Venus Bay (formerly Parkin) is a small

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

town sited on the bay of the same name, 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 ...

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 ...

. The town population numbers in the twenties for most of the year, but its numbers greatly increase during the

summer holidays Summer holiday may refer to: * Summer vacation, a holiday in the summertime between school years Film * ''Summer Holiday'' (1948 film), an American musical starring Mickey Rooney * ''Summer Holiday'' (1963 film), a British musical starring Clif ...

. At the , Venus Bay had a population of 139. The town also serves professional

fishermen A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishers and fish farmers. Fishermen may be professional or recr ...

who fish the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

History

Venus Bay, as with most of the coast of the

, was first recorded by Captain

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 ...

in 1802, during his attempt to map the coast of southern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, although he did not land, did not name it, and had no idea of its extent. The first Europeans to explore the bay were the party which landed from the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

''Nerus'' in March 1839, comprising Captain F.R. Lees, David McLaren, and Samuel Stephens, the latter two being the current and former Colonial Managers of the

South Australian Company The South Australian Company, also referred to as the South Australia Company, was formed in London on 9 October 1835, after the '' South Australia (Foundation) Act 1834'' had established the new British Province of South Australia, with the So ...

, who were examining the West Coast for potential special surveys, but they also did not name it. Sheep pastoralists soon followed, and in 1850, in order to load wool, the bay was first entered by a vessel, Robert Venn's

schooner A schooner ( ) is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel defined by its Rig (sailing), rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more Mast (sailing), masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than t ...

''Venus'', 60 tons, from which the bay took its name. The ''Venus'' continued to trade along the coast, carrying wool, wheat, and passengers, until she was sold in 1852 to NSW, where she was wrecked at Cronulla on 22 July. The town was established after a

whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...

station was built in the 1850s, and for twenty years it existed as no more than a shop, hotel and

police station A police station is a facility operated by police or a similar law enforcement agency that serves to accommodate police officers and other law enforcement personnel. The role served by a police station varies by agency, type, and jurisdiction, ...

. In 1855 there were eleven Aboriginal mounted constables of the Native Police Force stationed at Venus Bay under Sergeant Eyre. The focus of the town soon turned from wool and

pastoralism 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 anim ...

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

as the area was opened for

cereal crop A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize (Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, such ...

ping in the 1870s. The town was surveyed in August 1864 and was subsequently given the name "Parkin" (also spelt as Parkyn in one source) in honour of

William Parkin William Parkin (24 August 1801 – 31 May 1889) was an English-born businessman, politician and philanthropist. He emigrated to the British colonisation of South Australia, British Province of South Australia with his wife in 1839 and represent ...

, who was notable as a businessman, politician and philanthropist. The name of the town was officially changed to "Venus Bay" in July 1940. The township was abandoned by 1900, but was revitalised in the 1920s when it became the base for a

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 ...

operation. This led to a school being established in 1939 which, however, closed in 1955.

Environment

The town of Venus Bay lies on the bay of the same name, with numerous

tidal flat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal ...

s, shallow

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

s, and a number of deep channels that carry water in and out of the bay. The entrance is lined by towering

cliffs In geography and geology, a cliff or rock face is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are com ...

, as is much of the coast, but in the bay, the landscape is flat lying, with much of this land used for

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

purposes. The bay is highly sheltered, contrasting to the entrance where large swells constantly batter the coast.

Important Bird Area

The bay, with its wetlands and beaches, has been identified as an 83 km²

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because it regularly supports over 1% of the world populations of

pied A piebald or pied animal is one that has a pattern of unpigmented spots (white) on a pigmented background of hair, feathers or scales. Thus a piebald black and white dog is a black dog with white spots. The animal's skin under the white backg ...

and

sooty oystercatcher The sooty oystercatcher (''Haematopus fuliginosus'') is a species of oystercatcher. It is a wading bird endemic to Australia and commonly found on its coastline. It prefers rocky coastlines, but will occasionally live in estuaries. All of its fea ...

s as well as small numbers of

fairy tern The fairy tern (''Sternula nereis'') is a small tern which is native to the southwestern Pacific. It is listed as " Vulnerable" by the IUCN and the New Zealand subspecies is "Critically Endangered". Fairy terns live in colonies along the coastli ...

Economy

The

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

of the town is heavily dependent on commercial

, with a number of boats using Venus Bay as an offloading base, where

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

lobster Lobsters are Malacostraca, malacostracans Decapoda, decapod crustaceans of the family (biology), family Nephropidae or its Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on th ...

and

abalone Abalone ( or ; via Spanish , from Rumsen language, Rumsen ''aulón'') is a common name for any small to very large marine life, marine gastropod mollusc in the family (biology), family Haliotidae, which once contained six genera but now cont ...

are transported for sale. Agriculture does impact the town's economy, but the agricultural areas are more centralised toward Port Kenny.

Tourism

Venus Bay also relies heavily on tourism, particularly during the summer, when its small

caravan park Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel * Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop * Caravan (tra ...

regularly fills up. Venus Bay is primarily a fishing and water sport based destination, with the sheltered waters providing small boat users with a safe fishing environment. The bay is known to hold whiting, salmon, garfish, snook, tommy ruff, flathead and

gummy shark The gummy shark (''Mustelus antarcticus''), also known as the Australian smooth hound, flake, sweet william or smooth dog-shark, is a species of ground shark in the genus ''Mustelus'' of the family Triakidae. These small to medium-sized bottom-d ...

, with most of these caught off the town's

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 ...

also. There are several tourist walks near the town, as well as drives to surrounding areas such as Talia Caves and Mount Camel Beach. Daily supplies and accommodation are available from the licensed general store and cafe, as well as other accommodation in the caravan park and private beach houses. The northern end of the Lake Newland Conservation Park lies about 20 km to the south of the town.

References

External links

Venus Bay town information
{{authority control Coastal towns in South Australia Eyre Peninsula Fishing communities in Australia Bays of South Australia