Arno Bay, South Australia
Encyclopedia
Arno Bay is a small fishing and tourist town on the east coast of Eyre Peninsula
in South Australia
, located on the Lincoln Highway
about half way between Whyalla
and Port Lincoln
. First proclaimed under the name Bligh in 1883, the current name dates back to 1940. It is a recreational town with a number of marine and nature based attractions, including fishing, surfing and swimming.
' was possibly the least successful, with water
halting all operations. The small town was initially proclaimed in 1882 by G.H. Ayliffe under the name of 'Bligh', after Captain William Bligh
, although locals resisted the name change, continually referring to the town
as 'Arno Bay' until the official name change.
The town was expected to become a port
and a jetty
was built in 1880 in anticipation of this. The port was not huge, but nonetheless continued importing fertilizer
s and exporting cereal crops that were being grown in the district. By 1911, the town had grown substantially, with a school
, post office
, hotel
and new hall
established in this period.
The town continued to grow as a port until the point where it was exporting 11 000 tonne
s of grain
in 1940. In the same year, the decision was finally made to alter the town's official name to 'Arno Bay', named after a sandhill
well
and not the Italian
'Arno River' as had been suggested.
The period of high export
came to an abrupt end in 1963 when the storage silos were built, and ocean shipping became redundant to the large truck
s that were now the main mechanism of transport.
This signalled the end of Arno Bay as a port, causing the population to drop slowly, eventually leading to its current position as a tourist fishing
town.
, and sits on the Spencer Gulf
, a body of water that stretches up to Port Augusta
in the north. The town itself lies on the bay
of the same name, which is dominated by a mixture of white, sandy beach
es, cliffs, and mangrove
systems. Of particular note is 'Redbanks', a sedimentary cliff structure which is designated a geological monument by the Geological Society of Australia
.
The climate is much like that of Port Lincoln, which is only 118 km to South. The Mediterranean-like climate, with its hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters is typical for most of the Eyre Peninsula.
Fishing
has been a minor part of the economy in the past, and recently, aquaculture
has come to prominence in the bay, with Yellowtail Kingfish, mulloway and tuna
held in large cages. These are farmed on 7 licenses covering 130 hectare
s in the bay. The aquaculture in the bay is still in development, and further expansions are expected in the future.
Tourism
is now one of the largest components of the town's economy, with tourists typically drawn by the areas fishing
, water sport and seaside atmosphere. A boat ramp is located in the town, with whiting, snapper
, tommy ruff, garfish
, salmon
and may other popular species caught in the bay, with most of these also available off the town jetty
and beach. For boat anglers, the 'Redbanks' region has been known to produce large Mulloway and Snapper, as well as offering scenery in the form of the imposing cliffs. The local aquaculture industry also prompotes tourism, with tours through facilities where finfish are raised.
, general store
s, post office
, playground
and motor garage/fuel
outlet. An all-weather boat ramp, with floating pontoon and a refurbished town jetty launching facilities for boat based fishermen.
A number of sporting
venues and clubs include a dried up swamp that serves as a golf
course, bowling green
, oval, tennis
, netball
, and squash
courts, dirt circuit and in summer yacht
racing each Sunday.
, there were 428 persons (273 in the town proper) usually resident in Arno Bay: 55.4% being males and 44.6% females. Of the total population in Arno Bay there were no Indigenous persons
.
It was found that 18.0% of the population usually resident in Arno Bay were children aged between 0–14 years, and 29.7% were persons aged 55 years and over. The median
age of persons in Arno Bay was 41 years, compared with 37 years for persons in Australia.
In the Census, 92.1% of persons usually resident in Arno Bay were Australia
n citizens, 5.6% were born overseas and none were overseas visitors. Of those who were in permanent residence, 87.9% of them stated they were born in Australia. Other common responses were: England
1.4%, Seychelles
1.4%, New Zealand
1.2%, United States of America 0.7% and Papua New Guinea
0.7%.
The most common responses for religious affiliation for persons usually resident in Arno Bay were: No Religion
29.9%, Uniting Church 24.5%, Anglican 11.7%, Catholic
9.8% and Lutheran 7.9%.
Eyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded on the east by Spencer Gulf, the west by the Great Australian Bight, and the north by the Gawler Ranges. It is named after explorer Edward John Eyre who explored some of it in 1839-1841. The coastline was first explored by...
in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, located on the Lincoln Highway
Lincoln Highway (Australia)
Lincoln Highway links Port Augusta and Port Lincoln, both located in South Australia, a distance of 327 kilometres. It was formerly designated as National Route Alternate 1 and is currently B100....
about half way between Whyalla
Whyalla, South Australia
-Demographics:According to the 2006 Census the population of the Whyalla census area was 21,122 people, making it the second largest urban area in the state outside of Adelaide...
and Port Lincoln
Port Lincoln, South Australia
- Transport :Port Lincoln is the port for the isolated narrow gauge Eyre Peninsular Railway.There is also a subsidiary port at Proper Bay which may be restored to use for iron ore traffic. The export of iron ore through Port Lincoln has been approved by the South Australian Government. Port...
. First proclaimed under the name Bligh in 1883, the current name dates back to 1940. It is a recreational town with a number of marine and nature based attractions, including fishing, surfing and swimming.
History
The area which is now known as Arno Bay was opened up by pastoralists in 1863, with the area being named 'Salt Creek Cove' in these early days. Of the variety of ventures that occurred before the town was built, the sinking of 'The Arno Bay MineMining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
' was possibly the least successful, with water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
halting all operations. The small town was initially proclaimed in 1882 by G.H. Ayliffe under the name of 'Bligh', after Captain William Bligh
William Bligh
Vice Admiral William Bligh FRS RN was an officer of the British Royal Navy and a colonial administrator. A notorious mutiny occurred during his command of HMAV Bounty in 1789; Bligh and his loyal men made a remarkable voyage to Timor, after being set adrift in the Bounty's launch by the mutineers...
, although locals resisted the name change, continually referring to the town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
as 'Arno Bay' until the official name change.
The town was expected to become a port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
and a jetty
Jetty
A jetty is any of a variety of structures used in river, dock, and maritime works that are generally carried out in pairs from river banks, or in continuation of river channels at their outlets into deep water; or out into docks, and outside their entrances; or for forming basins along the...
was built in 1880 in anticipation of this. The port was not huge, but nonetheless continued importing fertilizer
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
s and exporting cereal crops that were being grown in the district. By 1911, the town had grown substantially, with a school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
, post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
and new hall
Hall
In architecture, a hall is fundamentally a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age, a mead hall was such a simple building and was the residence of a lord and his retainers...
established in this period.
The town continued to grow as a port until the point where it was exporting 11 000 tonne
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s of grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
in 1940. In the same year, the decision was finally made to alter the town's official name to 'Arno Bay', named after a sandhill
Sandhill
A sandhill is a type of ecological community or xeric wildfire-maintained ecosystem. It is not the same as a sand dune. It features very short fire return intervals, one to five years. Without fire, sandhills undergo ecological succession and become more oak dominated.Entisols are the typical...
well
Water well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
and not the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
'Arno River' as had been suggested.
The period of high export
Export
The term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an "exporter" who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an "importer"...
came to an abrupt end in 1963 when the storage silos were built, and ocean shipping became redundant to the large truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
s that were now the main mechanism of transport.
This signalled the end of Arno Bay as a port, causing the population to drop slowly, eventually leading to its current position as a tourist fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
town.
Geography
Arno bay lies on the eastern Eyre PeninsulaEyre Peninsula
Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded on the east by Spencer Gulf, the west by the Great Australian Bight, and the north by the Gawler Ranges. It is named after explorer Edward John Eyre who explored some of it in 1839-1841. The coastline was first explored by...
, and sits on the Spencer Gulf
Spencer Gulf
The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost of two large inlets on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. The Gulf is 322 km long and 129 km wide at its mouth. The western shore of the Gulf is the Eyre Peninsula, while the eastern side is the...
, a body of water that stretches up to Port Augusta
Port Augusta, South Australia
-Electricity generation:Electricity is generated at the Playford B and Northern power stations from brown coal mined at Leigh Creek, 250 km to the north...
in the north. The town itself lies on the bay
Bay
A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...
of the same name, which is dominated by a mixture of white, sandy beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
es, cliffs, and mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
systems. Of particular note is 'Redbanks', a sedimentary cliff structure which is designated a geological monument by the Geological Society of Australia
Geological Society of Australia
The Geological Society of Australia was established as a non-profit organisation in 1952 to promote, advance and support earth sciences in Australia...
.
The climate is much like that of Port Lincoln, which is only 118 km to South. The Mediterranean-like climate, with its hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters is typical for most of the Eyre Peninsula.
Economy
The town still retains it position as a minor service centre for the surrounding agricultural communities, but in nowhere near the capacity of mid 1900's. Cereal crops and sheep are still the major produce of the inland area, as well as minor amounts of other produce.Fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
has been a minor part of the economy in the past, and recently, aquaculture
Aquaculture
Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...
has come to prominence in the bay, with Yellowtail Kingfish, mulloway and tuna
Tuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
held in large cages. These are farmed on 7 licenses covering 130 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s in the bay. The aquaculture in the bay is still in development, and further expansions are expected in the future.
Tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
is now one of the largest components of the town's economy, with tourists typically drawn by the areas fishing
Angling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
, water sport and seaside atmosphere. A boat ramp is located in the town, with whiting, snapper
Australasian snapper
The Australasian snapper or Pagrus auratus is a species of porgie found in coastal waters of New Zealand and Australia. Although it is almost universally known in these countries as snapper it does not belong to the Lutjanidae family...
, tommy ruff, garfish
Garfish
The garfish , or sea needle, is a pelagic, oceanodromous needlefish found in brackish and marine waters of the Eastern Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea, the Baltic Sea, etc. The fish lives close to the surface and has a migratory pattern similar to that of the mackerel, arriving a short time before...
, salmon
Australian salmon
Australian Salmon, , are medium-sized perciform marine fish of the small family Arripidae . Four species are recognized, all within the genus Arripis...
and may other popular species caught in the bay, with most of these also available off the town jetty
Jetty
A jetty is any of a variety of structures used in river, dock, and maritime works that are generally carried out in pairs from river banks, or in continuation of river channels at their outlets into deep water; or out into docks, and outside their entrances; or for forming basins along the...
and beach. For boat anglers, the 'Redbanks' region has been known to produce large Mulloway and Snapper, as well as offering scenery in the form of the imposing cliffs. The local aquaculture industry also prompotes tourism, with tours through facilities where finfish are raised.
Facilities
For tourist facilities, Arno Bay has a beach front caravan park, hotelHotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
, general store
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
s, post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, playground
Playground
A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors...
and motor garage/fuel
Fuel
Fuel is any material that stores energy that can later be extracted to perform mechanical work in a controlled manner. Most fuels used by humans undergo combustion, a redox reaction in which a combustible substance releases energy after it ignites and reacts with the oxygen in the air...
outlet. An all-weather boat ramp, with floating pontoon and a refurbished town jetty launching facilities for boat based fishermen.
A number of sporting
Sporting
Sporting may refer to:*Sport, recreational games and play.It may also refer to a sporting club:*Sporting Clube de Portugal, a sports club from Lisbon, Portugal.*Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut, a sports club from Beirut, Lebanon.*A.O...
venues and clubs include a dried up swamp that serves as a golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
course, bowling green
Bowls
Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls so that they stop close to a smaller "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat or convex or uneven...
, oval, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
, and squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
courts, dirt circuit and in summer yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
racing each Sunday.
Demographics
In the 2006 CensusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, there were 428 persons (273 in the town proper) usually resident in Arno Bay: 55.4% being males and 44.6% females. Of the total population in Arno Bay there were no Indigenous persons
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
.
It was found that 18.0% of the population usually resident in Arno Bay were children aged between 0–14 years, and 29.7% were persons aged 55 years and over. The median
Median
In probability theory and statistics, a median is described as the numerical value separating the higher half of a sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to...
age of persons in Arno Bay was 41 years, compared with 37 years for persons in Australia.
In the Census, 92.1% of persons usually resident in Arno Bay were Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n citizens, 5.6% were born overseas and none were overseas visitors. Of those who were in permanent residence, 87.9% of them stated they were born in Australia. Other common responses were: England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
1.4%, Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
1.4%, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
1.2%, United States of America 0.7% and Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
0.7%.
The most common responses for religious affiliation for persons usually resident in Arno Bay were: No Religion
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
29.9%, Uniting Church 24.5%, Anglican 11.7%, Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
9.8% and Lutheran 7.9%.