Port Wakefield (formerly Port Henry) is a town at the mouth of the River Wakefield, at the head of 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 ...

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 was the first government town to be established north of the state capital,

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 ...

. Port Wakefield is situated 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 ...

on the

Port Wakefield Highway Port Wakefield Highway (and its southern section as Port Wakefield Road) is an important South Australian highway, connecting Adelaide to the Yorke Peninsula, Port Augusta, northern and western South Australia, the Northern Territory and Wester ...

section of the A1 National Highway. Port Wakefield is a major stop on the Adelaide –

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 ...

and Adelaide –

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 ...

road routes. Travellers between Adelaide and any of the

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain ranges in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhab ...

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 ...

or the

Nullarbor Plain The Nullarbor Plain ( ; Latin: feminine of 'no' and 'tree') is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its no ...

will likely travel through Port Wakefield. Due to its strategic location, Port Wakefield is known for its roadhouses and trucking stops. Just north of the township there is a major forked intersection where the Yorke Peninsula traffic diverges west onto the Copper Coast Highway from the main

Augusta Highway Augusta Highway is the part of Australia's ring route (Highway 1 (Australia), Highway 1) located in South Australia between Port Wakefield, South Australia, Port Wakefield and Port Augusta, South Australia, Port Augusta. Route Augusta Highway ...

. The intersection is notorious for road accidents and traffic delays, especially at the end of holidays and long weekends.

History

The town was originally named ''Port Henry'' by William Hill. The name of the town was changed to Port Wakefield around 1849, after the Wakefield River. In 1848, the Patent Copper Company agreed to build and operate a smelter at Burra. Seeking to reduce cartage costs, a track was surveyed to its port, established at the mouth of the River Wakefield. By securing leases of the appropriate Crown Land, the company obtained a monopoly of the port. The Government declared the track the Great Western Road. A wharf was constructed along the bank of the river and cargo was transferred between the wharf and ships at anchor in the Gulf on

lighter A lighter is a portable device which uses mechanical or electrical means to create a controlled flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of flammable items, such as cigarettes, butane gas, fireworks, candles, or campfires. A lighter typic ...

s. With the opening of the railway from

to Gawler in 1857, the Copper Company's traffic came to a sudden end, leaving only pastoral produce to flow to the port. Mixed farming was established on lands opening up by the Government along the River in the mid-1860s, and this called for improvement in transport to the Port. William Hanson, Manager for Railways, selected a route for a horse-drawn tramway terminating at Hoyles Plains, later renamed Hoyleton. The enabling Act provided for a tramway of 28 miles 41 chains (45.9 km) in length to a gauge of , the first line in South Australia built to that gauge. The Government agreed that the line should be operated by a private body. The successful tenderer was Paul Badcock who opened the line to traffic in January 1870. Horses were worked in three relays between the stations on the route. The choice of gauge was influenced by the argument that costs varied with the cube of the gauge. As this railway had its own port, it was not expected to link up with any broad gauge railways which avoided any

break of gauge With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and railroad car, rolling stock g ...

problems. Following a surrender of the lease, the line was taken over by the Government at the end of 1870. In March 1876 the line was extended from Hoyleton to Blyth. Steam locomotives were obtained and by August 1876, the entire line was being worked by steam power. The line was extended at the other end from Port Wakefield to Kadina in October 1878 and to Wallaroo and Moonta by 1891. This soon became the Balaklava-Moonta railway line In 1927, these railways, and the remainder of the Western system that grew from them, were converted to the broad gauge. Due to various reasons, this particular line had become obsolete and the tracks were removed by late 1980s. A Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built in 1868 by a local stonemason and carpenter. It continues in use as a

Uniting Church The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost a ...

. The

1955 Australian Grand Prix The 1955 Australian Grand Prix was a motor race held at the Port Wakefield Circuit in South Australia on 10 October 1955. The race, which had 22 starters, was held over 80 laps of the 2.09 km (1.3 mi) circuit. It was open to Formula Lib ...

was held at the Port Wakefield Circuit east of the township. The circuit opened in 1953 when public road racing was banned. It closed in 1961, when some of its facilities were moved to the longer Mallala Race Circuit.

2020 highway upgrade

A proposal by the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

before the 2018 state election was that if it was elected, it would build a single lane overpass at the Augusta Highway end of the Copper Coast Highway to reduce traffic conflicts. The party won the election and upgraded the planning to completely grade-separate the intersection and duplicate the highway through Port Wakefield. The contract for detailed design and construction of duplication of

Port Wakefield Road Port Wakefield Highway (and its southern section as Port Wakefield Road) is an important South Australian highway, connecting Adelaide to the Yorke Peninsula, Port Augusta, northern and western South Australia, the Northern Territory and Wester ...

through Port Wakefield and grade-separate the intersection with the Copper Coast Highway was let in March 2020 to the "Port Wakefield to Port Augusta Alliance", a consortium of CPB Contractors,

Aurecon Aurecon Group Pty Ltd is an Australian engineering, project management and consulting company based in Docklands, Victoria Docklands is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on the western end of the Melbourne central bus ...

and

GHD Group GHD Group Pty Ltd (formerly known as Gutteridge Haskins & Davey) is a global employee-owned multinational technical professional services firm providing advisory, architecture and design, buildings, digital, energy and resources, environmental ...

. This consortium is also responsible for the duplication of Joy Baluch AM Bridge in

. Both projects are expected to be completed in 2022.

Local government

In November 1878 the District Council of Port Wakefield was established, on the same day as the District Council of Clinton and the District Council of Kulpara, bringing local government to the area.

Media

In 1876, a short lived newspaper was printed in the town, called the ''Port Wakefield Times and Balaclava, Hoyleton, Blyth and Lochiel Advertiser'' (July – August 1876), published by Edward Richardson. A later newspaper was the ''Wakefield Sun'' (15 July 1910 – 31 May 1912). Another publication, the ''Port Wakefield Monitor'' (7 January 1915 – 26 June 1941), was published locally.

References

External links

Yorke Peninsula website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Port Wakefield, South Australia Coastal towns in South Australia Gulf St Vincent