Demographics

Description

The Yorke Peninsula is a peninsula located north-west and west of Adelaide in South Australia, between Spencer Gulf on the west and Gulf St Vincent on the east. Yorke Peninsula is separated from Kangaroo Island to the south by Investigator Strait. The most populous town in the Yorke Peninsula region is Kadina. Yorke Peninsula is a major producer of grain, particularly barley and the Peninsula's grain crops are worth more than $290 million annually. Historically this has been sent out by sea because there are no rail services. Most coastal towns on Yorke Peninsula have substantial jetties. In the past these were used by ketches, schooners, and later steamships, to collect the grain in bags, and deliver fertiliser and other supplies. As roads in the region improved, and freight-handling techniques changed from bags to bulk, this became obsolete. A deep-water port was opened in 1970 near the south-eastern tip at Port Giles to export grain in bulk, and almost all the other ports ceased to be used for freight in the 1950s and 1960s. The only other ports with bulk- handling facilities are Wallaroo at the north- western side, and Ardrossan at the top of Gulf St Vincent, also used to ship dolomite from a nearby mine for OneSteel. Maitland has a grain-receiving depot operated by AWB, serviced only by road. Wine production commenced on the Yorke Peninsula during the 1990s taking advantage of the rich grey, limestone-based soil.