It was actually named by Matthew Flinders in 1802 when he circumnavigated Australia. He found the seas here to have a 'streaked' appearance which he thought was related to a river flowing into the ocean.
In fact the banded appearance was a result of oils given off by kelp found in the Bay.
It is a gorgeous, peaceful little seaside town of just over 1000. It is surrounded by rolling hills of wheat fields and fishing and seafood contribute to the local economy..
We had a couple of Alison Lester 'Are We there Yet?' moments here which added some fun and excitement to our stay....
We visited 'Murphy's Haystacks' which are huge weathered granite 'inselberg' structures, up to 8 metres tall.
They were named many years ago by an Irishman who thought they were giant haystacks in the distance. The owner of the property at the time was named 'Murphy'.
We stood in front of the very same rock and attempted to copy their letters YMCA....
We didn't realise at the time that Elsie's letter C was back to front.....not to worry....
LOL, no shadows for us on the granite as we were there in the middle of the day....
Great spot for a bit more danger free planking...
It is best to visit the Haystacks early morning or late afternoon to see them in their golden glory and to enjoy the different effects that the surface lichens create....
There was ongoing enthusiastic requests from our youngest to visit the replica Great White Shark which is housed in the Shell service station at Streaky Bay....
It is also mentioned in 'Are We There Yet?'.
A 21 yo man caught this 18yo female in 1990 using a rod and reel. The struggle took 5.5 hours and she was 5 metres long and weighed 1520kg.
All a bit pointless really, catching such a magnificent animal for no reason. Thank goodness things have changed since then and humans have greater understanding of these 'top of the food chain' predators.
Apparently all was not lost. Researchers gained a far bit of data from the big girl.
More to come from this beautiful part of the Eyre Penninsula.....
Megan, I just want to say that I am really enjoying reading your adventures around Oz. Maybe you should consider getting it published in one of those bloggy book thingo's...
ReplyDeleteFrank that hat is riding a little high on your head with all that hair !
ReplyDeleteWhen is the big day?