Eyre Peninsula

Eyre Peninsula South Australia
Satellite photo of the Southern Eyre Peninsula bushfires, taken on 11 January 2005
Eyre Peninsula
Coordinates	34°S 136°E / 34°S 136°E / -34; 136Coordinates: 34°S 136°E / 34°S 136°E / -34; 136
Population	58,700 (2010)
• Density	0.3443/km2 (0.8917/sq mi)
Area	170,500 km2 (65,830.4 sq mi)
LGA(s)	See Local government areas
State electorate(s)	Flinders Giles
Federal Division(s)	Grey
Footnotes	Population Area Coordinates

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 parts of the region in 1839-1841. The coastline was first charted by the expeditions of Matthew Flinders in 1801-1802 and French explorer Nicolas Baudin around the same time. The region's economy is primarily agricultural, with growing aquaculture, mining and tourism sectors. The main townships are Port Lincoln in the south, Whyalla and Port Augusta at the north east, and Ceduna at the northwest.

Eyre Peninsula was named after Edward John Eyre, the explorer, on 7 November 1839 by George Gawler, the second Governor of South Australia. The peninsula’s extent has been described as follows. Firstly, its coastline boundary was defined in 1839 as “boundary is Spencer's Gulf in its whole length, to the southern ocean from Cape Catastrophe to the western point of Denial Bay.” Secondly, its northern boundary was described in 1978 as follows - “no official boundary ever proclaimed but the common sense choice would be to draw a straight line from Yorkey Crossing to the northern most point of Denial Bay.’’

On 30 June 2010, Eyre Peninsula had a population of 58,700 people. The region is home to 3.6% of South Australia's population. 2,500 people, 4.4% of the region's population, is estimated to be Indigenous.

The major industry is farming - cereal crops, sheep, and cattle in the drier north and more water-intensive activities such as dairy farming and a growing wine industry in the south. Many coastal towns have commercial fishing fleets, the largest being located at Port Lincoln. The town has previously harbored a large tuna-fishing fleet, which is gradually transforming its practice to fish farming with the growth of sea cage aquaculture. Oyster farming was established in the 1980s and occurs in several sheltered bays including Franklin Harbour (near Cowell in Spencer Gulf) and Smoky Bay off the west coast.