Port Augusta West is a
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
of
Port Augusta
Port Augusta (''Goordnada'' in the revived indigenous Barngarla language) is a coastal city in South Australia about by road from the state capital, Adelaide. Most of the city is on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf, immediately south of the ...
,
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 ...
.
However, it has a separate early colonial history to Port Augusta, because it is on the
Eyre Peninsula, while the rest of Port Augusta is on the east side of
Spencer Gulf. It was not until 1926 that a bridge was built across the head of the
Spencer Gulf to connect them, replacing a punt.
The
Corporate Town of Port Augusta West was gazetted on 6 October 1887,
and only merged into the
Corporate Town of Port Augusta on 28 April 1932.
Port Augusta West contains the junction of the
Eyre Highway (to
Eyre Peninsula and
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
),
Stuart Highway
Stuart Highway is a major Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; it has a distance of . Its northern and souther ...
(to the
Far North and
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
), and
Augusta Highway (to
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
).
Location, description and land use
Port Augusta West is the only part of Port Augusta that is located on the western side of
Spencer Gulf on the
Eyre Peninsula.
It is about west of the centre of Port Augusta and about north of
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 ...
.
[
Port Augusta West consists of an ]urban area
An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...
on the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula, immediately west of the centre of Port Augusta. It is dissected by the Augusta Highway, which branches in the middle of the suburb, to become the Stuart Highway
Stuart Highway is a major Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; it has a distance of . Its northern and souther ...
which heads north, and the Eyre Highway which heads west. The Whyalla-Port Augusta railway line passes to the north and west of the suburb’s urban area.
The suburb is mainly residential
A residential area is a land used in which houses, housing predominates, as opposed to industrial district, industrial and Commercial Area, commercial areas.
Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include ...
on the eastern side of the suburb. The area between the Eyre Highway and the Stuart Highway on the west side of the suburb’s built area is zoned for industrial use. The Port Augusta Airport is located to the south end of the suburb and is separated from the residential area by open space and a “vegetation buffer”.
The suburb includes the Port Augusta Golf Club and Port Augusta West Primary School. The suburb also contains the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Garden, West Side Foreshore, Westside Lookout Tower, Rotary Park, Northey Crescent and Sid Welk Park.
The historic Port Augusta West Water Tower in Mitchell Terrace is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register
The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia. It extends legal protection regarding demolition and development under the ''Heritage Places Act 1993'' ...
.
Governance
Port Augusta West is located within 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 ...
, the state electoral district of Stuart
Stuart is a single-member Electoral districts of South Australia, electoral district for the South Australian House of Assembly. At 323,131 km², it is a vast country district extending from the Spencer Gulf as far as the Northern Territo ...
, and the local government area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...
of the City of Port Augusta.[ The suburb is also located within the ]South Australian Government
The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government or the SA Government, is the executive branch of the state of South Australia. It is modelled on the Westminster system, meaning that the highest ranking mem ...
region of the Far North.
Climate
Port Augusta West has a warm desert climate (Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''BWk'').[ ''(direct]
Final Revised Paper
''
See also
* List of cities and towns in South Australia
References
{{authority control
Towns in South Australia
Eyre Peninsula
Far North (South Australia)
Suburbs of Port Augusta