Wool Bay, South Australia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wool BaySouth Australia |
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View of Wool Bay and jetty from the cliff top
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 Wool Bay
Location in South Australia
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| Established | 24 August 1876 (town) 27 May 1999 (locality) |
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| Postcode(s) | 5575 | ||||||||||||||
| Time zone | ACST (UTC+9:30) | ||||||||||||||
| • Summer (DST) | ACST (UTC+10:30) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Yorke Peninsula Council | ||||||||||||||
| Region | Yorke and Mid North | ||||||||||||||
| County | Fergusson | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Narungga | ||||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Grey | ||||||||||||||
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| Footnotes | Adjoining localities | ||||||||||||||
Wool Bay, once called Pickering, is a small town in the Australian state of South Australia. It is located on the eastern coast of the southern Yorke Peninsula. You can find it between the towns of Stansbury and Coobowie. It's about 220 kilometers (137 miles) by road from Adelaide. But if you could fly straight across the water, it's only about 60 kilometers (37 miles) west of Adelaide, across the Gulf St Vincent.
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Exploring Wool Bay's Beach
The beach at Wool Bay has a floating platform (pontoon) that stays in the water. Local groups help keep it nice for everyone. You'll also find several sun shelters and a concrete ramp for boats.
Many cool marine animals live in the waters around Wool Bay. You can often see dolphins and stingrays swimming close to the shore. Fur seals sometimes feed near the rocky areas in the early evening.
Wool Bay's Past: A Brief History
The town was first called Pickering when it was officially started on 24 August 1876. It sits on cliffs that look over a calm, protected bay. In 1882, a jetty was built. It was first used to roll bales of wool out to waiting ships. Because of this, locals started calling it the Wool Bay jetty. By 1940, the town's name also changed to Wool Bay. For many years, the town was an important port for sending out wool, grain, and lime.
How Lime Was Made in Wool Bay
Between 1900 and 1910, six special ovens called lime kilns were built on the cliffs. These kilns were used to heat limestone to make "quicklime." Quicklime was a key ingredient for making mortar and bricks. When they opened in 1910, these kilns were some of the biggest and most modern in South Australia. They were built by a company called David Miller & Sons.
The Wool Bay lime kilns stopped working in the 1960s. Most of the kilns and other buildings were taken down in the 1970s. However, one kiln still remains today. This last kiln and the jetty are now protected as important historical sites. They were added to the South Australian Heritage Register on 28 November 1985. Even today, limestone is still dug up at Klein Point, which is north of Wool Bay. This limestone is then shipped from a different jetty to a cement factory near Port Adelaide.
The Wool Bay Jetty: Then and Now
People in the community started asking for a jetty in 1879. They thought the deep water in the bay would be a safer place for ships than other nearby spots. Finally, in 1882, Frank George built the jetty. It was first 155 meters (508 feet) long and had water that was 2.1 meters (7 feet) deep at low tide.
When lime making became a big business in Wool Bay, the jetty was made even longer. Another 18 meters (59 feet) were added to handle more ships. During this time, a steamship service would bring and pick up supplies three times a week. In 1970, a new way of handling grain in bulk started at Port Giles. This meant Wool Bay was no longer as important as a port.
Today, the jetty at Wool Bay is a popular place for people who love to fish. It's known for having good catches of squid and tommy ruff all year round. You can also catch garfish, mullet, snook, and other fish when they are in season. The jetty is also used by people who enjoy scuba diving. Divers come to see the amazing leafy seadragons that live in the waters under the jetty.
How Wool Bay is Governed
Wool Bay is part of different government areas. For national elections, it's in the federal Division of Grey. For state elections, it's in the electoral district of Narungga. Locally, it's managed by the Yorke Peninsula Council.
