Port MacDonnell, South Australia

Port MacDonnell South Australia
View west to Port Macdonnell from Racecourse Bay, 2013
Port MacDonnell
Coordinates	38°03′0″S 140°41′0″E[1]
Population	660 (UCL 2021)[2]
Established	1860 (town) 31 October 1996 (locality)[1][3]
Postcode(s)	5291[4]
Location	395 km (245 mi) SE of Adelaide 26 km (16 mi) S of Mount Gambier 32 km (20 mi) W of Nelson, Victoria (Vic.)^[citation needed]
LGA(s)	District Council of Grant[1]
Region	Limestone Coast[5]
County	Grey[1]
State electorate(s)	Mount Gambier[6]
Federal division(s)	Barker[7]
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 19.0 °C 66 °F 8.2 °C 47 °F 708.4 mm 27.9 in
Localities around Port MacDonnell: Cape Douglas Allendale East Eight Mile Creek Cape Douglas Port MacDonnell Eight Mile Creek Ocean Ocean Racecourse Bay Ocean
Footnotes	Locations[4] Climate[8] Adjoining localities[1]

Port MacDonnell, originally known as Ngaranga,[9][10] is the southernmost town in South Australia. The small port is located in the Limestone Coast region, about 477 kilometres (296 mi) south-east of Adelaide and 28 kilometres (17 mi) south of Mount Gambier, in the District Council of Grant local government area. Once a busy shipping port, the town now relies heavily on its fishing and summer tourism industries, particularly the rock lobster industry, proclaiming itself "Australia's Southern Rock Lobster Capital".[11]

History

The original inhabitants of the area are by the Bungandidj Aboriginal people, who refer to it as Ngaranga, possibly meaning "noisy" or "caves".[10] Their oral history records that dry land previously extended southwards from the current coastline, before it was flooded by rising sea levels.[9]: 23 

The first Europeans to see the area were led by explorer Lieutenant James Grant in HMS Lady Nelson on 3 December 1800.[12] In 1860, the area was proclaimed an official port, given a name, and surveyed. It is named after Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell who was Governor of South Australia from 1855 to 1862.[13]

In the 1880s, it was one of Australia's busiest ports, shipping large quantities of wheat and wool to Europe. The port was, however, exposed to the weather and the site of many shipwrecks.[14] Across the border in Portland, Victoria, 85 km southeast, is a much more sheltered port.

The following have been listed as state heritage places on the South Australian Heritage Register: the Cape Northumberland Lighthouse, the Dingley Dell Museum and the Former Port MacDonnell customs house.[15][16][17]

Geography

The town of Port MacDonnell is set on flat swampy land in a bay between rocky capes of spectacular wave eroded formations the most spectacular being those to the near west at Cape Northumberland. The harbour is formed by a large artificially constructed rock breakwater, while the coastline consists of sandy beaches, with rock outcrops providing shelter to the port from the rough seas. The rocks provides substantial habitat for the southern rock lobster, the fishing and processing of which is the town's main industry and colonies of little penguin.

Lighthouse

Cape Northumberland has a prominent lighthouse which dates to 1882. An earlier 1858 lighthouse was the first in South Australia, but was demolished after it was in danger of collapse. A monument marks its site.[18]

Governance

Port MacDonnell is located within the federal division of Barker, the state electoral district of Mount Gambier and the local government area of the District Council of Grant.[7][6][1]

See also

• Dingley Dell Conservation Park

References

1. "Search results for 'Port MacDonnell, LOCB' with the following datasets being selected – 'Suburbs and Localities', 'Counties', "Government towns','Local Government Areas', 'SA Government Regions' and 'Gazetteer'". Location SA Map Viewer. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
2. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Port MacDonnell (urban centre and locality)". Australian Census 2021. 
3. Kentish, P.M. (31 October 1996), "GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES ACT 1991, Notice to Assign Boundaries and Names to Places" (PDF), The South Australian Government Gazette: 1517, retrieved 19 April 2018
4. "Postcode for Port Macdonnell, South Australia". postcodes-australia.com. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
5. "Limestone Coast SA Government region" (PDF). The Government of South Australia. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
6. "District of Mount Gambier Background Profile". Electoral Commission SA. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
7. "Federal electoral division of Barker" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
8. "Monthly climate statistics: Summary statistics Mount Gambier Aero (nearest weather station)". Commonwealth of Australia, Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
9. Smith, Christina (1880). The Booandik Tribe of South Australian Aborigines. Adelaide: R.Spiller. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
10. Blake, Barry J. (2003). The Bunganditj (Buwandik) language of the Mount Gambier region. Australian National University. Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University. ISBN 9780858834958. OCLC 56054287.
11. "Port MacDonnell Visitor Information". Port MacDonnell SA. Archived from the original on 20 February 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2024.
12. "Port MacDonnell". Walkabout. Archived from the original on 27 August 2006. Retrieved 27 July 2006.
13. "Port MacDonnell". Place Names Online. Government of South Australia. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 27 July 2006.
14. "Shipwreck Lane". The Morning Bulletin. Rockhampton, Qld. 20 December 1940. p. 10. Retrieved 23 November 2013 – via Trove.
15. "Cape Northumberland Lighthouse". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
16. "Dingley Dell Museum". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
17. "'The Customs House' (former Port MacDonnell Customs House, Courthouse, Telegraph Station and Police Station)". South Australian Heritage Register. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
18. "The Cape Northumberland Lighthouse at Port MacDonnell". lighthouse.net.au. Archived from the original on 6 May 1999.