Fowlers Bay, South Australia

Fowlers Bay
South Australia

Town of Fowlers Bay
Fowlers Bay
Coordinates 31°59′S 132°26′E / 31.983°S 132.433°E / -31.983; 132.433Coordinates: 31°59′S 132°26′E / 31.983°S 132.433°E / -31.983; 132.433
Population 125 (2006 census)[1]
Established 1890[2]
Postcode(s) 5690[3]
Elevation 3 m (10 ft)[4]
Time zone ACST (UTC+9:30)
 • Summer (DST) ACST (UTC+10:30)
Location
LGA(s) unincorporated area[2]
Region Eyre Western[5]
County Hopetoun[2]
State electorate(s) Flinders[6]
Federal Division(s) Grey[7]
Mean max temp[4] Mean min temp[4] Annual rainfall[4]
21.5 °C
71 °F		 12.3 °C
54 °F		 300.2 mm
11.8 in
Localities around Fowlers Bay:
Yalata Yalata Yalata
Mitchidy Moola
Coorabie Fowlers Bay Mitchidy Moola
Bookabie
Great Australian Bight Great Australian Bight Great Australian Bight
Footnotes Locations[2][3]
Adjoining localities[2]

Fowlers Bay, formerly Yalata, is a small coastal town in the Australian state of South Australia located about 658 kilometres (409 mi) north-west of the state capital, Adelaide. Situated on the Nullarbor Plain, it was once an active port and a gateway to the western reaches of the continent, but fell into decline in the 1960s. At the 2006 census, Fowlers Bay and the surrounding area had a population of 125.[1]

History

European exploration

The coastline around Fowlers Bay was first mapped in 1627 by François Thijssen, a Dutch sea captain. His ship was the Golden Seahorse (Gulden Zeepard).[8] Fowlers Bay was named on 28 January 1802 by Matthew Flinders after his first lieutenant, Robert Fowler.[9]

Edward John Eyre set up base camp here in 1840 during his epic journeys across the Nullarbor Plain. By this time the area was well-known to American and French whaling ships; Eyre documents seeing whalers in the area.[10]

Settlement

In the 1860s, the first pastoral leases were established by William Swan and Robert Barr Smith, forming Yalata station, a farming property whose boundaries extended from the Head of the Bight in the west to Streaky Bay in the east.[8]

The settlement was surveyed in March 1890 and proclaimed a town (under the name Yalata) in the Government Gazette in 1890, with the name being changed to Fowler's Bay in 1940.[2][11] The settlement is on Port Eyre at the western end of the larger Fowlers Bay.[12] Yalata now refers to a nearby township.

Heritage listings

Fowlers Bay contains one place listed on the South Australian Heritage Register - Whale Bone Area and the Point Fowler Structure.[13]

In the 2000s

Today Fowlers Bay is located in the unincorporated area of South Australia (only 15% of the state is under Local Government). The town does not receive reticulated power or water. It is currently a popular overnight destination between Nundroo and Penong, and its fishing facilities, beaches and surrounding historical ruins gives the town some interest for tourists and sightseers. There are no sealed roads to Fowlers Bay and visitors should seek advice before driving across the saltwater bog behind the town.

Visually the town is dominated by a large sand dune that protects the town from the Southern Ocean. Southern right whales have recolonised into the area in recent years, with the bay providing a small but ideal sanctuary. Bottlenose dolphins and Australian sea lions may also be found.

The ruins of the homestead of the Yalata station can be found several kilometres from the town. There is a small cemetery on the outskirts of the town.

Governance

Fowlers Bay is located within the federal Division of Grey, the state electoral district of Flinders and the unincorporated area of South Australia.[2][6][7] In the absence of a local government authority, the community in Fowlers Bay receives municipal services from a state government agency, the Outback Communities Authority.[14]

Climate

Fowler Bay has semi arid climate, which has influences of Great Australian Bight. The highest recorded temperature was +48,4 and the lowest recorded was -3.2 degrees.

Climate data for Fowlers Bay, South Australia
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 48.4
(119.1)		 44.1
(111.4)		 42.8
(109)		 40.0
(104)		 33.3
(91.9)		 28.3
(82.9)		 27.2
(81)		 30.6
(87.1)		 38.9
(102)		 43.3
(109.9)		 44.4
(111.9)		 46.0
(114.8)		 48.4
(119.1)
Average high °C (°F) 25.1
(77.2)		 24.1
(75.4)		 24.2
(75.6)		 22.5
(72.5)		 20.3
(68.5)		 17.8
(64)		 17.0
(62.6)		 18.2
(64.8)		 20.3
(68.5)		 21.8
(71.2)		 23.2
(73.8)		 24.0
(75.2)		 21.5
(70.7)
Average low °C (°F) 17.1
(62.8)		 17.0
(62.6)		 16.0
(60.8)		 13.4
(56.1)		 10.3
(50.5)		 8.1
(46.6)		 6.9
(44.4)		 7.6
(45.7)		 9.6
(49.3)		 11.8
(53.2)		 13.9
(57)		 15.7
(60.3)		 12.3
(54.1)
Record low °C (°F) 7.2
(45)		 2.8
(37)		 5.0
(41)		 3.9
(39)		 −1.1
(30)		 −3.2
(26.2)		 −1.8
(28.8)		 −0.6
(30.9)		 1.7
(35.1)		 0.0
(32)		 3.9
(39)		 3.0
(37.4)		 −3.2
(26.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 8.4
(0.331)		 12.3
(0.484)		 13.7
(0.539)		 21.6
(0.85)		 42.0
(1.654)		 51.7
(2.035)		 43.5
(1.713)		 36.1
(1.421)		 21.8
(0.858)		 20.9
(0.823)		 16.5
(0.65)		 12.0
(0.472)		 300.2
(11.819)
Average precipitation days 2.4 2.4 3.6 5.9 9.9 11.5 11.9 10.4 7.1 6.0 4.4 3.3 78.8
Source: Bureau of Meteorology [4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Fowlers Bay (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2007-11-10.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Search result for "Fowlers Bay" (Locality Bounded) (Record Number SA0024801) with the following layers selected - "Suburbs and Localities" and " Place names (gazetteer)"". Property Location Browser. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Fowlers Bay, South Australia (Postcode)". postcodes-australia.com. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Climate Statistics for Fowlers Bay, South Australia". Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  5. ↑ "Eyre and Western South Australian Government Region" (PDF). Government of South Australia. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  6. 1 2 "District of Flinders Background Profile". Electoral Commission SA. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Federal electoral division of Grey" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  8. 1 2 Fowlers Bay, South Australia
  9. ↑ Flinders, Matthew (1966) [1814]. A Voyage to Terra Australis : undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803 in His Majesty's ship the Investigator, and subsequently in the armed vessel Porpoise and Cumberland Schooner; with an account of the shipwreck of the Porpoise, arrival of the Cumberland at Mauritius, and imprisonment of the commander during six years and a half in that island. (Facsimile ed.). Adelaide; Facsimile reprint of: London : G. and W. Nicol, 1814 ed. In two volumes, with an Atlas (3 volumes): Libraries Board of South Australia. p. 211. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  10. ↑ Edward John Eyre. "Book 2. - Australian Discovery by Land - XV Eyre's journey from Fowler's Bay to Albany in 1841".
  11. ↑ "New town names approved". The Advertiser. 26 July 1940. p. 10. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  12. ↑ "Placename Details: Port Eyre". Property Location Browser. Government of South Australia. 1 March 2010. SA0023421. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  13. ↑ "Whale Bone Area and the Point Fowler Structure, Fowlers Bay Conservation Reserve (designated places of archaeological significance)". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources - State Heritage Branch. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  14. ↑ "Communities (serviced by the Outback Communities Authority)". Outback Communities Authority. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
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