Louth Bay, South Australia

Louth Bay (formerly Laurence) is a town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia.^[2] It is named after the bay named by Matthew Flinders on 26 February 1802 which itself is derived from a place in Lincolnshire.^[2] At the 2006 census, Louth Bay had a population of 408.^[5]

A town was surveyed in March 1909 and proclaimed on 24 June 1909.^[6] It was named 'Laurence' after Laurence O'Loughlin, a South Australian politician. In November 1940, the District Council of Lincoln formally endorsed a recommendation to rename the town 'Louth Bay' in order to be in line with common use.^[7] The name change was gazetted on 20 February 1941.^[8] Boundaries were created in October 2003 for a locality with the name 'Louth Bay and which included the site of Government Town of Louth Bay.^[9][2][10]

Louth Island is a large privately owned island located within Louth Bay. 3 km to the south east of Louth Island lies the smaller Rabbit Island, which is part of the Lincoln National Park.

History

The bay was a popular picnic destination in the early 20th century,^{[11][12][13][14]} but retained its serenity and wildness throughout.^[15]

In the early 20th century, the bay was dredged for oysters.^[16]

A jetty was proposed for Louth Bay in the 1878,^[17] and was constructed around that time. In 1908, the structure was damaged, allegedly by a ship.^[18] In 1949, the Government announced that it was seeking to demolish the Louth Bay jetty, and called for tenders.^[19] This was met by objections and a petition, leading to a delayed decision.^[20]

In the late 20th century, aquaculture became an important industry for Louth Bay, though fishermen and local residents have expressed concerned about stock escapees and pollution impacts from existing operations. Concerns included algal growth and seagrass degradation, plastic pollution and the loss of amenity.^[21][22]

Incidents

On 12 February 2007 Phillip Kerkhof wrestled a 1.3 metre long Bronze whaler shark in Louth Bay, catching it and dragging it onto the jetty before cheering fishermen. He admitted to being drunk at the time and recommended that others not engage in such activities.^{[23][24][25][26]}

On 21 August 2014 the decapitated bodies of two New Zealand fur seals were found near Louth Bay. The circumstances surrounding their death were considered suspicious and an investigation was undertaken.^[27]

See also

• Louth (disambiguation)
• Eyre Peninsula bushfire

References

1. ^ "Postcode for Louth Bay, South Australia". Postcodes Australia. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
2. ^ "Search results for 'Louth Bay, LOCB' with the following datasets selected - 'Suburbs and localities', 'Counties', 'Hundreds', 'Local Government Areas', 'SA Government Regions' and 'Gazetteer'". Location SA Map Viewer. South Australian Government. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
3. ^ "District of Flinders Background Profile". Electoral Commission SA. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
4. ^ "Federal electoral division of Grey". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
5. ^
6. ^ Mitchell, S.J. (24 June 1909). "Town of Laurence". The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. p. 1152. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
7. ^ "Name of Township of Lawrence To be Altered to Louth Bay". Port Lincoln Times (SA : 1927 - 1954). 1940-11-21. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
8. ^ McEwin, A. Lyell (20 February 1941). "Alteration of Names of Towns and Places". The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. p. 225. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
9. ^ "Name of Township of Lawrence To be Altered to Louth Bay". Port Lincoln Times. Vol. XIV, no. 680. 21 November 1940. p. 1. Retrieved 18 September 2016. – via National Library of Australia.
10. ^ "Search result for "Laurence (GTWN)" (Record no. SA0038919) with the following layers selected - "Government Towns" and " Place names (gazetteer)"". Property Location Browser. Government of South Australia. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
11. ^ "Waterside Workers". Port Lincoln Times (SA : 1927 - 1954). 1931-01-23. p. 13. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
12. ^ "COMBINED PICNIC AT LOUTH BAY". Port Lincoln Times (SA : 1927 - 1954). 1938-12-09. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
13. ^ "Chop Picnic at Louth Bay". Port Lincoln Times (SA : 1927 - 1954). 1941-01-23. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
14. ^ "Convent Picnic at Louth Bay". Port Lincoln Times (SA : 1927 - 1954). 1949-12-08. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
15. ^ "Louth Bay". Chronicle (Adelaide, SA : 1895 - 1954). 1949-12-08. p. 64. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
16. ^ "THE [?]YST[?]R[?] FISHERIES[?]". Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931). 1902-02-13. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
17. ^ "HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY.". South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900). 1878-07-18. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
18. ^ "NESSELS AND DECREPIT JETTIES.". Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931). 1908-07-24. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
19. ^ "Louth Bay Jetty To Be Demolished". Port Lincoln Times (SA : 1927 - 1954). 1949-05-26. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
20. ^ "Reprieve For Louth Bay Jetty". Port Lincoln Times (SA : 1927 - 1954). 1949-06-02. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
21. ^ "Anglers worried about aquaculture" ABC News (31 January 2008). Retrieved 2014-01-19.
22. ^ "Aquaculture accused of causing bay pollution" ABC News (7 April 2006). Retrieved 2014-01-19.
23. ^ "Man catches shark with bare hands". News.com.au. 2007-02-16. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
24. ^ Holroyd, Jane (2007-02-16). "Shark-eating man 'just snapped'". The Age. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
25. ^ Jeanes, Tim (2007-02-16). "The World Today - Man attacks shark". ABC. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
26. ^ "Vodka, shark chaser". News.com.au. 2007-02-17. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
27. ^ "Headless fur seals found on beach in SA treated as suspicious by authorities". ABC. 2014-08-25. Retrieved 2014-08-26.