradation,

plastic pollution Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are catego ...

and the loss of amenity.

Incidents

On 12 February 2007 Phillip Kerkhof wrestled a 1.3 metre long

Bronze whaler shark The copper shark (''Carcharhinus brachyurus''), bronze whaler, or narrowtooth shark is a species of requiem shark found mostly in temperate latitudes. It is distributed in a number of separate populations in the northeastern and southwestern Atlan ...

in Louth Bay, catching it and dragging it onto the jetty before cheering fishermen. He admitted to being drunk at the time and recommended that others not engage in such activities. On 21 August 2014 the decapitated bodies of two New Zealand fur seals were found near Louth Bay. The circumstances surrounding their death were considered suspicious and an investigation was undertaken.

References

{{authority control Towns in South Australia Eyre Peninsula Bays of South Australia Spencer Gulf

History

Incidents

See also

References