Port Clinton, South Australia

Port Clinton
South Australia

General store
Port Clinton
Coordinates 34°14′0″S 138°02′0″E / 34.23333°S 138.03333°ECoordinates: 34°14′0″S 138°02′0″E / 34.23333°S 138.03333°E
Postcode(s) 5570
Location
LGA(s) Yorke Peninsula Council
State electorate(s) Goyder
Federal Division(s) Grey
Localities around Port Clinton:
Paskeville Kulpara Port Wakefield
Arthurton Port Clinton Gulf St. Vincent
Maitland Price, Ardrossan Gulf St. Vincent

Port Clinton (or simply Clinton) is a coastal township on Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. Located in the north west head of Gulf St Vincent, it is 130 km south of Port Pirie and 125 km from Adelaide.

History

The first European occupiers were leaseholder pastoralists. In 1854 in what is now the northern parts of the Hundred of Clinton, W. & A. Rogers leased 75 square miles at an annual rental of ten shillings per square mile. In 1860, near the centre of the Hundred, T. & W. Day leased twelve square miles.

The Hundred of Clinton was proclaimed on 12 June 1862, comprising 137 square miles. The port was surveyed that same year, with a jetty being erected in 1863. Surveys and closer settlement by farmers soon followed, along with land clearing of the mallee woodland.

This was an important and busy port in the 1860s and 70s, being a transfer point for goods and passengers travelling between Port Adelaide and the copper mines at Wallaroo and Moonta. That was despite the shallowness of the beach, which closed the port to larger vessels during low tide. Port Clinton began a gradual decline after 1878 when the railway between Wallaroo and Adelaide was completed. The jetty was dismantled in 1916.

Present Day

Port Clinton, "The Gateway to the Eastern Yorke Peninsula" a leisurely 1.5 hour drive from the capital of South Australia, Adelaide.

Having a boat ramp, Port Clinton is popular for trailer boating. It has a safe beach for children, along with very good recreational fishing and crabbing areas. Raking for blue swimmer crabs is done on the extensive mud flats at low tide. As a result, since the 1950s the township has attracted the construction of beach and holiday houses.

The Port CLinton Community and Sports Club has recently undergone extensive renovations at a cost of some $450,000 which now brings the "Club" up to date for the variety of visitors to the town. Having started some 30+ years ago the Club was formed by a group of local men whose wives were tired of them cooking their catches of Blue Swimmer Crabs in the household kitchen. Spurred on by the "no hotel" in town the Club is now a beautiful and functional venue open 5 days a week from Wednesday through Sunday. Having employed a new Chef with international experience the Club now offers very affordable and innovative meals from Thursday - Sunday with an extensive full alacarte menu, unbelievably cheap drinks and a great Children's Recreation Room with many free activities to keep the Children occupied while parents enjoy some "rare" quality time together.

The Club is managed by the Management Committee whom are mostly local residents with a full on commitment to the community, hence the significant reinvestment in the Club for the Community and visitors alike. And all done without a mortgage, a testament to the long ongoing community spirit here in Port Clinton.

Accommodation in the town is varied and includes the Beach Front Caravan and Cabin Park and various holiday rentals.

Shopping is available at the Local General Store and in the township of Ardrossan a short 23 klms down the road. Ardrossan boasts an amazing Foodland "award winning" store along with many other variety shops.

You really shouldn't miss calling in, these days you will be pleasantly surprised.

The rural land surrounding Port Clinton is primarily used for dry grain farming of wheat and barley, with some sheep grazing.

Notable residents

External links

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