Streaky Bay

Streaky Bay (formerly Flinders) is a coastal town on the western side of the Eyre Peninsula, in South Australia just off the Flinders Highway 303 km north west of Port Lincoln and 727 km by road from Adelaide.

Streaky Bay (formerly Flinders) is a coastal town on the western side of the Eyre Peninsula, in South Australia just off the Flinders Highway 303 km north west of Port Lincoln and 727 km by road from Adelaide. At the 2011 census, Streaky Bay recorded a population of 1,625.The town of Streaky Bay is the major population centre of the District Council of Streaky Bay, and the centre of an agricultural district farming cereal crops and sheep, as well as having established fishing and tourism industries.

For many thousands of years, the area around Streaky Bay has been inhabited by the Wirangu people.

In 1627, Dutch explorer Pieter Nuyts, in the Gulden Zeepaard (Golden Seahorse), became the first European to sight the area. A monument has been erected on the median strip in Bay Road.

In 1802, Matthew Flinders named Streaky Bay whilst on his voyage in the Investigator. In his log of 5 February 1802, he notes: "And the water was much discoloured in Streaks... and I called it Streaky Bay"It is now thought these streaks are caused by the release of oils by certain species of seaweed in the bay.The first European land exploration was conducted on behalf of the Secondary Towns Association by John Hill and Samuel Stephens, whose expedition arrived at Streaky Bay on 15 August 1839 using the chartered brig Rapid as a base.A fortnight later, on 25 August 1839, Edward John Eyre, who had explored overland from Port Lincoln, arrived at the locality and established a small base about 3 kilometres from what is now the Streaky Bay Township, which he used as a store for his overland expeditions to Point Bell. That site, known as Eyre's Waterhole, is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register, and can still be seen just off the Flinders Highway.The Streaky Bay and nearby Elliston areas became taboo for the Aborigines of the region following conflict with European settlers in the mid-19th Century. There were killings on both sides, the most significant event being the Waterloo Bay massacre of a large number of Aborigines in May 1849.Pastoralists moved into the area from 1854. The town was officially proclaimed in 1872. It was originally called Flinders, but was changed to Streaky Bay in 1940, to reflect local usage of the name.Wheat growing began in the 1880s and, by 1906, 31,000 bags of wheat and 470 bales of wool had been exported from Streaky Bay by ship. By that time a telegraph office had been established and regular mail deliveries were made from Port Lincoln.

In September 1918, a massive blue whale, over 26 metres long, was cast onto rocks on Gibson's Peninsula. Its skeleton is still on display in the South Australian Museum.

Streaky Bay has a subtropical mediterranean climate with warm and often hot summers with a long dry season, coupled by a moderately wet and mild winter season. Due to its proximity to the vast desert to its north, Streaky Bay is prone to getting extremely hot extreme temperature in spite of its seaside position. However, the same geographical position tends to reduce summer relative humidity compared to many other mediterranean climates. The hottest temperature was recorded at 47.8 °C on 24 January 2019.