Middleton is a town in

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 ...

on the eastern end of the south coast of the

Fleurieu Peninsula The Fleurieu Peninsula ( ; locally mainly ) is a peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia located south of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide. History Before British colonisation of South Australia, the western s ...

. It lies between the towns of Port Elliot and Goolwa. Middleton is a holiday and tourist destination with a popular surf beach. Some southern right whales calve and mate in the waters off Middleton's beaches and can be viewed from Middleton Point or Bashams Beach during the whale watching season (June or July to October).

Australian sea lion The Australian sea lion (''Neophoca cinerea''), also known as the Australian sea-lion or Australian sealion, is a species of sea lion that is the only endemic pinniped in Australia. It is currently Monotypic taxon, monotypic in the genus ''Neopho ...

s can be seen resting on beaches. Middleton has many holiday homes and a caravan park. It also has two doctors' surgeries, a pharmacy, a surf school, general store, hotel, bakery, hairdresser,

antique shop An antique shop (or antiques shop) is a retail store specializing in the selling of antiques. Antiques shops generally have a physical presence in a shop where the wares are stored and displayed, but some antique shops are online, with no phy ...

, manufacturing jeweller, beautician and a restaurant. It has two playgrounds, tennis courts and an art and craft centre. The land on which the original homes of Middleton stand was purchased by Lt Col Thomas Higgins in 1849 who named the town after a Middleton in Ireland. The original inhabitants of the area were the Ngarrindjeri people and at least three burial sites are said to be situated around the town, one of which has been built over by a commercial entity. The

2016 Australian census The 2016 Australian census was the 17th Census in Australia, national population census held in Australia. The census was officially conducted with effect on Tuesday, 9 August 2016. The total population of the Commonwealth of Australia was count ...

, carried out in August 2016, reported the population of Middleton as 1156. Middleton is located within 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 th ...

, the state

electoral district of Finniss Finniss is a single-member electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. It is named after B. T. Finniss, the first Premier of South Australia. It covers a regional area which includes the localities of Back Valley, Currency ...

and the local government area of the Alexandrina Council.

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