Beachport
{{more citations needed|date=May 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Use Australian English|date=March 2013}}
{{Infobox Australian place | type = town
| name = Beachport
| state = sa
| image = BeachportMainStreet.JPG
| caption = Main street of Beachport
| coordinates = {{coord|37.48355|S|140.008423|E|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_label_position =left
| pop =
| established = 23 May 1878 (town)
18 December 1997 (locality)
| established_footnotes = {{cite web|last1=Morgan|first1=William|title=Untitled proclamation re the Town of Beachport|url=http://www9.austlii.edu.au/au/other/sa_gazette/1878/24/1257.pdf|website=The South Australian Government Gazette|publisher=South Australian Government|access-date=15 May 2018|page=1257|date=23 May 1878}}{{Citation | title = GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES ACT 1991, Notice to Assign Boundaries and Names to Places | journal = The South Australian Government Gazette | page = 1655 | date=18 December 1997| url =http://www8.austlii.edu.au/au/other/sa_gazette/1997/154/1655.pdf |access-date=17 May 2018}}
| elevation = 5
| timezone = ACST
| utc = +9:30
| timezone-dst = ACST
| utc-dst = +10:30
| dist1 = 311
| dir1 = SE
| location1= Adelaide
| location2= Millicent
| dist2 = 34
| dir2 = NW
| region = Limestone Coast
| county = Grey
| lga = Wattle Range Council
| stategov = MacKillop{{cite web|title=District of MacKillop (map)|url=https://www.ecsa.sa.gov.au/electoral-districts/electoral-district-profiles?view=article&id=841:mackillop |publisher=Electoral Commission SA |access-date=8 April 2019}}
| fedgov = Barker{{cite web|title=Federal electoral division of Barker |url=http://www.aec.gov.au/profiles/sa/files/2011/2011-aec-a4-map-sa-barker.pdf |publisher=Australian Electoral Commission|access-date=28 March 2016}}
| maxtemp = 19.7
| mintemp = 9.6
| rainfall = 608.2
| near-n = Bray
| near-ne = Bray
| near-e = Magarey
Rendelsham
Southend
| near-se = Southend
| near-s = Ocean
Rivoli Bay
| near-sw = Ocean
| near-w = Nora Creina
Ocean
| near-nw = Bray
| near = Beachport
| footnotes =Locations
Adjoining localities
}}
Beachport is a small coastal town in the Australian state of South Australia about {{convert|311|km}} south-east of the state capital of Adelaide and about {{convert|34|km}} north-west of the municipal seat in Millicent, located at the northern end of Rivoli Bay. Beachport has a large crayfishing fleet, and is known for its {{convert|772|m|adj=on}}-long jetty, the second-longest in South Australia after the one at Port Germein. The towns Norfolk pines, white sand beach and clear waters are alluring to visitors {{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QygL-R96vjA&list=PLFYJ7Etv95o-YvN452ZPNy2n5uBBz6ISt&index=3 | title=Beachport, South Australia | publisher=K2TV |access-date=26 December 2022}}
Prior to European settlement starting in the 1820s, the Bungandidj people from the Mount Gambier region are the early settlers of this area. Archeological evidence shows they have inhabited this area for upwards of 30,000 years.{{Cite book| title = 'Doing' history and 'Understanding' Cultural Landscapes: Cutting Through South Australia's Woakwine Range
| last = Fort | first = Carol | year = 2005 | url = http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/humanities/exchange/asri/ucl_symp_pdf/UCL%20paper%20Carol%20Fort.pdf | page = 4}} In their language, this area was called Wirmalngrang.{{cite web | url=https://www.aussietowns.com.au/town/beachport-sa | title=Beachport, SA | publisher=Aussie Towns | access-date=26 December 2022}}
History
Following the discovery and naming of Rivoli Bay in 1802 by French navigator Nicolas Baudin, a whaling station was established{{where|date=April 2019}} there in the 1830s. The whaling industry soon declined, to be followed in succeeding decades by European pastoralists settling in the hinterland. Whaling was then superseded by a booming wool export industry, leading to the need for a port. The town was named on 23 May 1878 for the then British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Michael Hicks Beach, 1st Earl St Aldwyn.[http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/manning/pn/b/b9.htm#beachport The Manning Index of Place Names of South Australia] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926234530/http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/manning/pn/b/b9.htm#beachport |date=26 September 2007 }}
=World War II=
Beachport is the location of what are believed to be the first casualties of World War II on Australian soil. On 12 July 1941, a local fisherman discovered and towed to Beachport a German sea mine, laid either by the raider Pinguin or the minelayer Passat. The following day, two able seamen, Thomas Todd and William Danswan, part of a three-man Rendering Mines Safe (REMS) team, were killed when a wave lifted the mine and caused it to explode on the beach while they were attempting to defuse it.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ww2australia.gov.au/waratsea/lost.html |title=Australia's War 1939-1945 |access-date=3 November 2010 |archive-date=20 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110220224811/http://www.ww2australia.gov.au/waratsea/lost.html |url-status=dead }} A monument now stands in the town to honour them.
=Transport=
Beachport was officially proclaimed a port on 21 November 1878. In the same year a lighthouse was erected close by on Penguin Island and a railway from Mount Gambier was completed. A wool and grain store was built in 1879, served by the railway, thereby providing a facility to link the export trade by rail and sea. The railway closed in 1957.[http://www.wattlerange.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=217 Wattle Range Council] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213114159/http://www.wattlerange.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=217 |date=13 December 2007 }} The old wool and grain store has been preserved and today serves as a National Trust museum.
=Heritage listings=
Beachport has a number of sites listed on the South Australian Heritage Register, including:
- Railway Terrace: Beachport Customs House{{cite web | url=http://maps.sa.gov.au/heritagesearch/HeritageItem.aspx?p_heritageno=16519 | title=Former Beachport Customs House | publisher=Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources | work=South Australian Heritage Register | access-date=26 August 2016}}
- 5 Railway Terrace: Wool and Grain Store{{cite web | url=http://maps.sa.gov.au/heritagesearch/HeritageItem.aspx?p_heritageno=16507 | title=Beachport Museum (former Wool and Grain Store) | publisher=Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources | work=South Australian Heritage Register | access-date=26 August 2016}}
- Rivoli Bay: Beachport Jetty{{cite web | url=http://maps.sa.gov.au/heritagesearch/HeritageItem.aspx?p_heritageno=16520 | title=Beachport Jetty | publisher=Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources | work=South Australian Heritage Register | access-date=26 August 2016}}
Environment
Popular recreational fishing spots include the Salmon Hole, jetty and 10 Mile Beach. Other attractions include the Salt Lake, Lake George and the rugged coastal views of the Scenic Drive. The nearby Beachport Conservation Park, which includes {{convert|710|ha|abbr=off}} of beaches, rocky headlands and boobialla scrub, overlaps with the much larger Lake Hawdon System Important Bird Area.[http://www.parks.sa.gov.au/publish/groups/public/@parks/@lowersoutheast/documents/all/parks_pdfs_beachport_cp.pdf South Australian Department for Environment and Heritage] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070906220132/http://www.parks.sa.gov.au/publish/groups/public/%40parks/%40lowersoutheast/documents/all/parks_pdfs_beachport_cp.pdf |date=6 September 2007 }}.{{cite web|title=Important Bird Areas factsheet: Lake Hawdon System|url=http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sitefactsheet.php?id=24823|publisher=BirdLife International|access-date=27 October 2014|date=2014}} In the sandhills adjacent to Beachport is the Pool of Siloam, named in allusion to the Biblical Pool of Siloam as locals claim it has healing properties similar to the pool in Jerusalem. Said to be seven times saltier than the ocean, it is enjoyed by swimmers and has related amenities.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category-inline|Beachport, South Australia}}
{{Wattle Range Council localities}}
{{Limestone Coast}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Coastal towns in South Australia