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 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Sleaford Bay, ca 1935 | |
  Sleaford Bay Location in South Australia | |
| Location | Eyre Peninsula, South Australia |
| Coordinates | 34°53′54″S 135°46′02″E / 34.898337°S 135.76709°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]