Whyalla Travel Guide
Whyalla accommodation, Whyalla activities and attractions, Whyalla maps, transportation to and around Whyalla - the ALL NEW Jasons Whyalla Destination Travel Guide is your complete visitor guide for Whyalla.
Whyalla, once a small town called Hummock Hill, is now the second-largest provincial city in South Australia and the northern gateway to
Eyre Peninsula. Whyalla is known for its heavy industry, particularly the enormous iron and steel works, and ore mining in the Middleback Ranges.
A shipyard operated in Whyalla from 1939–1978, and is credited with launching the largest ship ever built in
Australia. With the establishment of the iron ore industry in Iron Knob in the 1880s, a railway was built between Iron Knob and Hummock Hill in 1901 to replace the bullock drays that had been used to bring the iron ore to the coast. Hummock Hill, named by Matthew Flinders in 1802, is now the site of Whyalla's lookout – a magnificent location affording 360º views across the city and steelworks as well as Spencer Gulf and the coast.
Today, Whyalla is a modern city with safe beaches, excellent recreational facilities, and a sunny Mediterranean-type climate. The waters around Whyalla are home to Australia's largest snapper, and Easter weekend sees hundreds of keen boat fishermen competing in the annual snapper fishing competition.
Geographic Location
76km south-west of
Port Augusta and 388km from
Adelaide
Climate
Cool temperate
Summer: 17 - 28°C
Winter: 8 – 17.5°C
Rainfall: 276 mm/year (wettest months May to October)