| Ceduna South Australia |
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Ceduna's main street around about noon during total solar eclipse celebrations about 6 hours prior to the eclipse, 4 December 2002. |
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Ceduna
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| Population: | 2,304[1] | ||||||
| Established: | 1898 | ||||||
| Postcode: | 5690[2] | ||||||
| Location: |
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| LGA: | District Council of Ceduna | ||||||
| State District: | Flinders | ||||||
| Federal Division: | Grey | ||||||
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Ceduna is a small town in the West Coast region of South Australia. It is situated in the northwest corner of Eyre Peninsula, facing the islands of the Nuyts Archipelago. It lies west of the junction of the Flinders and Eyre Highways around 786 km northwest of the capital Adelaide. The port town/suburb of Thevenard lies 3 km to the west on Cape Thevenard. It is in the District Council of Ceduna, the federal Division of Grey, and the state electoral district of Flinders. The name Ceduna is a corruption of the local Aboriginal word Chedoona and is said to mean a place to sit down and rest. The town has played an important but minor role in Australia's overall development due to it being a fishing port and a railroad hub.
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There was a whaling station on nearby St Peter Island during the 1850s.
Ceduna was the site of a major satellite telecommunications facility operated by the Overseas Telecommunications Commission. It was a major employer in the town until made redundant by technological change.
On 4 December 2002, Ceduna received international attention when the path of totality of a solar eclipse passed directly over the town. Though the day had at times been partly cloudy, the southwestern sky where the Sun and Moon were located was clear at the time of the total solar eclipse, late in the afternoon.
With a population of 2,304, the town is the last major settlement before crossing the Nullarbor Plain from east to west.[1] It is set on Murat Bay and the sandy coves, sheltered bays and offshore islands of the bay make it a popular base for a beach holiday. The foreshore at Ceduna is lined with Norfolk Island pine trees. There is a jetty for walking, fishing and small boats.
Ceduna urban area had a population of 2,304 in the 2006 census.[1] The wider Ceduna council area recorded a population of 3,574 in the 2006 census.[3]
Ceduna has a number of Indigenous homelands situated within 20–30 minutes of the town. These are groupings of Indigenous families who have chosen to live together. The council area has the highest percentage of Aboriginal people of all local government areas in South Australia, with the population currently standing at 24.1% (860) of the population.[3] A number of Aboriginal communities in adjacent unincorporated areas rely on the available services in Ceduna and use the town as a base for a variety of reasons.[3]
The two schools in Ceduna are Crossways Lutheran School and Ceduna Area School (CAS).[4] Crossways has around 150 students from Reception to Year 10, of which approximately 80% are Indigenous. CAS has approximately 600 students, from Reception to Year 12, with approximately 25% of Indigenous students.
Iluka Resources is developing a new mine at Jacinth- Ambrosia which will rely on Ceduna as a service town.
A major residential development called Ceduna Waters is being developed by Carramatta Holdings, a significant South Australian property developer, which was responsible for the Talbot Grove affordable housing development.
Prospectively, the development is projected to result in the growth of the population of Ceduna by over 10%. The development will allow for the provision of additional residential accommodation in Ceduna to meet the needs of workers at the Iluka Jacinth- Ambrosia mine.
Ceduna has a radio telescope that is being integrated into the CSIRO radio telescope network. It is also a hub for research on Southern Ocean Tuna.
Ceduna's annual Oysterfest is a major attraction on the October long weekend. It was established in 1991. It celebrates the oyster industry in the clean waters of SA's far-west coast, with a wide variety of activities, including a gala dinner, a charity quest, live concerts, children's amusements and a street parade. The finale is marked by a fireworks display.
Ceduna has a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters[5] July is the wettest month. The average yearly precipitation is just under 300mm at the coast and diminishes northward into the interior, becoming increasingly semi-arid.[6] Goyder's Line, which demarcates the edge of the area where rainfall is generally sufficient to support agriculture, starts near Ceduna.[7]
| Climate data for Ceduna | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 47.9 (118.2) |
47.3 (117.1) |
45.8 (114.4) |
40.8 (105.4) |
34.0 (93.2) |
29.8 (85.6) |
32.6 (90.7) |
33.6 (92.5) |
39.7 (103.5) |
43.5 (110.3) |
45.9 (114.6) |
47.3 (117.1) |
47.9 (118.2) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 28.5 (83.3) |
28.2 (82.8) |
26.7 (80.1) |
24.2 (75.6) |
20.9 (69.6) |
18.2 (64.8) |
17.4 (63.3) |
18.7 (65.7) |
21.4 (70.5) |
23.8 (74.8) |
25.9 (78.6) |
27.2 (81.0) |
23.4 (74.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 15.1 (59.2) |
15.0 (59.0) |
13.1 (55.6) |
10.7 (51.3) |
8.5 (47.3) |
6.4 (43.5) |
5.7 (42.3) |
6.2 (43.2) |
7.8 (46.0) |
9.9 (49.8) |
12.2 (54.0) |
14.0 (57.2) |
10.4 (50.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 5.0 (41.0) |
4.9 (40.8) |
1.3 (34.3) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
−3.2 (26.2) |
−4.7 (23.5) |
−4.3 (24.3) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
1.6 (34.9) |
3.4 (38.1) |
−4.7 (23.5) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 11.6 (0.457) |
12.9 (0.508) |
16.4 (0.646) |
19.5 (0.768) |
32.3 (1.272) |
35.1 (1.382) |
39.9 (1.571) |
34.8 (1.37) |
27.9 (1.098) |
25.4 (1) |
19.9 (0.783) |
20.8 (0.819) |
296.8 (11.685) |
| Source: [8] | |||||||||||||
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