Whyalla

Whyalla South Australia
View of the city from Hummock Hill
Whyalla
Coordinates	33°02′0″S137°34′0″E / 33.03333°S 137.56667°E /-33.03333; 137.56667
Population	20,880 (UCL2021)[1]
Established	1920
Postcode(s)	5600[2]
Time zone	ACST(UTC+9:30)
• Summer (DST)	ACDT(UTC+10:30)
Location	395 km (245 mi) fromAdelaide
LGA(s)	City of Whyalla
State electorate(s)	Giles[3]
Federal division(s)	Grey[4]
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 23.7 °C 75 °F 11.5 °C 53 °F 263.4 mm 10.4 in

Whyalla/waɪˈælə/is a city inSouth Australia. It was founded as "Hummocks Hill", and was known by that name until 1916.^[5][6]It is the fourth most populous city in the Australian state of South Australia afterAdelaide,Mount GambierandGawlerand along withPort PirieandPort Augustais one of the three towns to make up the Iron Triangle. As of June 2018, Whyalla had an urban population of 21,742,^[7]having declined at an average annual rate of -0.75% year-over-year over the preceding five years.^[7]It is aseaportlocated on the east coast of theEyre Peninsulaand is known as the "Steel City" due to its integratedsteelworksand shipbuilding heritage. The port of Whyalla has been exporting iron ore since 1903.

The city consists of an urban area bounded to the north by the railway to the mining town ofIron Knob, to the east bySpencer Gulf, and to the south by theLincoln Highway. The urban area consists of the following suburbs laid from east to west extending from a natural hill known as Hummock Hill: Whyalla,Whyalla Playford,Whyalla Norrie,Whyalla Stuart, andWhyalla Jenkins. A port facility, a rail yard serving the railway line to Iron Knob, and anindustrial complexare located to the immediate north of Hummock Hill.^[8][9][10]Whyalla Barsonand theWhyalla Conservation Parkare located about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of the city. It is an iron-rich exporting town that supplies China.

The origin of the name Whyalla is disputed. In 1916 it was referred to as the "native" name, having been ascribed during a survey conducted a few years beforehand.^[6]During the 1940s,Norman Tindale, the ethnologist at theSouth Australian Museumbelieved that the name could have been derived from aboriginal words "Wajala", meaning "west" in a language common toPort Pirie, or "Waiala", meaning "I don't know" in a language more common toPort Augusta.^[11]In 1945,BHPadvised that the name had been taken from nearby Mount Whyalla, which lies northwest of Whyalla, roughly midway between the town and Iron Knob.^[12]Other meanings ascribed to the word Whyalla include "dingo", "by the water",^[13]and "a place of water".^[14]Another hypothesis is that the name was brought by European settlers and was derived from a place called Whyalla inDurham, England.^[15]

Whyalla is part of theBarngarlaAboriginal country.^[16]: 230

A mariner named William Morgan Burgoyne purportedly recommended the site for the establishment of a port on False Bay to Harry Morgan ofBHP. Burgoyne had spent several weeks there on a trip out from Port Augusta hunting kangaroo with his brother and another man called Alf Rowarth. At that time there was no settlement between Middleback Station and thePoint Lowly Lighthouse, and kangaroos were plentiful there.

Burgoyne recalled that the tugFlorrieferried a crew there a week later and pegged out the settlement first known as Hummocky.^[17]It was officially founded as Hummock's Hill in 1901 by theBHP Whyalla Tramway, which transported iron ore fromIron Knobin theMiddleback Rangeto the sea. Its first shipment was transported acrossSpencer GulftoPort Pirie, where it was used in leadsmeltersas aflux. A jetty was built to transfer the ore and the first shipment was sent in 1903. The early settlement consisted of small cottages and tents clustered around the base of the hill. The post office opened in 1901 as Hummock's Hill.^[18]

In 1905 the town's first school opened. It was originally called Hummock Hill School but was subsequently renamed to Whyalla Primary School and Whyalla Higher Primary School. The school's current name is Whyalla Town Primary School.

The arid environment and lack of natural fresh water resources made it necessary to import water in barges from Port Pirie.

The Post Office was renamed Whyalla on 1 November 1919,^[18]and on 16 April 1920 the town was officially proclaimed with its new name. The ore conveyor on the jetty was improved, and the shipping of ore to the newly builtNewcastle Steelworkscommenced. The town grew slowly prior to the development of steelmaking and shipbuilding facilities in the late 1930s.

TheBHP Indenture Actwas proclaimed in 1937 and provided the impetus for the construction of ablast furnaceand harbour. In 1939 the blast furnace and harbour began to be constructed and a commitment for a water supply pipeline from theMurray Riverwas made. Ashipyardwas built to provide ships for theRoyal Australian NavyduringWorld War II. The population began to rise rapidly and many new facilities, including a hospital and abattoirs, were built.

In 1941 the first ship from the new shipyard,HMASWhyalla, was launched and the blast furnace became operational. By 1943 the population was more than 5,000. On 31 March 1943, theMorgan - Whyalla pipelinebecame operational. In 1945 the city came under combined company and public administration and the shipyard began producing commercial ships. In 1948,displaced personsbegan arriving from Europe increasing the cultural diversity of Whyalla.

In 1958 BHP decided to build an integratedsteelworks at Whyallaand it was completed in 1965. In the following year, salt harvesting began andcokeovens were built. The population grew extremely rapidly, and theSouth Australian Housing Trustwas building 500 houses each year to cope with the demand. Plans for a city of 100,000 were produced by the Department of Lands. A second water supply pipeline from Morgan was built to cope with the demand.

In 1970 the city adopted full local government status. Fierce competition from Japanese ship builders resulted in the closing of the shipyards in 1978, which were at the time the largest in Australia. From a peak population of 38,130 in 1976, the population dropped rapidly. A decline in the BHP iron and steel industry since 1981 also impacted employment.^[19]

The BHP long products division wasdivestedin 2000 to form OneSteel, which is the sole producer of rail and steelsleepersin Australia. On 2 July 2012, OneSteel changed its name toArrium.^[20]After going into administration in 2016 Arrium was purchased by UK entityGFG Alliancewith the steelworks placed underLiberty Steel Groupand called Liberty Primary Steel and Mining.

From 2004 onward, northern South Australia enjoyed a mineral exploration boom, and Whyalla found itself well placed to benefit from new ventures, being situated on the edge of theGawler Craton. The city experienced an economic upturn with the population slowly increasing and the unemployment rate falling to a more typical level.

Whyalla has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• Broadbent Terrace:Whyalla High School^[21]
• 13 Forsyth Street:Hotel Bay View, Whyalla^[22]
• 5 Forsyth Street:Spencer Hotel, Whyalla^[23]
• Gay Street:World War Two Gun Emplacements, Hummock Hill^[24]
• 3 Whitehead Street:Whyalla Court House^[25]

Since its beginnings as Hummock Hill, the town has served as a port for the shipment of iron ore from deposits along the Middleback Range.^{[citation needed]}

The port's first conveyor-belt loading system was installed in 1915 and was capable of loading 1,000 tonnes of ore per hour. In 1943, it took 5½-to-6 hours to load a single 5,000-ton freighter.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007, newtransshipmenthandling processes were implemented, which allowedArrium(formerly Onesteel) to load iron ore onto largercapesizebulk carrier vessels in deeper water. The transshipment process involves filling barges with ore that is then transferred into the receiving vessels at one of three transshipment anchorages.^{[citation needed]}

In the financial year 2014–15, 12.5 million tonnes ofhaematiteore was exported from Whyalla using the transshipment process.^[26]

In October 2015 Arrium loaded its largest capesize cargo via transshipment. The FPMCB Nature was loaded with approximately 205,698 wet metric tonnes (wmt) of iron ore – significantly more than the average load of about 170,000 wmt.^[27]

The port's inner harbour receives shipments of coal that is used to produce coke for the Whyalla steelworks and exports smaller cargoes of finished steel products.^{[citation needed]}

Much of the town's economy is centred around theWhyalla Steelworks.Santoshas supplied gas to the steelworks for several years, and in February 2024 signed anMoUwithGFG Allianceto start discussions to reduce emissions from the steelworks.^[28]

The Whyalla Hydrogen Facility (WHF, aka Hydrogen Jobs Plan) is a proposed 250MWe hydrogen electrolyser (producinggreen hydrogen), a 200MW combined cycle gas turbine generator, and 3600-tonne hydrogen storage facility.^[29][30]ASouth Australian Governmentcompany called Hydrogen Power South Australia was established to own and operate the plant, which is expected to be completed in 2025 and begin operations in 2026.^[29]ATCO Australia,BOC, andEpic Energywill deliver the plan.^[31]in which the government has investedA$593million.^[32]In February 2024, the government signed an agreement with GFG Alliance reaching "to explore opportunities for hydrogen offtake" from the WHF.^[28]

Once it is up and running, it will supply power to the steelworks, which will then producegreen steel.^[28]

Whyalla has asemi-arid climate(Köppen:BSk/BSh); with hot summers and mild winters. Temperatures vary throughout the year, with average maxima ranging from 30.2 °C (86.4 °F) in January to 17.1 °C (62.8 °F) in July; and average minima fluctuating between 17.9 °C (64.2 °F) in January to 5.3 °C (41.5 °F) in July. Annual precipitation is low: averaging 269.4 mm (10.61 in) between 77.9 precipitation days. The town has 62.7 clear days and 46.6 cloudy days annually. Extreme temperatures have ranged from 48.5 °C (119.3 °F) on 24 January 2019 to −3.2 °C (26.2 °F) on 12 June 1984 and 16 July 1982.^[33]

According to the2016 censusof Population, there were 21,751 people in Whyalla.

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 4.7% of the population.
• 73.8% of people were born in Australia. The nextmost common countries of birth were England 7.2%, Scotland 2.4%, Philippines 1.4%, South Africa 0.8% and Germany 0.7%.
• 87.0% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Afrikaans 0.7%, Tagalog 0.6%, Greek 0.5%, Italian 0.5% and Filipino 0.5%.
• The most common responses for religion were No Religion 38.7%, Catholic 19.5%, Anglican 10.5%.
• Of the employed people in Whyalla, 12.4% worked in Iron Smelting and Steel Manufacturing. Other major industries of employment included Iron Ore Mining 7.3%, Hospitals 4.2%, Supermarket and Grocery Stores 3.8% and Primary Education 3.4%.
• There were 9,452 people who reported being in the labour force in the week before Census night. Of these 52.5% were employed full-time, 29.5% were employed part-time and 12.5% were unemployed.
• The median weekly household income is $989.^[35]

TheLincoln Highwaypasses directly through Whyalla. The city is served by a coach bus service operated byStatelinerwhich operates four services to and fromAdelaide(via Port Augusta) each week day (less on weekends) and one service each way toPort Lincoln. There are however occasional exceptions to the week day route due to lack of demand to travel through Whyalla.

TheBHP Whyalla Tramwaywas built toIron Knobto supply iron ore originally used as flux when smelting copper ore.^[36]This ore became the basis of the steelworks. As the Iron Knob deposits were worked out, the railway was diverted to other sources of ore atIron Monarch,Iron Prince,Iron DukeandIron Baron.

To enable interchange between the BHP's other steelworks inNewcastleandPort Kemblaof specialised rollingstock, the railway system within the Whyalla steelworks was converted tostandard gaugein the 1960s.^[37]

Although the steelworks produced railway rail, for several decades there was no railway connection to the mainland system. Finally in 1972, thestandard gaugeWhyalla linetoPort Augustawas completed andWhyalla railway stationopened. The station was served daily fromAdelaideuntil 1975, then again from 1986 to 1990 by theIron Triangle Limited. The station was demolished in 2012.

Some iron ore is exported from Whyalla. In 2007, steps were being taken to export iron ore mined at Peculiar Knob nearCoober Pedy, 600 km away. To meet this increased demand, aballoon loopwas installed in 2012 at the port for both gauges.^[38]

Whyalla Airportis 4 nautical miles (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) southwest of the city. It was served byRex Airlinesflying into Whyalla fromAdelaideit served the airport several times a day however due to passenger security screening chargesRex Airlinesceased flying into Whyalla on 1 July 2023,^[39]andQantasLinkwhich operates twice daily services from Adelaide.^[40]

There is a small boat marina (populated by a number of dolphins), a sailing club, and a boat ramp on the coastline below Hummock Hill, where there is a fish-cleaning station situated nearby. Iron ore is exported through an off-shore facility.

Whyalla is served by several radio and TV stations. Radio stations include5YYYFM (Local community station),Magic FM(Commercial station based in Port Augusta), and5AU/5CS (Commercial station based in Port Pirie). The local TV stations areSouthern Cross Seven,Southern Cross Nine, andSouthern Cross 10.

The local newspaper,TheWhyalla News,was first published on 5 April 1940, and is currently owned byAustralian Community Media. Historically, another short-lived monthly newspaper called theWhyalla Times(January - October 1960) was also printed for the town by E.J. McAllister and Co., from its premises in Blythe Street, Adelaide.^[41]Another publication calledScope(May 1973–November 1982) was also printed in the town. According to theState Library,"Scope was a monthly regional magazine in newspaper format published by the Willson family of the Whyalla News. It was issued as an insert to six local newspapers: the Recorder (Port Pirie), Transcontinental (Port Augusta), Eyre Peninsula Tribune (Cleve), Port Lincoln Times, West Coast Sentinel (Streaky Bay) and Northern Argus (Clare)."^[42]

The industrial and cultural history of Whyalla is accessible to tourists via several museums and public tours.

Visitors can view the ex-HMASWhyallafrom the Lincoln Highway and take a guided tour of it via the Whyalla Maritime Museum. The ship is a retired World War II-era corvette and was the first ship built in the city of Whyalla during the war. It was relocated to the highway in 1987. The Whyalla Maritime Museum features various displays commemorating the town's ship building and mining history, including miniature replicas of various ships and a model railway diorama. Further displays introduce visitors to the region's natural and indigenous cultural histories.

Tours of theWhyalla Steelworksallow visitors to view the production of long products at the working plant. Tours departing from the Whyalla Visitors Centre.

The town's development and social history is presented at the volunteer-run Mount Laura Homestead National Trust Museum, which is located near the Westlands shopping centre.

One of the main tourist attractions of Whyalla is the world-renowned beach, and the many attractions based around it. Especially the shops and pop-ups in the car park.^[43]

In the late 1990s the annual migration of theAustralian giant cuttlefishSepia apamato shallow, inshore rocky reef areas inSpencer Gulfnorth of Whyalla became recognised by divers and marine scientists.^[44][45]Divers and snorkellers can see the aggregation of animals from May through August each year, in water one to six metres deep. The most popular places to view the aggregation are Black Point, Stony Point andPoint Lowly. Car parking and boardwalks or stairs to the waters edge are present at each location, making access easy.

Dolphins frequent the Whyalla marina, but concerns have been raised that their confidence around humans may increase their vulnerability.^[46]

TheWhyalla Conservation Parkprovides an example of the natural semi-arid environment accessible via walking trails. A gentle climb to the top of Wild Dog Hill provides a view of the surrounding landscape and information on native vegetation via a series of interpretive signs.

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Boat launching facilities exist at Whyalla and Point Lowly North marinas. The Whyalla Marina also has a jetty which is illuminated at night for the convenience of fishers.

Whyalla was home to an annualSnapperFishing Competition. The largest of its kind and renowned for attracting tourists and fisherman from all over Australia, if not the world. However, due to major over fishing, a blanket ban was put in place to help population growth until 30 June 2026.^[5]Subsequently, the annual fishing competition was closed.

2006 State Election[47]
	Labor	66.3%
	Liberal	21.8%
	Family First	6.5%
	Greens	4.0%
	Independent	1.4%

2007 Federal Election[48]
	Labor	57.07%
	Liberal	29.50%
	Greens	5.19%
	Family First	4.59%
	National	1.60%
	Democrats	1.16%
	Independent	0.88%

Whyalla is part of the stateelectoral district of Giles, which is presently held byLaborMPEddie Hughes. Giles was previously held by Labor MPLyn Breuerfrom 1997 until her retirement in 2014. In federal politics, the city is part of thedivision of Grey, and has been represented byLiberalMPRowan Ramseysince 2007. Grey is held with a margin of 8.86% and is considered safe-liberal. The results shown are from the largest polling station in Whyalla Norrie – which is located at Nicolson Avenue Primary School.

Whyalla is in theCity of Whyallalocal government areaalong with Point lowly and some sparsely inhabited areas around it.^[49]

Primary schools in Whyalla include Whyalla Town Primary School, Fisk Street Primary School, Long Street Primary School, Hincks Avenue Primary School, Memorial Oval Primary School, Whyalla Stuart Campus, Nicolson Avenue Primary School, Sunrise Christian School, St Teresa's and Our Lady Help of Christians (both Samaritan College).

Until 2021 Secondary Education was provided byWhyalla High School,Stuart High School, Samaritan College,Edward John Eyre High SchoolandSaint John's College, Whyalla. Saint John's College is one of the three schools that make up Samaritan College.

On 1 November 2017 a new high school was announced byDepartment for Education & Child Developmentfor Whyalla which would combineEdward John Eyre,Stuart HighandWhyalla HighSchools into a new purpose built facility located between theUniversity of South AustraliaandTAFE SAcampuses.^[50]

In 2022Whyalla Secondary Collegeopened, with capacity for 1500 students and amalgamating Edward John Eyre High, Whyalla High and Stuart High.^[51]The building firm who undertook the construction won anAustralian Institute of Buildingaward for construction.^[51]

Tertiary education is provided by the Spencer Institute ofTAFE, and the Whyalla Campus of theUniversity of South Australia. UniSA Whyalla's academic programs include business, social work, nursing and research opportunities in rural health and community development.

TheD'Faces of Youth Artscommunity youth arts organisation has run workshops and activities for young people aged 7 to 27 in theatre, dance, visual arts and music since 1994.

The Whyalla Recording Scholarship is awarded annually for Whyalla residents aged from 12 to 21.^[52][53]The Inaugural (2017) Winner was seventeen year old Breeze Millard from Whyalla.^[54][55][56]The Second (2018) Whyalla Recording Scholarship was launched on 23 April 2018^[57]with 2 Winners (17 year old Liberty Tuohy from Port Neill and 19 year old Shakira Fauser from Whyalla) and 1 Runner-Up (15 year old Jaylee Daniels from Whyalla) being announced on 17 September 2018.^[58]On 24 February 2019 Jaylee Daniels' Debut Single "Papa's Song" reached Number 7, and Shakira Lea's "I Miss You" Number 18 on the iTunes Australia Country Chart^[59][60][61]In 2021 both Jaylee (with "Tonight") and Shakira (with "Drowning") released their second Singles.^[62][63]On 21 February 2021 Jaylee Daniels' "Tonight" reached Number 3 on the iTunes Australia Singer Songwriter Chart.^[64]

TheWhyalla Football Leagueis anAustralian rules footballcompetition supporting half-a-dozen clubs. In 1998, Bennett Oval hosted aNational Rugby Leaguematch between theAdelaide RamsandIllawarra Steelers. The Steelers won 39–4.

But Whyalla also have sports for Basketball, Hockey, Soccer & Boxing. Out of the 4 just mentioned, TheWhyalla Basketabll Associationis the most popular, along with theWhyalla Soccer Association.

Hockey is still popular across Whyalla, with its league, theWhyalla Hockey Association, getting many players and even schools to join in with the Hockey Games.Fishingis also pretty popular in Whyalla as well, with its good beaches and wonderful jetty, it's one of the best places to fish in theEyre Peninsula.

Whyalla Speedway (also known as Westline Speedway) takes place 3 kilometres northwest of the city, off Speedway Road (32°59′41″S137°30′31″E / 32.99472°S 137.50861°E /-32.99472; 137.50861). It opened on 30 April 1972 and holds racing for many classes, including sprint cars, sedans and stock cars.^[65]The venue hostsmotorcycle speedwayand held theSouth Australian Individual Speedway Championshipin 1986.^[66]

Whyalla's sister city isTexas City,Texas. It was proclaimed in 1984, during the sesquicentennials of both Texas and South Australia.^[67]

Ties with a former sister city,Ezhouin China, were cut in the 1990s.^[68]In 1997, both cities signed an agreement reestablishing their sister city relationship.^[69]

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• Robert Bajic– soccer player
• Shantae Barnes-Cowan, actress^[70]
• Lachlan Barr- soccer player withPerth Glory^[71]
• Edwina Bartholomew– journalist and television presenter
• Max Brown– politician
• Brett Burton– former AFL player with theAdelaide Crows^[72]
• Alan Didak- AFL player with theCollingwood Football Club^[73]
• Karyne Di Marco– hammer thrower
• Alistair Edwards– Australian soccer player
• Connie Frazer– poet, feminist, and writer
• Sophie Gonzales- author and psychologist^[74]
• Gary Gray–Special Minister of Statein the Gillard government^[75]
• Levi Greenwood– AFL player with the Collingwood Football Club
• Alison Hams – musician and recording artist; 2015 Whyalla Australia Day Citizen of the Year^[76]
• Leigh Hoffman- cyclist
• Graeme Jose– Australian Olympic cyclist
• Rex Patrick– South Australian senator
• Ben Pengelley- cricketer
• Ian Rawlings– television actor
• Barrie Robran-South Australian National Football Leagueplayer withNorth Adelaide Football Club^[77]
• Vern Schuppan– formerFormula Onedriver
• Robert Shirley– AFL player with theAdelaide Crows
• Peter Stanley– historian^[78]
• Carl Veart– international soccer player who played 18 games for theSocceroos^[79]
• Darryl Wakelin– AFL footballer
• Shane Wakelin– AFL footballer
• Isaac Weetra– AFL player with theMelbourne Football Club
• Sean Williams– science fiction author
• Ian Wilsdon - BMX track cyclist^[80]
• Douglas Wood- engineer and Iraq war hostage^[81]
• Bianca Woolford- para-cyclist
• Stephen Yarwood– Lord Mayor of the City of Adelaide 2009–2014

• 
  Whyalla Jetty
• 
  Whyalla foreshore
• 
  Whyalla Institute facade
• 
  Ore handling at the port
• 
  Port facility
• 
  QF 3.7-inch AA gunfrom World War IIat Hummock Hill
• 
  View of the coast from Hummock Hill

• Whyalla City Council's tourist information siteArchived21 January 2005 at theWayback Machine
• Whyalla's Weather for the last 72 hours

Media related toWhyalla, South Australiaat Wikimedia Commons