Arno Bay, South Australia

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Arno Bay
state = South Australia

---

caption = Location of Arno Bay in South Australia
lga = District Council of Cleve
postcode = 5603
est = 1882
pop = 428 "2006 Census" Census 2006 AUS
id=UCL401250
name=Arno Bay (Urban Centre/Locality)
accessdate=2008-06-01
quick=on]
elevation= 1
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
stategov = Flinders
fedgov = Grey
dist1 = 437
dir1 = North West
location1= Adelaide

Arno Bay is a small fishing and tourist town on the east coast of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, located on the Lincoln Highway about half way between Whyalla and Port Lincoln. First proclaimed under the name Bligh in 1883, the current name dates back to 1940. It is a recreational town with a number of marine and nature based attractions, including fishing, surfing and swimming.

History

The area which is now known as Arno Bay was opened up by pastoralists in 1863, with the area being named 'Salt Creek Cove' in these early days.Citation
last = Manning Index of South Australia | title = Arno Bay | url = http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/manning/pn/a/a12.htm | access-date = 2007-06-27 ] Of the variety of ventures that occurred before the town was built, the sinking of 'The Arno Bay Mine' was possibly the least successful, with water halting all operations. ] The small town was initially proclaimed in 1882 by G.H. Ayliffe under the name of 'Bligh', after Captain William Bligh, although locals resisted the name change, continually referring to the town as 'Arno Bay' until the official name change.Citation
last = Sydney Morning Herald Travel | title = Arno Bay | url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/South-Australia/Arno-Bay/2005/02/17/1108500204136.html | access-date = 2007-06-27 ]

The town was expected to become a port and a jetty was built in 1880 in anticipation of this. The port was not huge, but nonetheless continued importing fertilizers and exporting cereal crops that were being grown in the district.Citation
last = Tourism Eyre Peninsula | title = Arno Bay | url = http://www.tep.com.au/region/arno_bay.htm | access-date = 2007-06-27 ] By 1911, the town had grown substantially, with a school, post office, hotel and new hall established in this period. ]

The town continued to grow as a port until the point where it was exporting 11 000 tonnes of grain in 1940. In the same year, the decision was finally made to alter the town's official name to 'Arno Bay', named after a sandhill well and not the Italian 'Arno River' as had been suggested. ] The period of high export came to an abrupt end in 1963 when the storage silos were built, and ocean shipping became redundant to the large trucks that were now the main mechanism of transport. ]

This signalled the end of Arno Bay as a port, causing the population to drop slowly, eventually leading to its current position as a tourist fishing town.

Geography

Arno bay lies on the eastern Eyre Peninsula, and sits on the Spencer Gulf, a body of water that stretches up to Port Augusta in the north. The town itself lies on the bay of the same name, which is dominated by a mixture of white, sandy beaches, cliffs, and mangrove systems. Of particular note is 'Redbanks', a sedimentary cliff structure which is designated a geological monument by the Geological Society of Australia.Citation
last = Arno Bay Tourism Site | title = Fishing | url = http://www.arnobay.com/fishing.htm | access-date = 2007-06-27 ]

The climate is much like that of Port Lincoln, which is only 118 km to South. The Mediterranean climate, with its hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters is typical for most of the Eyre Peninsula.Citation
last = Bureau of Meteorology | title = North Shields | url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_018192.shtml | access-date = 2007-06-27 ]

Economy

The town still retains it position as a minor service centre for the surrounding agricultural communities, but in nowhere near the capacity of mid 1900's. Cereal crops and sheep are still the major produce of the inland area, as well as minor amounts of other produce.Citation
last = District Council of Cleve | title = General Information | url = http://www.cleve.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=131 | access-date = 2007-06-27 ]

Fishing has been a minor part of the economy in the past, and recently, aquaculture has come to prominence in the bay, with Yellowtail Kingfish, mulloway and tuna held in large cages. These are farmed on 7 licenses covering 130 hectares in the bay. The aquaculture in the bay is still in development, and further expansions are expected in the future.Citation
last = PIRSA | title = Arno Bay Aquaculture Management Program | url = http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/pages/aquaculture/policy/arno_bay_final.pdf | access-date = 2007-06-27 ]

Tourism is now one of the largest components of the town's economy, with tourists typically drawn by the areas fishing, water sport and seaside atmosphere. A boat ramp is located in the town, with whiting, snapper, tommy ruff, garfish, salmon and may other popular species caught in the bay, with most of these also available off the town jetty and beach. For boat anglers, the 'Redbanks' region has been known to produce large Mulloway and Snapper, as well as offering scenery in the form of the imposing cliffs. The local aquaculture industry also prompotes tourism, with tours through facilities where finfish are raised.Citation
last = Travelmate | title = Arno Bay | url = http://www.travelmate.com.au/Places/Places.asp?TownName=Arno+Bay_%5C_SA | access-date = 2007-06-27 ]

Community

Facilities

For tourist facilities, Arno Bay has a beach front caravan park, hotel, general stores, post office, playground and motor garage/fuel outlet. An all-weather boat ramp, with floating pontoon and a refurbished town jetty launching facilities for boat based fishermen. ]

A number of sporting venues and clubs include a winter golf course, bowling green, oval, tennis, netball, and squash courts, dirt circuit and in summer yacht racing each Sunday.

Demographics

In the 2006 Census, there were 428 persons usually resident in Arno Bay: 55.4% being males and 44.6% females. Of the total population in Arno Bay there were no Indigenous persons.

It was found that 18.0% of the population usually resident in Arno Bay were children aged between 0-14 years, and 29.7% were persons aged 55 years and over. The median age of persons in Arno Bay was 41 years, compared with 37 years for persons in Australia. ]

In the Census, 92.1% of persons usually resident in Arno Bay were Australian citizens, 5.6% were born overseas and none were overseas visitors. Of those who were in permanent residence, 87.9% of them stated they were born in Australia. Other common responses were: England 1.4%, Seychelles 1.4%, New Zealand 1.2%, United States of America 0.7% and Papua New Guinea 0.7%. ]

The most common responses for religious affiliation for persons usually resident in Arno Bay were: No Religion 29.9%, Uniting Church 24.5%, Anglican 11.7%, Catholic 9.8% and Lutheran 7.9%. ]

References

External links

* [http://www.tep.com.au/region/arno_bay.htm Eyre Peninsula Site]
* [http://www.smh.com.au/news/South-Australia/Arno-Bay/2005/02/17/1108500204136.html Syndney morning Herald Site]
* [http://www.cleve.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm Cleve District Council Site]