Yorke Peninsula South Australia |
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The town of Ardrossan, located in Yorke Peninsula
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Coordinates | 34°21′0″S 137°37′0″E / 34.35000°S 137.61667°ECoordinates: 34°21′0″S 137°37′0″E / 34.35000°S 137.61667°E |
Population | 25,143 (2005) |
Established | 1840s |
LGA(s) | |
State electorate(s) |
Frome Goyder |
Federal Division(s) | Grey |
Website | Yorke Peninsula |
The Yorke Peninsula is a peninsula located north-west and west of Adelaide in South Australia, between Spencer Gulf on the west and Gulf St Vincent on the east. The peninsula is separated from Kangaroo Island to the south by Investigator Strait. The most populous town in the region is Kadina.
Yorke Peninsula was named by Captain Matthew Flinders, R.N., after the Right Honourable Charles Philip Yorke (1764–1834) (later Lord Hardwicke), narrowly beating French navigator Captain Nicolas Baudin (who preferred the name 'Cambaceres Peninsula').
Before white settlement around 1840, Yorke Peninsula was the home to the Narungga people. Today the descendants of these people still live on Yorke Peninsula, supported by the Narungga Aboriginal Progress Association in Maitland, and in the community at Point Pearce.
Principal towns include the Copper Coast towns of Kadina, Moonta and Wallaroo; farming centres of Maitland, Minlaton and Yorketown; and the port of Ardrossan. A number of smaller coastal towns are popular destinations for fishing and holidays, particularly from Adelaide. The south-western tip is occupied by Innes National Park.