# Coffin Bay

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For other uses, see [Coffin Bay](/source/Coffin_Bay_(disambiguation)).

Town in South Australia

Town in South Australia, Australia

Coffin Bay Mudhabaga (Nauo) Town View down Coffin Bay Channel Coffin Bay Coordinates: 34°37′28″S 135°28′11″E / 34.624406°S 135.469651°E / -34.624406; 135.469651[1] Country Australia State South Australia Region Eyre Western[1] LGA District Council of Lower Eyre Peninsula[1] Location 288 km (179 mi) W of Adelaide[2] 36 km (22 mi) W of Port Lincoln[2] Established 1952 ("shack area")[3] 1957 (private town)[3] 2003 (locality)[4] Government • State electorate Flinders[5] • Federal division Grey[6] Population • Total 667 (UCL 2021)[8] Time zone UTC+9:30 (ACST) • Summer (DST) UTC+10:30 (ACST) Postcode 5607[2] County Flinders[1] Mean max temp 21.3 °C (70.3 °F)[9] Mean min temp 11.3 °C (52.3 °F)[9] Annual rainfall 389.8 mm (15.35 in)[9] Localities around Coffin Bay Coffin Bay (waterbody) Wangary Wangary Coffin Bay (waterbody) Ocean Coffin Bay Wangary Uley Ocean Ocean Uley Uley Adjoining localities[1]

**Coffin Bay** ([Nauo](/source/Nauo_language): *Mudhabaga*),[10] originally **Coffin's Bay**,[11] is a town at the southern extremity of the [Eyre Peninsula](/source/Eyre_Peninsula), a wheat growing area of [South Australia](/source/South_Australia).[12]

The town is situated on the western side of the southern tip of Eyre Peninsula about 46 km from [Port Lincoln](/source/Port_Lincoln%2C_South_Australia). The population swells during holiday seasons to more than 4,000 people due to its proximity to the [Coffin Bay National Park](/source/Coffin_Bay_National_Park).[13]

It is a popular location for boating, sailing, swimming, water-skiing, skindiving and wind-surfing, as well as fishing (rock, surf, angling and boat).[14]

The town is named after the bay formed by the Coffin Bay Peninsula and the mainland, and lies on the southeastern shore of the bay. Oyster farming is conducted in the quiet waters of Coffin Bay.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

Coffin Bay is in the [District Council of Lower Eyre Peninsula](/source/District_Council_of_Lower_Eyre_Peninsula) [local government area](/source/Local_government_in_Australia), the [state](/source/South_Australian_House_of_Assembly) [electoral district of Flinders](/source/Electoral_district_of_Flinders) and the [federal](/source/Australian_House_of_Representatives) [Division of Grey](/source/Division_of_Grey).[1]

## History

The indigenous inhabitants of the Coffin Bay area are the [Nauo](/source/Nauo_people) [Aboriginal](/source/Aboriginal_Australians) people, who have lived there for tens of thousands of years. Well before the [official colonisation of South Australia](/source/British_colonisation_of_South_Australia) in 1836, the way of life of the Nauo people had been disrupted by raids carried out by [seal hunters](/source/Seal_culling_in_South_Australia), often to kidnap Nauo women.[15]

British naval explorer [Matthew Flinders](/source/Matthew_Flinders) named the bay on 16 February 1802 in honour of his friend [Sir Isaac Coffin](/source/Sir_Isaac_Coffin%2C_1st_Baronet), who was Resident Naval Commissioner at [Sheerness](/source/Sheerness), where [HMS *Investigator*](/source/HMS_Investigator_(1801)) was fitted out.[16][14] The same year, [French explorer](/source/Nicolas_Baudin's_expedition_to_Australia) [Nicolas Baudin](/source/Nicolas_Baudin) provided the alternative French name of *Baie Delambre*.[17]

The bay remained uncharted until it was explored in March 1839 by Captain Frederick R. Lees (d. 1839), in command of the brig *Nereus*. Lees' thorough charts became a standard reference for mariners until the electronic era.[18][*[according to whom?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Words_to_watch#Unsupported_attributions)*]

In November 1952, and again in October 1955, the state government surveyed a "shack area" on [crown land](/source/Crown_land) from which allotments were available for leasing.[3] In 1957, the private town of Coffin Bay was laid out by Stanley Germain Morgan on section 132 of the cadastral unit of the [Hundred of Lake Wangary](/source/Hundred_of_Lake_Wangary).[3]

In 1966, [BHP](/source/BHP) opened the [Coffin Bay Tramway](/source/Coffin_Bay_Tramway), between [Port Lincoln](/source/Port_Lincoln) and a site 8 kilometres (5 mi) south-east of the town, to convey lime sands.[19] The tramway was closed in 1989, and the track was removed in 2001.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

On 16 October 2003, boundaries created for the locality included the full extent of the [Coffin Bay Peninsula](/source/Coffin_Bay_Peninsula) and the land to the east, bounded in the north in part by the channel connecting to [Kellidie Bay](/source/Kellidie_Bay) and by the Coffin Bay Road, and in the east by the eastern boundary of the [Hundred of Lake Wangary](/source/Hundred_of_Lake_Wangary). The locality, which was given the "long established name", includes the private town, the Coffin Bay Shack Site and the Coffin Bay National Park.[1][4]

The historic former [Coffin Bay Whaling Site](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Coffin_Bay_Whaling_Site&action=edit&redlink=1) at Point Sir Isaac lies within the locality and is listed on the [South Australian Heritage Register](/source/South_Australian_Heritage_Register).[20]

## See also

- [Coffin Bay National Park](/source/Coffin_Bay_National_Park)

- [Kellidie Bay Conservation Park](/source/Kellidie_Bay_Conservation_Park)

- [Mount Dutton Bay Conservation Park](/source/Mount_Dutton_Bay_Conservation_Park)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-LMV_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-LMV_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-LMV_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-LMV_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-LMV_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-LMV_1-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-LMV_1-6) ["Search results for 'Coffin Bay, LOCB' with the following datasets selected – 'Suburbs and localities', 'Counties', 'Hundreds', 'Local Government Areas', 'SA Government Regions' and 'Gazetteer'"](http://location.sa.gov.au/viewer/?map=roads&x=135.35815&y=-34.58146&z=11&uids=19,2,115,8,11,20,105&pinx=135.471050&piny=-34.622980&pinTitle=Location&pinText=Coffin+Bay,+Locb). *Location SA Map Viewer*. South Australian Government. Retrieved 14 February 2019.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-postcode_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-postcode_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-postcode_2-2) ["Postcode for Coffin Bay, South Australia"](https://postcodes-australia.com/areas/sa/country+south+australia/coffin+bay). postcodes-australia.com. Retrieved 23 October 2019.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-manning02_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-manning02_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-manning02_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-manning02_3-3) [Manning, Geoffrey](/source/Geoffrey_Manning). ["South Australian Names – C"](http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/digitalpubs/placenamesofsouthaustralia/C.pdf) (PDF). *Manning Index of South Australian History*. State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 24 October 2019.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-SAGG-2003_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-SAGG-2003_4-1) Weatherill, Jay (16 October 2003), ["GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES ACT 1991, Notice to Assign Boundaries and Names to Places (within the District Council of Lower Eyre Peninsula and the City of Port Lincoln)"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160409101800/http://www.governmentgazette.sa.gov.au/sites/default/files/documentstore/2003/October/2003_098.pdf) (PDF), *The South Australian Government Gazette*: 3796, archived from [the original](http://www.governmentgazette.sa.gov.au/sites/default/files/documentstore/2003/October/2003_098.pdf) (PDF) on 9 April 2016, retrieved 24 October 2019

1. **[^](#cite_ref-ECSA_5-0)** ["District of Flinder Background Profile"](https://www.ecsa.sa.gov.au/electoral-districts/electoral-district-profiles?view=article&id=827:flinders). Electoral Commission SA. Retrieved 1 June 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-AEC_6-0)** ["Federal electoral division of Grey"](http://www.aec.gov.au/profiles/sa/files/2011/2011-aec-a4-map-sa-grey.pdf) (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 1 June 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [Australian Bureau of Statistics](/source/Australian_Bureau_of_Statistics) (28 June 2022). ["Coffin Bay (urban centre and locality)"](https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/UCL421007). *Australian Census 2021*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [Australian Bureau of Statistics](/source/Australian_Bureau_of_Statistics) (28 June 2022). ["Coffin Bay (urban centre and locality)"](https://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/UCL421007). *Australian Census 2021*.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-climate_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-climate_9-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-climate_9-2) ["Monthly climate statistics: Summary statistics NORTH SHIELDS (PORT LINCOLN AWS) (nearest weather station)"](http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_018192_All.shtml). Commonwealth of Australia, Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 23 October 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Mobile Language Team | Nauo Wordlist"](https://portal.mobilelanguageteam.com.au/lessons/nauo-wordlist/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["The Situation of the New Colony"](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32077341). *[The Sydney Monitor (NSW : 1828 – 1838)](/source/The_Sydney_Monitor)*. NSW. 11 April 1832. p. 4 Edition: Afternoon. Retrieved 31 July 2013 – via National Library of Australia.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Material was copied from this source, which is available under a [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Delaney, Jarrad (11 February 2021). ["Big increase in park visitors for December"](https://www.portlincolntimes.com.au/story/7122561/big-increase-in-park-visitors-for-december/). *Port Lincoln Times*. Retrieved 16 January 2023.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_14-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_14-1) *UBD street directory Gregory's South Australia and Northern Territory.*, Universal Business Directories Pty. Ltd., Universal Publishers, 2013, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7319-2696-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7319-2696-1), [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [829213142](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/829213142){{[citation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Citation)}}: CS1 maint: others ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_others))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** [Tindale, Norman Barnett](/source/Norman_Tindale) (1974). ["Nauo (SA)"](http://archives.samuseum.sa.gov.au/tindaletribes/nauo.htm). *Aboriginal Tribes of Australia: Their Terrain, Environmental Controls, Distribution, Limits, and Proper Names*. [Australian National University Press](/source/ANU_Press). p. 66. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-708-10741-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-708-10741-6).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-manning_16-0)** ["Place names of South Australia"](http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/manning/pn/c/c8.htm#coffinB). *The Manning Index of South Australian History*. [State Library of South Australia](/source/State_Library_of_South_Australia). Retrieved 6 May 2006.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** [Property Location Browser V2](http://maps.sa.gov.au/plb/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20161012010923/http://maps.sa.gov.au/plb/) 12 October 2016 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) *Government of South Australia, Department of Planning, Transport & [Infrastructure](http://maps.sa.gov.au/plb/)*Retrieved 2014-01-01.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** Lees, Frederick : *Sailing directions for South Australia* (Sydney, 1839). Mitchell Library, NSW, Call No DSM/656/L.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** Buckland, J.L. (August 1977). "A standard gauge railway in mothballs (Coffin Bay tramway of BHP Co. Ltd.)". *Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin*. **28** (478). [Australian Railway Historical Society](/source/Australian_Railway_Historical_Society): 184–189. This mineral railway was opened in 1966 to bring lime sands 39 km from Coffin Bay to Proper Bay, near Port Lincoln. The operation was visited by an ARHS SA Div tour on 13 Nov 1976. (Citation details via the nswrail.net website)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** ["Former Coffin Bay Whaling Site (designated place of archaeological significance) Coffin Bay National Park"](http://apps.planning.sa.gov.au/HeritageSearch/HeritageItem.aspx?p_heritageno=16608). *South Australian Heritage Register*. Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. Retrieved 12 February 2016.[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

## External links

- [Coffin Bay – SMH Travel](http://www.smh.com.au/news/South-Australia/Coffin-Bay/2005/02/17/1108500204205.html)

- [Coffin Bay Tourism Association](http://www.coffinbay.net/business.htm)

- [CoffinBay.net](http://coffinbay.net/)

v t e Towns and localities of the District Council of Lower Eyre Peninsula Boston Charlton Gully Coffin Bay Coomunga Coulta Cummins Duck Ponds Edillilie Farm Beach Fountain Green Patch Hawson Kapinnie Karkoo Kellidie Bay Kiana Lincoln National Park Little Douglas (formerly Horse Peninsula) Louth Bay Mitchell Mount Drummond Mount Dutton Bay Mount Hope North Shields Pearlah Point Boston Poonindie Sleaford Tiatukia Tootenilla Tulka Uley Wangary Wanilla Whites Flat Whites River Yeelanna

v t e Eyre Peninsula, South Australia Cities Port Augusta (western suburbs only) Port Lincoln Whyalla Townships Ceduna Cleve Coffin Bay Cowell Cummins Elliston Kimba Lock Smoky Bay Streaky Bay Thevenard Tumby Bay Wudinna Governance Federal division Grey (part) State electoral districts Flinders Giles Stuart Local Government Ceduna DC Cleve DC Elliston DC Franklin Harbour DC Kimba DC Lower Eyre Peninsula DC City of Port Augusta (part) City of Port Lincoln Streaky Bay DC Tumby Bay DC City of Whyalla Wudinna DC Protected areas Coffin Bay National Park Gawler Ranges National Park Lake Gilles Lincoln National Park Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area Munyaroo Conservation Park Pinkawillinie Conservation Park Coastal features West coast Anxious Bay Calca Peninsula Cape Blanche Cape Carnot Cape Catastrophe Cape Finniss Cape Radstock Cape Wiles Coffin Bay Peninsula Jussieu Peninsula Mount Dutton Bay Point Avoid Point Labatt Point Weyland Point Whidbey Slade Point Sleaford Bay Fishery Bay East coast Cape Burr Cape Donington Cape Hardy Lipson Cove Lucky Bay Memory Cove Point Boston Point Lowly Yorkey Crossing Islands adjoining Eyre Peninsula coast West coast Baird Bay Jones Island Unnamed island, Baird Bay Eba Island Grantham Island Nicolas Baudin Island Pigface Island East coast Bicker Isles Boston Island Curlew Island Entrance Island Lipson Island Little Island Louth Island Tumby Island Infrastructure Highways Birdseye Highway Eyre Highway (part) Flinders Highway Lincoln Highway Tod Highway Railways BHP Whyalla Tramway Coffin Bay Tramway Eyre Peninsula Railway Port Lincoln railway station Other Joy Baluch AM Bridge Tod Reservoir Related and uncategorised The Peninsulas zone (wine)

v t e Coastal bays and inlets of South Australia West coast Anxious Baird Coffin Denial Fowlers Head of the Bight Laura Murat Sceale Sleaford Fishery Smoky Streaky Tourville Venus Spencer Gulf Arno Blanche Harbor False Germein Hardwicke Lipson Cove Louth Lucky Memory Moonta Pondalowie Tumby Wallaroo Investigator Strait Emu Marion Nepean Pelican Lagoon Bay of Shoals Eastern Cove Western Cove Smith Stenhouse Stokes Kangaroo Island south and west coasts D'Estrees Maupertuis Moncrieff Pink Seal Vivonne Gulf St Vincent Aldinga Barker Inlet Holdfast Rapid Wool Backstairs Passage Antechamber Cuttlefish South east coast Discovery (part) Racecourse Encounter Guichen Lacepede Nora Creina Rivoli Mainland Murray River Loveday Category

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Coffin Bay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Bay) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffin_Bay?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.