Innes National Park
South Australian Tourism Commission

Highlights

Port Victoria

This town was once the main port of call for the clippers and windjammers that transported grain to the Northern Hemisphere, a period of history recorded in the local Maritime Museum. Port Victoria is now a resort town, offering access to swimming beaches and to Wardang Island, a popular diving spot with an underwater heritage trail featuring eight wrecks.

Little Cornwall

The Cornish miners that flocked to Wallaroo, Moonta and Kadina in the early 1860s prompted the colloquial name for this triangle of towns – Little Cornwall. The discovery of substantial copper deposits led to a prosperous mining industry, revealed in the heritage architecture of the towns. Visit the Moonta Mines State Heritage Area, with walking trails to mining ruins.

Edithburgh

The town’s jetty was once the site of a large shipping operation, when thousands of tons of salt harvested from the nearby lakes were exported from here. Edithburgh is now a popular resort town. Attractions include a tidal pool for safe swimming, good diving locations, and access to Troubridge Island, home to populations of little penguins, black-faced shags and crested terns.

Innes National Park

At the southern tip of the peninsula, Innes National Park protects salt lakes, low mallee scrub, wildflowers, sandy beaches and rugged cliffs. Browns Beach, West Cape and Pondalowie Bay are popular for surfing, diving and fishing. A 1904 shipwreck can be glimpsed from Ethel Beach, and the interesting remains of Inneston mining town are found in the south of the park.

Focus On: Fishing

The Yorke Peninsula is one of South Australia’s top fishing destinations, with jetties at Wallaroo, Moonta Bay, Edithburgh, Stansbury and Port Victoria, and rocky points and sandy coves all through the region, providing excellent opportunities for land-based anglers. Snapper, squid, tommy ruff, garfish and whiting are among the more commonly caught species. Reef-fishing is also popular.
Browns Beach, on the western side of Innes National Park, is renowned for its big hauls of salmon. Near Goose Island, just north of Wardang Island on the west coast, are two reefs that offer excellent boat-fishing for a variety of species.