Moana is an outer coastal suburb in the south of Adelaide, South Australia.
Moana is an outer coastal suburb in the south of Adelaide, South Australia. The suburb is approximately 36.4 km from the Adelaide city centre.It lies within the City of Onkaparinga local government area, and neighbours the suburbs Seaford, Maslin Beach, Seaford Rise and Port Noarlunga It is divided into two by Pedlar Creek and the associated sand dune reserve. The beach is often referred to as Moana Beach.
Ochre Point lies between Moana and Maslin Beach.Ochre Cove, or Red Ochre Cove, lies just south of the point. There is a large deposit of red ochre near the cove, which was used as a source by the Traditional Owners, the Kaurna people. The cove was known as Potartang,also spelt Putatang, or Mulgali (the latter theNgarrindjeri word for ochre), is a site of significance and part of the Tjilbruke Dreaming Trail.
History
Moana is located on the traditional lands of the Kaurna people. Red Ochre Cove (Tindale's Ochre Cove) was a source of ochre for use in ceremonies and as body paint. There is a commemorative plaque marking the site of the third freshwater spring said to be created by the Kaurna ancestor creator Tjilbruke, as part of the Tjilbruke Dreaming Track created in 1986.After British colonisation of South Australia, settlers started farming the area, from about 1841. In the 1850s a local landowner lent his name to the beach and it became known as Dodd's Beach. In 1855, when shipping was the primary means of cargo transport in the area, the Nashwauk was wrecked on the beach near the Pedler Creek outlet.Due to an increased interest in tourism in the area, in 1927 the landwas subdivided by Lake Beach Estate Ltd who held a competition to name the new town. Mr C.H. Cave won the competition with "Moana", which is a Maori-language word meaning "ocean".The land was divided into blocks of landsuitable for holiday homes and wide streets were planned and laid out, but due to the Great Depression in 1929 development of the area was slow.
In the 1950s Moana experienced renewed interest from tourism as the residents of Adelaide enjoyed the freedom and mobility of car ownership - Moana was a pleasant 40-minute drive from Adelaide.
One of the landmarks of the area was theMoana Roundhouse, which was demolished in 2006.
Weather
Things to do
Moana has a clean white sandy beach, a caravan park, an RSL hall and kiosk.
Moana has a Surf Life saving Club which patrols the beach over summer. It is one of the last beaches in Adelaide where a vehiclecan be drivenonto the beach and parked legally.
In 2008 the foreshore area of "old survey" Moana has undergone redevelopment by the local council, with improvements to the road, walkway, and sea wall. A new toilet blockand shaded "gazebo", the latter shaped in the form of a seagull, have been added to the foreshore area.
A sloping ramp at the north end of the foreshore that originally provided access to the beach was damaged by erosion of the cliffs during storm activity in 2007. The local council are improving the cliff stability under the ramp. The council have removed the sloping ramp, but the concrete stairway at the north end of Moana beach is unaffected by these changes.