Everything about Port Augusta South Australia totally explained
Port Augusta, is a city in
South Australia, located at the head of the
Spencer Gulf, 322 km north of the state capital
Adelaide.
A natural harbour, the port was settled on
24 May 1852 by Alexander Elder and John Grainger. The port was named after Augusta Sophia, Lady Young, the wife of the Governor of South Australia,
Sir Henry Edward Fox Young.
Government
Port Augusta is the seat of the
City of Port Augusta local government area.
It is in the state electorate of
Stuart, and the federal
Division of Grey. Its postcode is 5700.
Transport
In 1878, the town became the southern terminus of a proposed North South transcontinental line, headed for
Darwin 2,500 km away. This
narrow gauge railway was later taken over by the Commonwealth in 1910 and later renamed the
Central Australia Railway. In 1929 it was extended to its last terminus at
Alice Springs, Northern Territory.
Between 1913 and 1917, a 2,000 km long east–west transcontinental railway (the
Trans-Australian Railway) was built from Port Augusta to
Kalgoorlie in
Western Australia. This was built to
standard gauge as part of a long term plan to harmonise gauges between the mainland states, causing a
break-of-gauge at Port Augusta until it was extended to
Port Pirie in 1937. The standard gauge
Adelaide-Darwin railway was finally completed in 2003. Port Augusta is a stop on the
Indian Pacific trans-continental train service on the
Sydney–Perth railway and on the
Ghan service between Adelaide, Alice Springs and Darwin. Two services a week for each train in each direction serve the station.
In the 1990s the narrow gauge line between Port Augusta and
Quorn was re-opened as the
Pichi Richi heritage Railway.
Port Augusta Airport.
Tourism
Port Augusta has been able to capitalise on the growing eco-tourism industry due to its proximity to the
Flinders Ranges. The
Pichi Richi Railway is a major drawcard, connecting Port Augusta to the town of
Quorn through
Pichi Richi Pass.
Within Port Augusta is the
City of Port Augusta's Wadlata Outback Centre, providing tourists with an introduction to life in the Australian outback. The centre recorded over 500,000 visitors in 2006.
North of town, on the Stuart Highway, are the
Australian Arid Lands Botanic Gardens. The gardens have a cafe/restaurant with views across the saltbush plains to the escarpment of the Flinders Ranges. The PACC annula report shows more than 100,000 people visited the gardens in 2006.
South-west of town, on the El-Alamein army base, is the
Baxter Immigration Detention Centre.
Shopping
Commercial Road is the main street. Major outlets include Big-W and Woolworths. Also situated in Commercial Road are several chain stores, some of which include Sanity Music, Sportscene, Just Jeans and Target. There is also a local surf shop, Saltbush Surf and Leisure, situated just off of Commercial Road.
Schools
There are six public primary schools: Augusta Park Primary School
(External Link
), Carlton R-9 School
(External Link), Flinders View Primary School
(External Link), Port Augusta West Primary School
(External Link), Stirling North Primary School
(External Link) and Willsden Primary school
(External Link). There is one secondary school, Port Augusta Secondary School
(External Link) which has two campuses: Seaview Campus (previously known as Augusta Park Highschool) now caters for year 8 to 9 students, and Stirling Campus (previously known as Port Augusta Highschool) now has year 10 and higher students. There is one private school for reception to year 12 students called Caritas College.
Port Augusta also has a special school, Port Augusta Special School
(External Link), Port Augusta School of the Air
(External Link); and a TAFE (tertiary technical college), Port Augusta Campus
(External Link).
Further Information
Get more info on 'Port Augusta South Australia'.
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