Point Lowly

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Point Lowly
South Australia
Point Lowly
Coordinates 32°59′58″S 137°47′7″E / 32.99944°S 137.78528°E / -32.99944; 137.78528Coordinates: 32°59′58″S 137°47′7″E / 32.99944°S 137.78528°E / -32.99944; 137.78528
Postcode(s) 5600
Time zone ACST (UTC+9:30)
 • Summer (DST) ACDT (UTC+10:30)
LGA(s) City of Whyalla
State electorate(s) Giles
Federal Division(s) Grey
Suburbs around Point Lowly:
Point Lowly North Spencer Gulf
Port Bonython Point Lowly Spencer Gulf
Whyalla Spencer Gulf Spencer Gulf
The Giant Australian Cuttlefish breed each winter in a mass aggregation near Point Lowly.
Southern right whales are occasional visitors to Point Lowly.

Point Lowly is a small peninsula north north-east of Whyalla in the Upper Spencer Gulf region of South Australia. The peninsula is shared by a combination of defence, industrial, residential, recreational and tourism interests. The area is marked for future industrial development, driven by growth in the State's mining industry. The icons of the peninsula are the historic Point Lowly Lighthouse[1] and the mass breeding aggregation of Giant Australian Cuttlefish which occurs inshore each winter.

Point Lowly was named by Matthew Flinders during explorations in 1802. It also bears the lesser-known alternative name of Cap Lafontaine,[2] given by French explorer Nicolas Baudin during his explorations in the same year.

A boat-ramp exists north of the lighthouse for the benefit of commercial fish-farming operations and recreational users. Waters near Point Lowly include several popular grounds for snapper fishing.[3] The fishing of Snapper in all South Australian waters is prohibited from November 1 through December 15.[4]

Wildlife

Diving and snorkeling during the Giant Australian Cuttlefish aggregation each winter is a popular recreational activity. The Northern Spencer Gulf population has been in steady decline for over a decade. Their decline is the subject of local and international concern. As of October 2013, research into the possible causes of the decline by SARDI, the EPA and University of Adelaide is ongoing.[5]

Visiting Southern Right Whales and Humpback Whales can occasionally be sighted from Point Lowly during winter months.[6]

Development

The South Australian Government plans to develop a large section of the peninsula into the Port Bonython Minerals Precint. The proposals include an iron ore export port, a seawater desalination plant for BHP Billiton's use and a fuel distribution hub.

These plan has been met with public opposition from several community groups based in nearby Whyalla. These groups include Save Point Lowly, the Cuttlefish Coast Coalition and the Alternative Port Working Party. Their concerns relate to the cumulative environmental and social impacts of these developments.

Landforms

The Point Lowly peninsula is a low plateau, sloping NW - SE, in the Simmens quartzite member, of the Neoprotorozoic Tent Hill formation. The southern shore of the peninsula features 20 metre high bluffs over sloping shore platforms and small beaches. The bluffs and cliffs of the eastern side of the peninsula slope down to pebble beaches with some sand at high tide.

To the north, Fitzgerald Bay acts as a sand trap, shown by the storage of Holocene sands in wide nearshore low tide sandflats. Small areas of sand ridges exist at the head of the bay, where Holocene sand grit has been mixed with the Pleistocene red sands from the Gulf floor. The beach here is narrow high tide reflective in morpho-dynamic terms. Volcanics are exposed in cliffs and platforms at Backy Point. Small areas of sand dune are found near Point Lowly and at Weeroona Bay. At the Weroona Bay dunes backshore low cobble ridges occur, possibly formerly covered by white Holocene sands that are now immediately inland. No dating is available for these deposits; however, further north in the Gulf similar deposits are Pleistocene in age.[7]

Shared Use

A variety of entities utilize the Point Lowly peninsula. These include:

  • Australian Defence Force - Cultana Training Area[8]
  • Santos Ltd - Port Bonython hydrocarbon processing plant[9]
  • Clean Seas Ltd - Yellowtail Kingfish aquaculture in Fitzgerald Bay
  • Coastal home-owners
  • Indigenous Australians
  • Campers
  • Fishermen
  • Scuba divers

References

  1. ↑ Lighthouses of Australia Inc. "Lighthouses of South Australia - Point Lowly Lighthouse" Retrieved 2013-11-15.
  2. ↑ Property Location Browser, Government of South Australia (accessed 2013-12-20)
  3. ↑ Boatpoint.com.au "Fishing Whyalla (September 2007)" Retrieved 2013-11-15.
  4. ↑ SA Government PIRSA Fisheries "Annual Snapper fishing closure starts November 1" Retrieved 2013-11-15.
  5. ↑ "Where did all the cuttlefish go?" ABC Environment, 2013-10-12 (Accessed 2013-12-20)
  6. ↑ Atlas of Living Australia "Point Lowly" Retrieved 2013-11-15.
  7. ↑ Eyre Peninsula Natural Resource Management Board "Eyre Peninsula Coastal Action Plan, Volume 2" Retrieved 2013-11-06.
  8. ↑ Australian Government Department of Defence "Cultana Training Area Expansion Project" Retrieved 2013-11-06.
  9. ↑ Santos Ltd "Our Activities - Port Bonython" Retrieved 2013-11-06.


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