Whyalla
Population 27,500
Whyalla is situated on the western side of Spencer Gulf, 394km (245 miles)
north-west of Adelaide by road, and 241km (150 miles) by air.
Climate
Average maximum temperature is 29C (84F); minimum is 7C (45F) in winter
and 19C (66F) in summer. There are 301 days of sunshine every year, and
the average annual rainfall is 268mm (11 ins).
Characteristics
The Gateway to the Eyre Peninsula, Whyalla is the largest regional city
in South Australia, and the third largest steel producer in Australia.
It is an industrial city with a difference as it is also an extremely
popular venue for tourists because of its ideal, sun-drenched climate.
In fact, it's booming, with top-class attractions drawing tens of thousands
of annual visitors.
How to Get There By Bus
Stateliner have six services daily from Adelaide, and connect with Greyhound
Pioneer services from other states.
By Car
Whyalla is a pleasant four to five hour drive from Adelaide along National
Highway One, then on to Alternative Highway One, the coastal highway
to Ceduna via Port Lincoln.
For travellers from the eastern States, turn off National Highway One 25km
(16 miles) south of Port Augusta. From the west, turn off Highway One at
Iron Knob, 42km (26 miles) before that recommended from the east.
Tourist Information
Whyalla Tourist Centre is on the Lincoln Highway (08) 8645 7900 or 1800
088 589 and can be emailed at tourist.centre@why alla.sa.gov.au. They
are open Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 9am-4pm and Sun 10am-4pm. The website www.epta.com.au
has further information.
Accommodation
The city has motels, hotel/motels, hotels and caravan parks. Here is a
selection, with prices for a double room per night, which should be used
as a guide only. The telephone area code is 08.
Alexander Motor Inn, 99 Playford Avenue, 8645 9488. 40 units, licensed
restaurant, swimming pool, sauna, bbq $92.
Airport Whyalla, Lincoln Highway, 8645 2122. 10 units $65-70.
Derhams Foreshore Motor Inn, Watson Terrace, 8645 8877. 40 units, licensed
restaurant, swimming pool, bbq $95-115.
Sundowner Hotel/Motel, Cowell Road, 8645 7688. 24 units, licensed restaurant
(closed Sunday), swimming pool, bbq $34.
Spencer Hotel, Forsyth Street, 8645 8411. 30 rooms (private facilities),
licensed restaurant $32.
Caravan Parks
Whyalla Foreshore Caravan Park, Broadbent Terrace, 8645 7474. (Pets allowed
at manager's discretion) - powered sites $17 for two, on-site vans $28
for two.
Whyalla Airport Caravan Park, Malaquana Road, 8645 9357. (Pets allowed
on leash) - powered sites $16-18 for two, cabins $52-54 for two, on-site
vans $28 for two, park cabins $40 for two.
Eating Out
Most of the hotels and motels have licensed or BYO restaurants, and there
are many takeaway outlets, and others which have takeaway or eat in.
Here are a few restaurants you might like to try.
Oriental Inn Chinese Restaurant, 83 Essington Lewis Avenue, 8645 4630.
Parkview Restaurant, 23 Essington Lewis Avenue, 8644 2100.
Spagg's Mediterranean Cafe & Restaurant, 30 Patterson Street, 8645
2088.
Tavern In The Town, 1 Kelly Street, 8644 2255.
Points of Interest
Whyalla Maritime Museum, Port Augusta Road (Lincoln Highway), is a unique
$1.3 million attraction at the northern entrance to the city. It features
the 650 tonne corvette the Whyalla, now resting 2km from the sea. Originally
named HMAS Whyalla, and later the Rip, it was the first vessel built
in 1941 at the former Whyalla Shipyard. It has been restored, and there
are guided tours of the ship. The nearby Tanderra building traces the
city's important shipping past through models and artefacts of BHP's
shipbuilding days (1941-1978), wartime memorabilia of the Whyalla, a
scale model of the Santos plant at nearby Port Bonython, audio visual
presentations, and other interesting displays.
Also in the Tanderra building is the largest "00" gauge model railway in
Australia. It is a model that will interest as many dads as kids. The complex
is open daily 10am-4pm, with ship tours on the hour from 11am-3pm. Entry
is $7 for adults, $4 for children, $17 for a family of 2 adults and 2 or
more children.
Tours of the Steelworks are operated by Whyalla's Steel City Coaches hon
Mon, Wed and Sat, departing from the Tourist Office at 9.30am. The costs
are $9 for adults, $4 children and $22 a family. For more information contact
the Visitor Centre on 8645 7900.
The Whyalla Art Group has its own gallery in Darling Terrace, just a block
and a half from the City Plaza. It has a display of oil paintings, watercolours,
acrylic, pen and wash, covering local scenes, the Flinders Ranges and sea
and landscapes. Two major exhibitions are held each year in Autumn and
Spring. Opening times are weekdays noon-4pm and weekends 2pm-4pm and entry
is free.
Hummock Hill Lookout was developed by BHP, and overlooks the eastern end
of Whyalla, the foreshore and marina, across Spencer Gulf to the Southern
Flinders Ranges, nearby Point Lowly Lighthouse, the Santos plant at Point
Bonython, and westward towards the iron ore rich Middleback Ranges. Hummock
Hill was the site of the first settlement at the turn of the century. During
World War II it saw service as a gun battery and observation post.
Ada Ryan Gardens are located between Cudmore & Watson Terraces, and
are linked to the Whyalla Foreshore. It was the first major park established
in the city and named after the wife of the chairman of the original City
Commission, the local government before a City Council was established.
It is an ideal spot for a picnic lunch.
Whyalla Foreshore and Marina
The modern Foreshore Centre has a cafeteria, change rooms and toilets,
lifesaving and rescue facilities and has had extensive landscaping, with
lawns, barbecues and a playground. The beach offers safe swimming in shallow
water, while a nearby fishing jetty is well used by locals after tommy
ruffs, garfish, squid, blue swimmer crabs and some species of whiting.
At low tide in summer, you can walk out to the blue 'line' in search of
a feed of sea fresh crabs. The marina here provides boat owners with a
superb four-lane launching ramp, and a small launching fee applies to assist
with on-going maintenance. Access to the launching area is controlled by
a boom gate which is activated by tokens available from Foreshore Cafe,
8645 0340 (open 7 days). A new beach has resulted from the marina development,
at the extreme eastern end, and it is less affected by low tides.
Mount Laura Homestead Museum in Ekblom Street, off Nicolson Avenue, behind
the Westland Shopping Centre, is a National Trust Museum housed in a former
sheep station homestead. It has a collection of yester-year household items,
relics and many old photographs of the city. In the grounds is a fully
restored and furnished cottage, originally built near Hummock Hill in 1914
and transported to the museum in the 1970s. There is also an engine shed
which has a comprehensive range of more than 60 stationary engines, all
fully restored and in working condition. An 80-year-old locomotive used
to haul ore from Iron Knob stands next to the homestead, as does Whyalla's
first lock-up. The Museum is open Sun, Mon and Wed, 2-4pm, and Fri 10am-noon,
other times by appointment. Entry is $5 adults, $2 children.
The Whyalla Health and Leisure Centre, off Racecourse Road, near the junction
of Nicolson Avenue, has a 25m indoor heated swimming pool, squash and racquetball
courts, sports hall, gymnasium, weightlifting facilities and a picturesque
courtyard. There is also an outdoor sweat track comprising a commando-style
course, and a tennis area. Known simply in town as the Rec Centre, visitors
are welcome, and if you haven't brought your sporting gear, you can hire
it all on the premises. Open daily, except public holidays, as follows:
Mon-Fri, pool 6am-8.45pm, all other areas 6am-10pm; Sat-Sun all areas 9am-5pm
(pool closes at 4.45pm).
Whyalla Wildlife & Reptile Sanctuary, on the Lincoln Highway, near
the airport, is one of the largest parks of its type in an arid climate.
There are all kinds of Australian fauna, a reptile house, a walk-through
aviary with about 200 birds, and a children's section where the favourites
can be nursed and fed. The Park has barbecue and picnic facilities, and
offers a bush walk through the main vegetation communities within the area.
An added feature is a Nocturnal Walk Guided tour every Wednesday at 9pm
in summer months, 7.30pm in winter - bookings are essential. The complex
is open daily 10am-6pm (Nov through March), 10am-4.30pm (other times).
Entry is $7 adults, $5 children, and for further information 8645 7044.
Information and maps for a self-guided walk, called the Historic Town Trail,
and a Tourist Drive through Whyalla are available at the Visitor Centre.
Festivals
The Whyalla Show is held in August. There are many other city celebrations,
and the Tourist Office has a full calendar.
Facilities
Whyalla has shopping centres in the city, and there is a theatre, cinema,
etc. Check with the Visitor Centre for information on other entertainment.
Sporting facilities include gliding, golf, roller skating, squash, swimming,
yachting, and diving.
Outlying Attractions Port Bonython
The Port is home to the Santos Fractionation Plant, and although tours
do not operate over the plant, it can clearly be seen from the roadside
and shoreline vantage points. Liquid hydrocarbons, oil condensate and LPG,
are mixed at Moomba and pumped through a 659km (409 miles) underground
pipeline to Port Bonython where the liquids are split into their various
components by a distillation process. Crude oil, condensate, propane and
butane (LPG), and ethane are produced and held in storage tanks with capacities
of between 175,000 and 250,000 barrels, before being pumped along a 2.4km
jetty to waiting tankers of up to 110,000 tonnes deadweight capacity. Generally,
the crude oil and condensate is sold to Australian petroleum refineries,
while the LPG is sold to both domestic and export markets. Port Bonython
has been operating since 1984.
Point Lowly
The Point Lowly Lighthouse, oldest building in the Whyalla area (1883),
is 2km past the Santos Plant, and about 34km (21 miles) from Whyalla.
There are often dolphins in the area, and plenty of people fishing. Facilities
include toilets, playground and picnic area. From the Point there are
good views of the gulf and the southern Flinders Ranges. The lighthouse
is an unmanned station.
Scenic Drive
16km (10 miles) along the all-sealed Point Lowly/Port Bonython road is
the turnoff to Fitzgerald Bay, and the start of a scenic drive to the
holiday spot of Point Douglas, about 20km (12 miles) further on. The
first section from the turnoff to Fitzgerald Bay is a sealed road, and
the rest is a well maintained gravel surface. Along the road there are
many picnic areas and opportunities for beach and bush walks.
Iron Knob
The township of Iron Knob is 52km (32 miles) north west of Whyalla on the
Eyre Highway which links Port Augusta with Western Australia. Flora of
the area is mainly low, stunted growth of mallee scrub and saltbush.
Sheep grazing is the major local primary industry. Mining began in 1899,
the ore being used as a flux in the smelters of Port Pirie. At one time
the Iron Knob and Iron Baron mining operations supplied the iron ore
for all BHP blast furnaces.
The Iron Knob Tourist Centre, 8646 2129, have details of inspections of
the open cut mines, which are undertaken in your own car. The Tourist Centre
has been developed by BHP as a mining museum, with displays of old mining
equipment, mineral specimens, photographs, and a theatre which presents
the story of mining and steel making. The grounds of the centre are ideal
for a picnic lunch. Iron Knob has good facilities for a small town, and
they include a nine-hole golf course, a registered race club, lawn bowls,
tennis, basketball and netball, football and swimming clubs.
South of Whyalla
The coast to the south is a succession of serene villages and resorts,
set on crescent-shaped bays with charming names like Tumby Bay, Arno
Bay and Lucky Bay. The beaches are long and deserted, broken by low,
occasional headlands, and the whole area affords good fishing.
Cowell
Situated on the sheltered Franklin Harbour, which is more like a large
lagoon, is the sleepy village of Cowell. It is a safe fishing and boating
resort, with night crabbing in the shallows a special attraction. Jade
is mined at nearby Mt Geraghty, and is brought to the factory in Cowell
where it is cut and polished. Visitors are welcome to watch the large
diamond saws cutting the stone. The Franklin Harbour Historical Museum
is in the old Post Office, and preserves memorabilia from the town's
past, 8629 2032. The Cowell Area School Fauna Park is home to a range
of native Australian Wildlife, 8629 2150.
Port Lincoln
Had it not been for the lack of a permanent water supply, Colonel Light
may well have selected Port Lincoln as the capital of the State of South
Australia. Now it is a blue water paradise and the holiday centre of
the peninsula. It is 270km (168 miles) south of Whyalla, on Boston Bay
which is ideal for sailing, swimming, water skiing, fishing and skin-diving.
Port Lincoln was first settled in 1834 and has many old buildings, including
the Lincoln Hotel in Tasman Terrace, which first opened for business in
1840. The Port Lincoln Visitor Information Centre, 66 Tasman Terrace, (08)
8683 3544, has information on the many attractions of the town. The Centre
is open 9am-5pm seven days and can be emailed at plvic@dove.net.au
Highlights of the town and surrounds include the Mayne and Arteyrea galleries,
Mill Cottage Museum, Alex Stenross Maritime Museum, Glen-Forest Animal
Park, Railway Museum, Apex Wheelhouse, Rose-Wal Shell Museum, Mikkira Station & Koala
Park, and the impressive Constantia Designer Craftsman tour.
From Winter's Hill lookout, 5km from the town, there is a very good view
of York Peninsula, and short trips can be made to Sleaford Bay, Lincoln
National Park, Whaler's Way and Flinder's Well.
Elliston
The drive to Elliston, about 140km (87 miles) up the coast, passes Sheringa
Beach, salt lakes, the Old Hamilton Eating House, and you can detour
to Locks Wells, a favourite with fishermen and photographers. The little
fishing village of Elliston is nestled between some small hills and Waterloo
Bay, and there are spectacular stretches of rugged cliffs rimming the
coast. Flinders Island is 35km (22 miles) off the Elliston coast.
Visitor information is available from the District Council on Beach Terrace,
8687 9177, open Mon-Fri 8.30am-5pm.
Ceduna
The town is a popular overnight stop for the east-west traveller, but is
gaining a reputation as a holiday destination in its own right. From
here there are scenic drives to Decres Bay, Laura Bay, the Davenport
Creek wilderness area and Denial Bay. Ceduna is well known for its fabulous
fishing and for seafood lovers, a visit to Denial Bay Oyster Farm is
a must. The Ceduna Visitor Information Centre, 58 Poynton Street, 8625
2780, has details on this and other attractions.
Further along the coast, near Penong, is Cactus Beach, regarded as having
one of the best surf breaks in the world.
