Sleaford Bay

For other uses, see Sleaford, South Australia.

Sleaford Bay is a bay located in the Australian state of South Australia on the southern coast of Eyre Peninsula. It was named by the British navigator, Matthew Flinders in 1802.

Sleaford Bay
Danana[1]: 78  (Banggarla) Kuya Bidni[2] (Nauo)
Sleaford Bay, ca 1935
Sleaford Bay Location in South Australia
Location	Eyre Peninsula, South Australia
Coordinates	34°53′54″S 135°46′02″E[2]
Type	Bay
Etymology	Sleaford, Lincolnshire[3]
Basin countries	Australia
Designation	Marine park[2]
Max. length	about 16 kilometres (9.9 mi)[4]
Max. width	about 9 kilometres (5.6 mi)[4]
Max. depth	about 53 metres (174 ft)[4]
Islands	one[5]
Settlements	Sleaford[2] Lincoln National Park[2]

Extent & description

Sleaford Bay is located on the south coast of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia about 21 kilometres (13 mi) south-west of the municipal seat of Port Lincoln.^[2]

It lies between the headland of Cape Wiles at its western extremity and headland of Cape Tournefort at its eastern extremity. A subsidiary bay named Fishery Bay is located on its west side about 2 nautical miles (3.7 km; 2.3 mi) north of Cape Wiles.^[5]

History

The bay was named after the town of Sleaford in Lincolnshire, England by the British navigator, Matthew Flinders in 1802.^[3]

The Barngarla name for Sleaford Bay is Dhanana.^[1]: 78

The Baudin expedition who visited after Flinders gave it two names – Baudin used the name Anse des Nerlans while Peron and Freycinet revised it to Baie Lavoisier after Baudin's death.^[2]

A whaling station located on the coastline within Fishery Bay was in operation from 1839 to 1841.^[6]

Settlements and infrastructure

The coastline of Sleaford Bay is occupied by the locality of Sleaford in the west and by the locality of Lincoln National Park in the east.^[2]

As of 2005, port infrastructure within the bay consisted of a boat ramp located in Fishery Bay.^[7]

Proposed seawater desalination plant

In 2018, a proposal to construct a 3 gigalitre per year seawater desalination plant at Sleaford Bay^[where?] was announced. Land was purchased in July and the project was expected to cost $80 million to complete.^[8][9] The location is one of several prospects previously earmarked by SA Water in 2009.^[10] In 2020, the site in the north of the bay near Sleaford Mere Conservation Park was ruled too costly. After a second site closer to Port Lincoln was opposed by commercial fisheries in 2021, a committee was set up which chose a site between Fishery Bay and Sleaford Bay in 2022, with the capacity increased to 5.3-gigalitres.^[11]

Protected area status

The Thorny Passage Marine Park occupies the full extent of the bay while the Lincoln National Park extents to Mean Low Water Mark on its eastern side.^[12][13]

References

1. Zuckermann, Ghil'ad and the Barngarla (2019), Barngarlidhi Manoo (Speaking Barngarla Together) Archived 26 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Barngarla Language Advisory Committee. (Barngarlidhi Manoo – Part II Archived 26 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine
2. "Search result for "Sleaford Bay, BAY" with the following datasets selected – "NPW and Conservation Reserve Boundaries", "State Marine Park Network", "Suburbs and Localities" and "Gazetteer'". Location SA Map Viewer. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
3. Manning, Geoffrey. "Place Names of South Australia - Sleaford Bay". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
4. South Australia. Department of Marine and Harbors (DMH) (1985), The Waters of South Australia a series of charts, sailing notes and coastal photographs, Dept. of Marine and Harbors, South Australia, p. chart 34, ISBN 978-0-7243-7603-2
5. Sailing Directions (Enroute), Pub. 175: North, West, and South Coasts of Australia (PDF). Sailing Directions. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2017. p. 183.
6. Staniforth, Mark (1999), "South Australian Projects, Sleaford Bay", Archaeology of Whaling in Southern Australia and New Zealand Project, Flinders University, archived from the original on 28 February 2019, retrieved 9 September 2018
7. Boating Industry Association of South Australia (BIA); South Australia. Department for Environment and Heritage (2005), South Australia's waters an atlas & guide, Boating Industry Association of South Australia, p. 215, ISBN 978-1-86254-680-6
8. "SA plans for $80 million desal plant". SBS News. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
9. Cootes, Isobel (13 November 2018). "Desal plant talks". Port Lincoln Times. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
10. "Three sites earmarked for Eyre Peninsula desal". ABC News. 2 December 2009. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2018.
11. "Third time's a charm as locals choose new Sleaford Bay site for Eyre Peninsula desalination plant". ABC News. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
12. "Thorny Passage Marine Park Management Plan 2012" (PDF). Department of Environment Water and Natural Resources. 2012. pp. 24/31. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 August 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
13. "Lincoln National Park Management Plan". Department of Environment and Heritage (DEH). 2004. p. 4. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.