Fleurieu Peninsula

This article is about the peninsula in South Australia. For the wine zone, see Fleurieu zone (wine). For the wine region, see Southern Fleurieu wine region.

Place in South Australia

Fleurieu Peninsula
South Australia

Fleurieu Peninsula

Coordinates| 35°30′00″S 138°25′48″E﻿ / ﻿35.50000°S 138.43000°E﻿ / -35.50000; 138.43000

The Fleurieu Peninsula (/ˈflɜːrioʊ/)[1] is a peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia located south of the state capital of Adelaide.

## History

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Before British colonisation of South Australia, the western side of the peninsula was occupied by the Kaurna people, while several clans of the Ngarrindjeri lived on the eastern side.[2] The people were sustained by the flora and fauna of the peninsula, for food and bush medicine. The bulrushes, reeds and sedges were used for basket-weaving or making rope, trees provided wood for spears, and stones were fashioned into tools.[3]

The Fleurieu Peninsula was named after Charles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu, the French explorer and hydrographer, by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin as he explored the south coast of Australia in 1802. The name came into official use in 1911 after Fleurieu's great-nephew, Count Alphonse de Fleurieu, visited Adelaide and met with the Council of the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia, which recommended to the state government that the unnamed peninsula terminating in Cape Jervis be given the name Fleurieu Peninsula "in honour of one who is worthy to be remembered in the annals of Australian geography". The government approved the name later that year.[4][5]

## Extent

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A satellite map of Fleurieu Peninsula

The Geographical Names Advisory Committee advised in 2001 that the extent of the peninsula is:[6][failed verification]

> that portion of land between Gulf St. Vincent and the Southern Ocean (sic), a line from Aldinga (sic) (southern end of Aldinga Bay) to Middleton (eastern end) being the cut-off for the peninsula. This boundary has not to be gazetted at present, and is intended to be the extent of the geographic feature only and is not to be applied to any industry or interest group regional identification.

The coast of the peninsula stretches from around 140 kilometres (87 mi) from Sellicks Beach in the north to Middleton in the south-east.[7]

## Features

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Towns on the peninsula include Victor Harbor, Normanville, Yankalilla and Rapid Bay. Districts include Inman Valley and Hindmarsh Valley. A ferry travels between Cape Jervis, at the tip of the peninsula, and Kangaroo Island.[8] There is surfing on both the west and south facing coasts – known locally to Adelaide surfers as the Mid South Coast and the Far South Coast.[citation needed] Surf spots of note include Waitpinga and Middleton on the Far South Coast.[citation needed]

## Flora and fauna

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In the past, there were extensive swamps and woodlands, which provided habitat and food sources for a range of birds, fish, and other animals, included snake-necked turtles, yabbies, rakali, ducks and black swans. Flora included the native orchid (leek orchid), guinea flower and swamp wattle (Wirilda).[3]

## Ecology and conservation

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The swamps of the Fleurieu Peninsula were listed as critically endangered under the EPBC Act in 2003; however, there is no adopted or made recovery plan for this ecological community, only "Approved Conservation Advice" (2013).[9] Less than four percent of the original swampland remain today.

A group that includes Aboriginal elders and scientists are as of 2021[update] documenting Aboriginal cultural knowledge for the Fleurieu Peninsula swamps at Yundi, which is about 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of Adelaide. The Yundi Nature Conservancy, containing about 5 hectares (12 acres) of swamp, is south-east of McLaren Vale, near Mount Compass. There, Ngarrindjeri elders and scientists from various disciplines share their knowledge and plan for rewilding some more of the peninsula. A seed bank has been created to this end.[3]

## See also

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* Fleurieu zone, wine growing region
* Fleurieu (disambiguation)

## References

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1. ^ "Fleurieu Peninsula". ABC Pronounce. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 11 December 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
2. ^ Horton, David R. (1996). "Map of Indigenous Australia". AIATSIS. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
3. ^ a b c Salleh, Anna (27 May 2021). "Indigenous knowledge project could help save endangered Fleurieu Peninsula wetlands". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
4. ^ Brown, Anthony. "The French Connection: a tale of discovery and loss" (PDF). Australian Heritage. p. 35\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
5. ^ "Flinders & Baudin. A French Geographer,. An interview with Count de Fleurieu". The Register. 12 May 1911. p. 5. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
6. ^ "Property Location Browser Report - Placename Details: Fleurieu Peninsula, PEN". The Government of South Australia. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
7. ^ Bourman, Robert P.; Murray-Wallace, Colin V.; Harvey, Nick (2016). "3: The Fleurieu Peninsula coast" (PDF). Coastal Landscapes of South Australia (Ebook). University of Adelaide Press. doi:10.20851/coast-sa. ISBN 978-1-925261-21-9. Retrieved 29 May 2021. `{{cite book}}`: `|website=` ignored (help)
8. ^ "Getting You to iconic Kangaroo Island". Sealink Travel Group. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
9. ^ "Swamps of the Fleurieu Peninsula". Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Australian Government. Retrieved 29 May 2021. Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under an Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU) licence.

## External links

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* Fleurieu Peninsula Tourism Region Official tourism webpage

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Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia

Major Townships|

* Cape Jervis
* Middleton (part)
* Myponga
* Normanville
* Port Elliot
* Victor Harbor
* Yankalilla

Minor Townships|

* Carrickalinga
* Deep Creek
* Delamere
* Hayborough
* Inman Valley
* McCracken
* Rapid Bay
* Second Valley
* Waitpinga

Local Government|

* Alexandrina Council (part)
* City of Victor Harbor
* District Council of Yankalilla

Geographical features|

* Ingalalla Waterfalls

Coastal features|

* Cape Jervis
* Rosetta Head (The Bluff)

Protected areas|

| Conservation parks|

* Deep Creek
* Eric Bonython
* Gum Tree Gully
* Mount Billy
* Myponga
* Newland Head
* Spring Mount
* Stipiturus
* Talisker
* Waitpinga
* Yulte

|

Other|

* Fleurieu Art Prize
* Fleurieu wine zone (part)
* Islands of South Australia
* Southern Fleurieu wine region (part)
* Leafy Sea Dragon Festival
* Heysen Trail (part)

* v
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South Australia

Topics|

* History
* Government
* Flag
* Culture
* Transport
* Rail transport
* Energy
* Education
* Geography
* Geology
* South Australian English
* Sport
* Symbols
* Country Fire Service

Regions|

* Adelaide Hills
* Barossa Valley
* Clare Valley
* Eyre Peninsula
* Far North
* Fleurieu Peninsula
* Flinders Ranges
* Limestone Coast
* Mid North
* Murraylands
* Nullarbor Plain
* Riverland
* Yorke Peninsula

Cities and towns|

* Adelaide
* Mount Barker
* Mount Gambier
* Murray Bridge
* Port Augusta
* Port Lincoln
* Port Pirie
* Victor Harbor
* Whyalla

South Australia portal

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Australian places named by French explorers in the 18th and 19th centuries

South Australia|

* Cape Bedout
* Cape Borda
* Cape Bouguer
* Cape Carnot
* Cape du Couedic
* Casuarina Islets (Ilots du Cassuarina)
* D'Estrees Bay (Baie D'Estrees)
* Dorothee Island (Ile Dorothee)
* Fleurieu Peninsula
* Cape Forbin
* Cape Gantheaume
* Guichen Bay (Baie de Guichen)
* Jussieu Peninsula
* Lacepede Bay
* Maupertuis Bay (Baie Maupertuis)
* Fenelon Island
* Masillon Island
* Ravine des Casoars
* Rivoli Bay (Baie de Rivoli)
* Cape Thevenard
* Veteran Isles (Ile du Veteran)
* Vivonne Bay (Baie Vivonne)

Western Australia|

* Cape Bouvard
* Cape Clairault
* Cape Freycinet
* Cape Mentelle
* Cape Naturaliste
* Faure Island
* Gantheaume Point
* Geographe Bay
* Lancelin Island
* Middle Island (Iles du Milieu)
* Peron Peninsula
* Recherche Archipelago (L’Archipel de la Recherche)

Only places with the name still in use in either the original or anglicised version are listed above. Many names have been anglicised; for these the original French name appears in brackets.

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Israel
* United States

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