Port Augusta, South Australia

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Port Augusta
South Australia

Location of Port Augusta in South Australia (red)
Population: 13,257 (2006)[1]
Postcode: 5700
Location: 322 km (200 mi) from Adelaide via
LGA: City of Port Augusta
State District: Stuart
Federal Division: Grey

Port Augusta (32°29′S, 137°46′E), is a city in South Australia, located at the head of the Spencer Gulf, 322 km north of the state capital Adelaide.

A natural harbour, the port was settled on 24 May 1852 by Alexander Elder and John Grainger. The port was named after Augusta Sophia, Lady Young, the wife of the Governor of South Australia, Sir Henry Edward Fox Young.

Contents

[edit] Government

Port Augusta is the seat of the City of Port Augusta local government area.

It is in the state electorate of Stuart, and the federal Division of Grey. Its postcode is 5700.

[edit] Transport

In 1878, the town became the southern terminus of a proposed North South transcontinental line, headed for Darwin 2,500 km away. This 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) narrow gauge railway was later taken over by the Commonwealth in 1910 and later renamed the Central Australia Railway. In 1929 it was extended to its last terminus at Alice Springs, Northern Territory.

Between 1913 and 1917, a 2,000 km long east–west transcontinental railway (the Trans-Australian Railway) was built from Port Augusta to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. This was built to standard gauge as part of a long term plan to harmonise gauges between the mainland states, causing a break-of-gauge at Port Augusta until it was extended to Port Pirie in 1937. The standard gauge Adelaide-Darwin railway was finally completed in 2003. Port Augusta is a stop on the Indian Pacific trans-continental train service on the Sydney–Perth railway and on the Ghan service between Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin. Two services a week for each train in each direction serve the station.

In the 1990s the narrow gauge line between Port Augusta and Quorn was re-opened as the Pichi Richi heritage Railway.

Preceding station   Great Southern Railway   Following station
towards East Perth
 Indian Pacific
towards Sydney
towards Darwin
 The Ghan
towards Adelaide

Port Augusta is served by Port Augusta Airport.

[edit] Tourism

Port Augusta has been able to capitalise on the growing eco-tourism industry due to its proximity to the Flinders Ranges. The Pichi Richi Railway is a major drawcard, connecting Port Augusta to the town of Quorn through Pichi Richi Pass.

Within Port Augusta is the City of Port Augusta's Wadlata Outback Centre, providing tourists with an introduction to life in the Australian outback. The centre recorded over 500,000 visitors in 2006. North of town, on the Stuart Highway, are the Australian Arid Lands Botanic Gardens. The gardens have a cafe/restaurant with views across the saltbush plains to the escarpment of the Flinders Ranges. The PACC annula report shows more than 100,000 people visited the gardens in 2006.

South-west of town, on the El-Alamein army base, is the Baxter Immigration Detention Centre.

[edit] Shopping

 This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards.
Please improve this article if you can (May 2007).

Commercial Road is the main street. Major outlets include Big-W and Woolworths. Also situated in Commercial Road are several chain stores, some of which include Sanity Music, Sportscene, Just Jeans and Target. There is also a local surf shop, Saltbush Surf and Leisure, situated just off of Commercial Road.

[edit] Schools

There are six public primary schools: Augusta Park Primary School [1], Carlton R-9 School [2], Flinders View Primary School [3], Port Augusta West Primary School [4], Stirling North Primary School [5] and Willsden Primary school [6]. There is one secondary school, Port Augusta Secondary School [7] which has two campuses: Seaview Campus (previously known as Augusta Park Highschool) now caters for year 8 to 9 students, and Stirling Campus (previously known as Port Augusta Highschool) now has year 10 and higher students. There is one private school for reception to year 12 students called Caritas College. Port Augusta also has a special school, Port Augusta Special School [8], Port Augusta School of the Air [9]; and a TAFE (tertiary technical college), Port Augusta Campus[10].

[edit] References

  1. ^ Population (2006 Census) Australian Bureau of Statistics

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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