Haslam, South Australia

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Haslam
state = sa


caption =
lga = District Council of Streaky Bay
postcode = 5680
est = 1893
pop = 50
elevation= 1
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
stategov = Flinders
fedgov = Grey
dist1 = 45
dir1 = north-west
location1= Streaky Bay

Haslam is a small coastal village located 45 km north-west of Streaky Bay. Situated next to the sheltered waters of Streaky Bay, Haslam is a common stop off for campers as they make their way across the Nullarbor Plain. The town itself has no major industrial or commercial connections anymore and contains limited resources including a camping ground and the town jetty.

History

Haslam was established in 1893 as a deep sea port to allow the shipping of supplies of machinery and food to the local settlers, as well as providing transport of local products to other parts of the state. When road transport took over in the 1960s, this service died out. The town was proclaimed on 9 October 1913 Manning, Geoffrey H. (1986) "The Romance of Place Names in South Australia", p. 87. Adelaide, South Australia: published by the author, ISBN 0 9590087 3] and takes its name from William Haslam (born on 2 April 1850 in Bolton, then in the English county of Lancashire), who arrived in South Australia in 1869. In 1891, he was elected as the north-east representative of the Legislative Council, a position he held until his death in 1898.

Haslam had a post office (originally a receiving office under the name Port Haslam) from 1913. [Walker, Martin (2004) "The Post, Telegraph and Telephone Offices of South Australia and the Northern Territory", p 142, p. 257. Torrensville, South Australia: published by the author. ISBN 0 9757019 0 8] The area is now served by a community postal agency.

The 1410-ft town jetty was originally built in 1912 to allow ships access to the coast, but is now half that length and serves as a popular fishing jetty.

The Haslam Township School opened in 1920, before having its name changed to "Maildaburra" in 1921. A new school was built in 1930, and was renamed "Haslam". The school finally closed on the opening of Perlubie School in 1983, and now serves as a museum.

References

External links

* [http://www.streakybay.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=117 Streaky Bay Council]
* [http://www.theage.com.au/news/South-Australia/Streaky-Bay/2005/02/17/1108500204699.html Article in "The Age" about Streaky Bay and surrounding districts]