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88-669: Whyalla / w aɪ ˈ æ l ə / is a city in South Australia . It was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916. It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia after Adelaide , Mount Gambier and Gawler and along with Port Pirie and Port Augusta is one of the three towns to make up the Iron Triangle. As of June 2018, Whyalla had an urban population of 21,742, having declined at an average annual rate of -0.75% year-over-year over

176-659: A Learning City . The number of international students studying in Adelaide has increased rapidly in recent years to 30,726 in 2015, of which 1,824 were secondary school students. Foreign institutions have been attracted to set up campuses to increase its attractiveness as an education hub. Adelaide is the birthplace of three Nobel laureates, more than any other Australian city : physicist William Lawrence Bragg and pathologists Howard Florey and Robin Warren , all of whom completed secondary and tertiary education at St Peter's College and

264-413: A four-yearly basis, are responsible for local roads and stormwater management, waste collection, planning and development, fire prevention and hazard management, dog and cat management and control, parking control, public health and food inspections, and other services for their local communities. Councils have the power to raise revenue for their activities, which is mostly achieved through "council rates",

352-460: A mineral exploration boom, and Whyalla found itself well placed to benefit from new ventures, being situated on the edge of the Gawler Craton . The city experienced an economic upturn with the population slowly increasing and the unemployment rate falling to a more typical level. Whyalla has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: Since its beginnings as Hummock Hill, the town has served as

440-585: A port for the shipment of iron ore from deposits along the Middleback Range. The port's first conveyor-belt loading system was installed in 1915 and was capable of loading 1,000 tonnes of ore per hour. In 1943, it took 5½-to-6 hours to load a single 5,000-ton freighter. In 2007, new transshipment handling processes were implemented, which allowed Arrium (formerly Onesteel) to load iron ore onto larger capesize bulk carrier vessels in deeper water. The transshipment process involves filling barges with ore that

528-723: A tax based on property valuations. Council rates make up about 70% of council revenue, but account for less than 4% of total taxes paid by Australians. As at December 2021 the population of South Australia was 1,806,599. A majority of the state's population lives within Greater Adelaide 's metropolitan area which had an estimated population of 1,333,927 in June 2017. Other significant population centres include Mount Gambier (29,505), Victor Harbor - Goolwa (26,334), Whyalla (21,976), Murray Bridge (18,452), Port Lincoln (16,281), Port Pirie (14,267), and Port Augusta (13,957). At

616-653: A temporary settlement at Kingscote , Kangaroo Island , on 26 July 1836, five months before Adelaide was founded. The guiding principle behind settlement was that of systematic colonisation , a theory espoused by Edward Gibbon Wakefield that was later employed by the New Zealand Company . The goal was to establish the province as a centre of civilisation for free immigrants, promising civil liberties and religious tolerance. Although its history has been marked by periods of economic hardship, South Australia has remained politically innovative and culturally vibrant. Today, it

704-483: A trip out from Port Augusta hunting kangaroo with his brother and another man called Alf Rowarth. At that time there was no settlement between Middleback Station and the Point Lowly Lighthouse , and kangaroos were plentiful there. Burgoyne recalled that the tug Florrie ferried a crew there a week later and pegged out the settlement first known as Hummocky. It was officially founded as Hummock's Hill in 1901 by

792-432: Is a state in the southern central part of Australia . With a total land area of 984,321 square kilometres (380,048 sq mi), it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which includes some of the most arid parts of the continent, and with 1.8 million people it is the fifth-largest of the states and territories by population. This population is the second-most highly centralised in

880-543: Is accessible to tourists via several museums and public tours. Visitors can view the ex- HMAS Whyalla from the Lincoln Highway and take a guided tour of it via the Whyalla Maritime Museum. The ship is a retired World War II-era corvette and was the first ship built in the city of Whyalla during the war. It was relocated to the highway in 1987. The Whyalla Maritime Museum features various displays commemorating

968-472: Is also the world's fourth-largest remaining copper deposit, and the world's fifth largest gold deposit. There was a proposal to vastly expand the operations of the mine, making it the largest open-cut mine in the world, but in 2012 the BHP Billiton board decided not to go ahead with it at that time due to then lower commodity prices. The remote town of Coober Pedy produces more opal than anywhere else in

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1056-582: Is flanked by the Southern Ocean , but official international consensus defines the Southern Ocean as extending north from the pole only to 60°S or 55°S, at least 17 degrees of latitude further south than the most southern point of South Australia. Thus the south coast is officially adjacent to the south-most portion of the Indian Ocean. See Southern Ocean: Existence and definitions . The southern part of

1144-582: Is known for its fine wine and numerous cultural festivals. The state's economy is dominated by the agricultural, manufacturing and mining industries. Evidence of human activity in South Australia dates back as far as 20,000 years, with flint mining activity and rock art in the Koonalda Cave on the Nullarbor Plain . In addition wooden spears and tools were made in an area now covered in peat bog in

1232-681: Is located at Nicolson Avenue Primary School. Whyalla is in the City of Whyalla local government area along with Point lowly and some sparsely inhabited areas around it. Primary schools in Whyalla include Whyalla Town Primary School, Fisk Street Primary School, Long Street Primary School, Hincks Avenue Primary School, Memorial Oval Primary School, Whyalla Stuart Campus, Nicolson Avenue Primary School, Sunrise Christian School, St Teresa's and Our Lady Help of Christians (both Samaritan College). South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA )

1320-705: Is presented at the volunteer-run Mount Laura Homestead National Trust Museum, which is located near the Westlands shopping centre. One of the main tourist attractions of Whyalla is the world-renowned beach, and the many attractions based around it. Especially the shops and pop-ups in the car park. In the late 1990s the annual migration of the Australian giant cuttlefish Sepia apama to shallow, inshore rocky reef areas in Spencer Gulf north of Whyalla became recognised by divers and marine scientists. Divers and snorkellers can see

1408-477: Is presently held by Labor MP Eddie Hughes . Giles was previously held by Labor MP Lyn Breuer from 1997 until her retirement in 2014. In federal politics, the city is part of the division of Grey , and has been represented by Liberal MP Rowan Ramsey since 2007. Grey is held with a margin of 8.86% and is considered safe-liberal. The results shown are from the largest polling station in Whyalla Norrie – which

1496-547: Is the Mount Lofty - Flinders Ranges system, which extends north about 800 kilometres (500 mi) from Cape Jervis to the northern end of Lake Torrens . The highest point in the state is not in those ranges; Mount Woodroffe (1,435 metres (4,708 ft)) is in the Musgrave Ranges in the extreme northwest of the state. The south-western portion of the state consists of the sparsely inhabited Nullarbor Plain , fronted by

1584-414: Is then transferred into the receiving vessels at one of three transshipment anchorages. In the financial year 2014–15, 12.5 million tonnes of haematite ore was exported from Whyalla using the transshipment process. In October 2015 Arrium loaded its largest capesize cargo via transshipment. The FPMCB Nature was loaded with approximately 205,698 wet metric tonnes (wmt) of iron ore – significantly more than

1672-461: The Iron Triangle Limited . The station was demolished in 2012. Some iron ore is exported from Whyalla. In 2007, steps were being taken to export iron ore mined at Peculiar Knob near Coober Pedy , 600 km away. To meet this increased demand, a balloon loop was installed in 2012 at the port for both gauges. Whyalla Airport is 4 nautical miles (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) southwest of

1760-480: The 2016 census of Population, there were 21,751 people in Whyalla. The Lincoln Highway passes directly through Whyalla. The city is served by a coach bus service operated by Stateliner which operates four services to and from Adelaide (via Port Augusta) each week day (less on weekends) and one service each way to Port Lincoln . There are however occasional exceptions to the week day route due to lack of demand to travel through Whyalla. The BHP Whyalla Tramway

1848-710: The Adelaide Hills . Tomatoes , capsicums , cucumbers , brassicas , lettuce and carrots are grown on the Northern Adelaide Plains at Virginia . Almonds , citrus and stone fruit are grown in the Riverland . Potatoes , onions and carrots are grown in the Murray Mallee region. Potatoes are grown on Kangaroo Island . South Australia produces more than half of all Australian wine, including almost 80% of Australia's premium wines. South Australia has

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1936-518: The BHP Whyalla Tramway , which transported iron ore from Iron Knob in the Middleback Range to the sea. Its first shipment was transported across Spencer Gulf to Port Pirie , where it was used in lead smelters as a flux . A jetty was built to transfer the ore and the first shipment was sent in 1903. The early settlement consisted of small cottages and tents clustered around the base of

2024-767: The Dutch ship the Gulden Zeepaert , captained by François Thijssen , examined and mapped a section of the coastline as far east as the Nuyts Archipelago . Thijssen named the whole of the country eastward of the Leeuwin "Nuyts Land", after a distinguished passenger on board; the Hon. Pieter Nuyts , one of the Councillors of India . The coastline of South Australia was first mapped by Matthew Flinders and Nicolas Baudin in 1802, excepting

2112-656: The Governor of South Australia as his representative. It is a state of the Commonwealth of Australia . The bicameral Parliament of South Australia consists of the lower house known as the House of Assembly and the upper house known as the Legislative Council . General elections are held every four years, the last being the 2022 election . Initially, the Governor of South Australia held almost total power, derived from

2200-569: The Hornsdale Wind Farm in South Australia's Mid-North region. At the time of construction in late 2017, it was billed as the largest lithium-ion battery in the world. The Olympic Dam mine near Roxby Downs in northern South Australia is the largest deposit of uranium in the world, possessing more than a third of the world's low-cost recoverable reserves and 70% of Australia's. The mine, owned and operated by BHP , presently accounts for 9% of global uranium production. The Olympic Dam mine

2288-461: The Lincoln Highway . The urban area consists of the following suburbs laid from east to west extending from a natural hill known as Hummock Hill: Whyalla, Whyalla Playford , Whyalla Norrie , Whyalla Stuart , and Whyalla Jenkins . A port facility, a rail yard serving the railway line to Iron Knob, and an industrial complex are located to the immediate north of Hummock Hill. Whyalla Barson and

2376-699: The Riverland and the Adelaide Hills . See South Australian wine . South Australia has boundaries with every other Australian mainland state and territory except the Australian Capital Territory and the Jervis Bay Territory . The Western Australia border has a history involving the South Australian government astronomer, G.F. Dodwell, and the Western Australian Government Astronomer , H.B. Curlewis , marking

2464-473: The South Australia Act 1834 ( Foundation Act ), which empowered His Majesty to erect and establish a province or provinces in southern Australia. The act stated that the land between 132° and 141° east longitude and from 26° south latitude to the southern ocean would be allotted to the intended colony, and it would be convict-free. In contrast to the rest of Australia, terra nullius did not apply to

2552-621: The State Library , "Scope was a monthly regional magazine in newspaper format published by the Willson family of the Whyalla News. It was issued as an insert to six local newspapers: the Recorder (Port Pirie), Transcontinental (Port Augusta), Eyre Peninsula Tribune (Cleve), Port Lincoln Times, West Coast Sentinel (Streaky Bay) and Northern Argus (Clare)." The industrial and cultural history of Whyalla

2640-511: The University of Adelaide . Adelaide is home to research institutes, including the Royal Institution of Australia , established in 2009 as a counterpart to the two-hundred-year-old Royal Institution of Great Britain. Most of the research organisations are clustered in the Adelaide metropolitan area: South Australia is a constitutional monarchy with King Charles III as sovereign, and

2728-548: The Whyalla Conservation Park are located about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of the city. It is an iron-rich exporting town that supplies China. The origin of the name Whyalla is disputed. In 1916 it was referred to as the "native" name, having been ascribed during a survey conducted a few years beforehand. During the 1940s, Norman Tindale , the ethnologist at the South Australian Museum believed that

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2816-534: The 2016 census, 78.2% of the population spoke only English at home. The other languages most commonly spoken at home were Italian (1.7%), Standard Mandarin (1.7%), Greek (1.4%), Vietnamese (1.1%), and Cantonese (0.6%). At the 2016 census , overall 53.9% of responses identified some variant of Christianity . 9% of respondents chose not to state a religion. The most commonly nominated responses were 'No Religion' (35.4%), Catholicism (18%), Anglicanism (10%) and Uniting Church (7.1%). South Australia

2904-417: The 2016 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were: 28.9% of the population was born overseas at the 2016 census. The five largest groups of overseas-born were from England (5.8%), India (1.6%), China (1.5%), Italy (1.1%) and Vietnam (0.9%). 2% of the population, or 34,184 people, identified as Indigenous Australians ( Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders ) in 2016. At

2992-572: The 2020–21 financial year. This was the first time since the Australian Bureau of Statistics began collecting data in 1990 that South Australia had outperformed the other states. The recovery was driven in part by growth in the agricultural sector, which increased its production by almost 24% thanks to the end of a drought. Wheat , barley , oats , rye , peas , beans , chickpeas , lentils and canola are grown in South Australia. Apples , pears , cherries and strawberries are grown in

3080-591: The City of Adelaide is currently located. The first immigrants arrived at Holdfast Bay (near the present day Glenelg ) in November 1836. The commencement of colonial government was proclaimed on 28 December 1836, now known as Proclamation Day . South Australia is the only Australian state to have never received British convicts. Another free settlement, Swan River colony was established in 1829 but Western Australia later sought convict labour, and in 1849 Western Australia

3168-585: The German Lutheran church to this day. South Australia was the location of the first Muslim mosque in Australia. Newcastle Steelworks Having become one of the largest employers in Australia with a workforce that peaked at 11,000 in 1981, it closed on 30 September 1999. Demolition commenced in 2000. In 2022 the Department of Planning & Environment called for expressions of interest to redevelop

3256-574: The Imperial Parliament enacted the Australian Colonies Government Act , which allowed for the election of representatives to each of the colonial legislatures and the drafting of a constitution to properly create representative and responsible government in South Australia. Later that year, propertied male colonists were allowed to vote for 16 members on a new 24 seat Legislative Council. Eight members continued to be appointed by

3344-462: The South East. Kangaroo Island was inhabited long before the island was cut off by rising sea levels . According to mitochondrial DNA research, Aboriginal people reached Eyre Peninsula 49,000-45,000 years ago from both the east (clockwise, along the coast, from northern Australia) and the west (anti-clockwise). The first recorded European sighting of the South Australian coast was in 1627 when

3432-493: The aggregation of animals from May through August each year, in water one to six metres deep. The most popular places to view the aggregation are Black Point, Stony Point and Point Lowly . Car parking and boardwalks or stairs to the waters edge are present at each location, making access easy. Dolphins frequent the Whyalla marina, but concerns have been raised that their confidence around humans may increase their vulnerability. The Whyalla Conservation Park provides an example of

3520-554: The average load of about 170,000 wmt. The port's inner harbour receives shipments of coal that is used to produce coke for the Whyalla steelworks and exports smaller cargoes of finished steel products. Much of the town's economy is centred around the Whyalla Steelworks . Santos has supplied gas to the steelworks for several years, and in February 2024 signed an MoU with GFG Alliance to start discussions to reduce emissions from

3608-501: The border on the ground in the 1920s. In 1863, that part of New South Wales to the north of South Australia was annexed to South Australia, by letters patent, as the "Northern Territory of South Australia", which became shortened to the Northern Territory on 6 July 1863 . The Northern Territory was handed to the federal government in 1911 and became a separate territory. According to Australian maps, South Australia's south coast

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3696-400: The city. It was served by Rex Airlines flying into Whyalla from Adelaide it served the airport several times a day however due to passenger security screening charges Rex Airlines ceased flying into Whyalla on 1 July 2023, and QantasLink which operates twice daily services from Adelaide. There is a small boat marina (populated by a number of dolphins), a sailing club, and a boat ramp on

3784-604: The cliffs of the Great Australian Bight . Features of the coast include Spencer Gulf and the Eyre and Yorke Peninsulas that surround it. The Temperate Grassland of South Australia is situated to the east of Gulf St Vincent . The principal industries and exports of South Australia are wheat, wine and wool. More than half of Australia's wines are produced in the South Australian wine regions which principally include Barossa Valley , Clare Valley , McLaren Vale , Coonawarra ,

3872-620: The coastline below Hummock Hill, where there is a fish-cleaning station situated nearby. Iron ore is exported through an off-shore facility. Whyalla is served by several radio and TV stations. Radio stations include 5YYY FM (Local community station), Magic FM (Commercial station based in Port Augusta), and 5AU /5CS (Commercial station based in Port Pirie). The local TV stations are Southern Cross Seven , Southern Cross Nine , and Southern Cross 10 . The local newspaper, The Whyalla News ,

3960-469: The colony of New South Wales . Although the new colony included almost two-thirds of the continent, early settlements were all on the eastern coast and only a few intrepid explorers ventured this far west. It took more than forty years before any serious proposal to establish settlements in the south-western portion of New South Wales were put forward. On 15 August 1834, the British Parliament passed

4048-581: The community and enforce government regulations. Their principal role was to run the first temporary gaol, a two-room hut. The current flag of South Australia was adopted on 13 January 1904, and is a British blue ensign defaced with the state badge. The badge is described as a piping shrike with wings outstretched on a yellow disc. The state badge is believed to have been designed by Robert Craig of Adelaide's School of Design . The terrain consists largely of arid and semi-arid rangelands, with several low mountain ranges . The most important (but not tallest)

4136-584: The cultural diversity of Whyalla. In 1958 BHP decided to build an integrated steelworks at Whyalla and it was completed in 1965. In the following year, salt harvesting began and coke ovens were built. The population grew extremely rapidly, and the South Australian Housing Trust was building 500 houses each year to cope with the demand. Plans for a city of 100,000 were produced by the Department of Lands. A second water supply pipeline from Morgan

4224-556: The establishment of their whale and seal fisheries, the South Australian Company sought, and obtained, the Commissioners' permission to send Company ships to South Australia, in advance of the surveys and ahead of the Commissioners' colonists. The company's settlement of seven vessels and 636 people was temporarily made at Kingscote on Kangaroo Island, until the official site of the capital was selected by William Light, where

4312-479: The first in the world to allow women to stand for election. In 1897 Catherine Helen Spence was the first woman in Australia to be a candidate for political office when she was nominated to be one of South Australia's delegates to the conventions that drafted the constitution. South Australia became an original state of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Although the lower house had universal suffrage,

4400-466: The first ship from the new shipyard, HMAS  Whyalla , was launched and the blast furnace became operational. By 1943 the population was more than 5,000. On 31 March 1943, the Morgan - Whyalla pipeline became operational. In 1945 the city came under combined company and public administration and the shipyard began producing commercial ships. In 1948, displaced persons began arriving from Europe increasing

4488-497: The government is the party or coalition that exerts a majority in the House of Assembly. The Legislative Council remained a predominantly conservative chamber elected by property owners. Women's suffrage in Australia took a leap forward – enacted in 1895 and taking effect from the 1896 colonial election , South Australia was the first government in Australia and only the second in the world after New Zealand to allow women to vote, and

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4576-526: The governor. The main responsibility of this body was to draft a constitution for South Australia. The body drafted the most democratic constitution ever seen in the British Empire and provided for universal manhood suffrage . It created the bicameral Parliament of South Australia . For the first time in the colony, the executive was elected by the people, and the colony used the Westminster system , where

4664-438: The hill. The post office opened in 1901 as Hummock's Hill. In 1905 the town's first school opened. It was originally called Hummock Hill School but was subsequently renamed to Whyalla Primary School and Whyalla Higher Primary School. The school's current name is Whyalla Town Primary School. The arid environment and lack of natural fresh water resources made it necessary to import water in barges from Port Pirie. The Post Office

4752-539: The impetus for the construction of a blast furnace and harbour. In 1939 the blast furnace and harbour began to be constructed and a commitment for a water supply pipeline from the Murray River was made. A shipyard was built to provide ships for the Royal Australian Navy during World War II . The population began to rise rapidly and many new facilities, including a hospital and abattoirs, were built. In 1941

4840-603: The inlet later named the Port Adelaide River which was first discovered in 1831 by Captain Collet Barker and later accurately charted in 1836–37 by Colonel William Light , leader of the South Australian Colonization Commissioners' 'First Expedition' and first Surveyor-General of South Australia. The land which now forms the state of South Australia was claimed for Britain in 1788 as part of

4928-403: The lead over other Australian states for its commercialisation and commitment to renewable energy . It is now the leading producer of wind power in Australia. Renewable energy is a growing source of electricity in South Australia, and there is potential for growth from this particular industry of the state's economy. The Hornsdale Power Reserve is a bank of grid-connected batteries adjacent to

5016-456: The least amount of federal funding for its local road network of all states on a per capita and a per kilometre basis. During 2019-20: South Australia's gross state product (GSP) fell 1.4% in chain volume (real) terms (nationally, gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.3%). South Australia came out of the COVID-19 recession better than the other Australian states, with the economy growing by 3.9% in

5104-656: The letters patent of the imperial government to create the colony. He was accountable only to the British Colonial Office , and thus democracy did not exist in the colony. A new body was created to advise the governor on the administration of South Australia in 1843 called the Legislative Council. It consisted of three representatives of the British Government and four colonists appointed by the governor. The governor retained total executive power. In 1851,

5192-422: The name could have been derived from aboriginal words "Wajala", meaning "west" in a language common to Port Pirie , or "Waiala", meaning "I don't know" in a language more common to Port Augusta . In 1945, BHP advised that the name had been taken from nearby Mount Whyalla, which lies northwest of Whyalla, roughly midway between the town and Iron Knob. Other meanings ascribed to the word Whyalla include "dingo", "by

5280-485: The nation after Western Australia , with more than 77% of South Australians living in the capital Adelaide or its environs. Other population centres in the state are relatively small; Mount Gambier , the second-largest centre, has a population of 26,878. South Australia shares borders with all the other mainland states. It is bordered to the west by Western Australia , to the north by the Northern Territory , to

5368-409: The natural semi-arid environment accessible via walking trails. A gentle climb to the top of Wild Dog Hill provides a view of the surrounding landscape and information on native vegetation via a series of interpretive signs. Boat launching facilities exist at Whyalla and Point Lowly North marinas. The Whyalla Marina also has a jetty which is illuminated at night for the convenience of fishers. Whyalla

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5456-657: The new province. The Letters Patent , which used the enabling provisions of the South Australia Act 1834 to fix the boundaries of the Province of South Australia, provided that "nothing in those our Letters Patent shall affect or be construed to affect the rights of any Aboriginal Natives of the said Province to the actual occupation and enjoyment in their own Persons or in the Persons of their Descendants of any Lands therein now actually occupied or enjoyed by such Natives." Although

5544-408: The north-east by Queensland , to the east by New South Wales , to the south-east by Victoria , and to the south by the Great Australian Bight . The state comprises less than 8% of the Australian population and ranks fifth in population among the six states and two territories. The majority of its people reside in greater Metropolitan Adelaide. Most of the remainder are settled in fertile areas along

5632-519: The patent guaranteed land rights under force of law for the indigenous inhabitants, it was ignored by the South Australian Company authorities and squatters. Despite strong reference to the rights of the native population in the initial proclamation by the Governor, there were many conflicts and deaths in the Australian Frontier Wars in South Australia. Survey was required before settlement of

5720-434: The plan. in which the government has invested A$ 593 million. In February 2024, the government signed an agreement with GFG Alliance reaching "to explore opportunities for hydrogen offtake" from the WHF. Once it is up and running, it will supply power to the steelworks, which will then produce green steel . Whyalla has a semi-arid climate ( Köppen: BSk/BSh), with hot summers and mild winters. Temperatures vary throughout

5808-407: The preceding five years. It is a seaport located on the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula and is known as the "Steel City" due to its integrated steelworks and shipbuilding heritage. The port of Whyalla has been exporting iron ore since 1903. The city consists of an urban area bounded to the north by the railway to the mining town of Iron Knob , to the east by Spencer Gulf , and to the south by

5896-401: The province, and the Colonization Commissioners for South Australia appointed William Light as the leader of its 'First Expedition', tasked with examining 1500 miles of the South Australian coastline and selecting the best site for the capital, and with then planning and surveying the site of the city into one-acre Town Sections and its surrounds into 134-acre Country Sections. Eager to commence

5984-433: The railway system within the Whyalla steelworks was converted to standard gauge in the 1960s. Although the steelworks produced railway rail, for several decades there was no railway connection to the mainland system. Finally in 1972, the standard gauge Whyalla line to Port Augusta was completed and Whyalla railway station opened. The station was served daily from Adelaide until 1975, then again from 1986 to 1990 by

6072-474: The south-eastern coast and River Murray . The state's colonial origins are unique in Australia as a freely settled, planned British province , rather than as a convict settlement. Colonial government commenced on 28 December 1836, when the members of the council were sworn in near the Old Gum Tree . As with the rest of the continent, the region has a long history of human occupation by numerous tribes and languages. The South Australian Company established

6160-441: The state has a Mediterranean climate , while the rest of the state has either an arid or semi-arid climate . South Australia's main temperature range is 29 °C (84 °F) in January and 15 °C (59 °F) in July. The highest maximum temperature ever recorded was 50.7 °C (123.3 °F) at Oodnadatta on 2 January 1960, which is the highest official temperature recorded in Australia. The lowest minimum temperature

6248-400: The state's upper house with the balance of power controlled by a variety of minor parties and independents. Local government in South Australia is established by the Constitution Act 1934 (SA), the Local Government Act 1999 (SA), and the Local Government (Elections) Act 1999 (SA). South Australia contains 68 councils and 6 Aboriginal and outback communities . Local councils, elected on

6336-491: The steelworks. The Whyalla Hydrogen Facility (WHF, aka Hydrogen Jobs Plan) is a proposed 250MWe hydrogen electrolyser (producing green hydrogen ), a 200MW combined cycle gas turbine generator, and 3600-tonne hydrogen storage facility. A South Australian Government company called Hydrogen Power South Australia was established to own and operate the plant, which is expected to be completed in 2025 and begin operations in 2026. ATCO Australia , BOC , and Epic Energy will deliver

6424-487: The town's ship building and mining history, including miniature replicas of various ships and a model railway diorama. Further displays introduce visitors to the region's natural and indigenous cultural histories. Tours of the Whyalla Steelworks allow visitors to view the production of long products at the working plant. Tours departing from the Whyalla Visitors Centre. The town's development and social history

6512-520: The upper house, the Legislative Council, remained the exclusive domain of property owners until the Labor government of Don Dunstan managed to achieve reform of the chamber in 1973. Property qualifications were removed and the Council became a body elected via proportional representation by a single state-wide electorate. Since the following 1975 South Australian state election , no one party has had control of

6600-525: The water", and "a place of water". Another hypothesis is that the name was brought by European settlers and was derived from a place called Whyalla in Durham, England . Whyalla is part of the Barngarla Aboriginal country. A mariner named William Morgan Burgoyne purportedly recommended the site for the establishment of a port on False Bay to Harry Morgan of BHP . Burgoyne had spent several weeks there on

6688-447: The world. Opal was first discovered near the town in 1915, and the town became the site of an opal rush, enticing immigrants from southern and eastern Europe in the aftermath of World War II . Higher education and research in Adelaide forms an important part of South Australia's economy. The South Australian Government and educational institutions have attempted to position Adelaide as Australia's education hub and have marketed it as

6776-664: The year, with average maxima ranging from 30.2 °C (86.4 °F) in January to 17.1 °C (62.8 °F) in July, and average minima fluctuating between 17.9 °C (64.2 °F) in January and 5.3 °C (41.5 °F) in July. Annual precipitation is low, averaging 269.4 mm (10.61 in) between 77.9 precipitation days. The town has 62.7 clear days and 46.6 cloudy days annually. Extreme temperatures have ranged from 48.5 °C (119.3 °F) on 24 January 2019 to −3.2 °C (26.2 °F) on 12 June 1984 and 16 July 1982. According to

6864-408: Was divested in 2000 to form OneSteel, which is the sole producer of rail and steel sleepers in Australia. On 2 July 2012, OneSteel changed its name to Arrium . After going into administration in 2016 Arrium was purchased by UK entity GFG Alliance with the steelworks placed under Liberty Steel Group and called Liberty Primary Steel and Mining. From 2004 onward, northern South Australia enjoyed

6952-565: Was built to Iron Knob to supply iron ore originally used as flux when smelting copper ore. This ore became the basis of the steelworks. As the Iron Knob deposits were worked out, the railway was diverted to other sources of ore at Iron Monarch , Iron Prince , Iron Duke and Iron Baron . To enable interchange between the BHP's other steelworks in Newcastle and Port Kembla of specialised rollingstock,

7040-426: Was built to cope with the demand. In 1970 the city adopted full local government status. Fierce competition from Japanese ship builders resulted in the closing of the shipyards in 1978, which were at the time the largest in Australia. From a peak population of 38,130 in 1976, the population dropped rapidly. A decline in the BHP iron and steel industry since 1981 also impacted employment. The BHP long products division

7128-514: Was first published on 5 April 1940, and is currently owned by Australian Community Media . Historically, another short-lived monthly newspaper called the Whyalla Times (January - October 1960) was also printed for the town by E.J. McAllister and Co., from its premises in Blythe Street, Adelaide. Another publication called Scope (May 1973–November 1982) was also printed in the town. According to

7216-492: Was formally constituted as a penal colony. Although South Australia was constituted such that convicts could never be transported to the Province, some emancipated or escaped convicts or expirees made their own way there, both prior to 1836, or later, and may have constituted 1–2% of the early population. The plan for the province was that it would be an experiment in reform, addressing the problems perceived in British society. There

7304-408: Was home to an annual Snapper Fishing Competition. The largest of its kind and renowned for attracting tourists and fisherman from all over Australia, if not the world. However, due to major over fishing, a blanket ban was put in place to help population growth until 30 June 2026. Subsequently, the annual fishing competition was closed. Whyalla is part of the state electoral district of Giles , which

7392-405: Was renamed Whyalla on 1 November 1919, and on 16 April 1920 the town was officially proclaimed with its new name. The ore conveyor on the jetty was improved, and the shipping of ore to the newly built Newcastle Steelworks commenced. The town grew slowly prior to the development of steelmaking and shipbuilding facilities in the late 1930s. The BHP Indenture Act was proclaimed in 1937 and provided

7480-461: Was the first Australian colony not to have an official state religion, and the colony became attractive to people who had experienced religious discrimination, including Methodists and Unitarians . South Australia also had thousands of Prussian Old Lutheran immigrants, some of whom established their own form of Lutheranism. As a result, the Lutheran Church of Australia remains separate from

7568-470: Was to be religious freedom and no established religion. Sales of land to colonists created an Emigration Fund to pay the costs of transferring a poor young labouring population to South Australia. In early 1838 the colonists became concerned after it was reported that convicts who had escaped from the eastern states may make their way to South Australia. The South Australia Police was formed in April 1838 to protect

7656-559: Was upgraded to AAA by Standard & Poor's in September 2004 and to AAA by Moody's in November 2004, the highest credit ratings achievable by any company or sovereign. The state had previously lost these ratings in the State Bank collapse. However, in 2012 Standard & Poor's downgraded the state's credit rating to AA+ due to declining revenues, new spending initiatives and a weaker than expected budgetary outlook. South Australia receives

7744-769: Was −8.2 °C (17.2 °F) at Yongala on 20 July 1976. The region's overall dry weather is owed to the Australian High on the Great Australian Bight. As of 2016, South Australia had 746,105 people employed out of a total workforce of 806,593, giving an unemployment rate of 7.5%. South Australia's largest employment sector is health care and social assistance, making up 14.8% of the state's total employment, followed by retail (10.7%), education and training (8.6%), manufacturing (8%), and construction (7.6%). South Australia's economy relies on exports more than any other state in Australia. South Australia's credit rating

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