Victor Harbor (Victor Harbor)
Victor Harbor is a town in the Australian state of South Australia located within the City of Victor Harbor on the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, about 82 km south of the state capital of Adelaide. The town is the largest population centre on the peninsula, with an economy based upon agriculture, fisheries and various industries. It is also a highly popular tourist destination, with the area's population greatly expanded during the summer holidays, usually by Adelaide locals looking to escape the summer heat.
It is a popular destination with South Australian high school graduates for their end of year celebrations, known colloquially as schoolies.
Victor Harbor lies in the traditional lands of the Ramindjeri clan of the Ngarrindjeri people.
Matthew Flinders in HMS Investigator (1798) visited the bay on 8 April 1802 while on the first circumnavigation of the continent, mapping the unsurveyed southern Australian coast from the west. He encountered Nicolas Baudin in Le Geographe near the Murray Mouth several kilometres to the east of the present day location of Victor Harbor. Baudin was surveying the coast from the east for Napoleonic France. Although their countries were at war, each captain was given documents by the other nation's government, stating that the ships were on scientific missions, and were therefore not to be regarded as ships of war. Together, the ships returned to the bay and sheltered, while the captains compared notes. Flinders named the bay Encounter Bay after the meeting.
In 1837 Captain Richard Crozier who was en route from Sydney to the Swan River Colony in command of HMS Victor (1798), anchored just off Granite Island and named the sheltered waters in the lee of the island 'Victor Harbor' after his ship. About the same time two whaling stations were established, one at Rosetta Head (popularly known as "the Bluff") and the other near the point opposite Granite Island. Whale oil became South Australia's first export. From 1839 the whaling station was managed for a time by Captain John Hart, a later Premier of South Australia. The town of Port Victor was laid out on the shores of Victor Harbor in 1863 when the horse-drawn tramway from Goolwa was extended to the harbour. The last whale was caught off Port Victor in 1872.
The municipality of the town of Victor Harbor was proclaimed on 7 May 1914, with Oliver Alexander Baaner appointed as the first mayor.
On 26 December 1936, a one-off motor race meeting was held to the east of the town to commemorate the centenary of South Australia – the South Australian Centenary Grand Prix. The circuit was made of public roads, measured 12.6 kilometres in length and featured two long straights, two short straights, and several corners, including the banked Nangawooka Hairpin. Winner of the 240-mile Grand Prix, which was held as a handicap, was Les Murphy in an MG P-type, from Tim Joshua in another P-type and Bob Lea-Wright in a Terraplane Special.
The beaches of Victor Harbour and nearby Port Elliot have been facing rising seas and more has to be done to stop this.
It is a popular destination with South Australian high school graduates for their end of year celebrations, known colloquially as schoolies.
Victor Harbor lies in the traditional lands of the Ramindjeri clan of the Ngarrindjeri people.
Matthew Flinders in HMS Investigator (1798) visited the bay on 8 April 1802 while on the first circumnavigation of the continent, mapping the unsurveyed southern Australian coast from the west. He encountered Nicolas Baudin in Le Geographe near the Murray Mouth several kilometres to the east of the present day location of Victor Harbor. Baudin was surveying the coast from the east for Napoleonic France. Although their countries were at war, each captain was given documents by the other nation's government, stating that the ships were on scientific missions, and were therefore not to be regarded as ships of war. Together, the ships returned to the bay and sheltered, while the captains compared notes. Flinders named the bay Encounter Bay after the meeting.
In 1837 Captain Richard Crozier who was en route from Sydney to the Swan River Colony in command of HMS Victor (1798), anchored just off Granite Island and named the sheltered waters in the lee of the island 'Victor Harbor' after his ship. About the same time two whaling stations were established, one at Rosetta Head (popularly known as "the Bluff") and the other near the point opposite Granite Island. Whale oil became South Australia's first export. From 1839 the whaling station was managed for a time by Captain John Hart, a later Premier of South Australia. The town of Port Victor was laid out on the shores of Victor Harbor in 1863 when the horse-drawn tramway from Goolwa was extended to the harbour. The last whale was caught off Port Victor in 1872.
The municipality of the town of Victor Harbor was proclaimed on 7 May 1914, with Oliver Alexander Baaner appointed as the first mayor.
On 26 December 1936, a one-off motor race meeting was held to the east of the town to commemorate the centenary of South Australia – the South Australian Centenary Grand Prix. The circuit was made of public roads, measured 12.6 kilometres in length and featured two long straights, two short straights, and several corners, including the banked Nangawooka Hairpin. Winner of the 240-mile Grand Prix, which was held as a handicap, was Les Murphy in an MG P-type, from Tim Joshua in another P-type and Bob Lea-Wright in a Terraplane Special.
The beaches of Victor Harbour and nearby Port Elliot have been facing rising seas and more has to be done to stop this.
Map - Victor Harbor (Victor Harbor)
Map
Country - Australia
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| Flag of Australia | |
The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately 65,000 years ago, during the last ice age. Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world. Australia's written history commenced with the European maritime exploration of Australia. The Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon was the first known European to reach Australia, in 1606. In 1770, the British explorer James Cook mapped and claimed the east coast of Australia for Great Britain, and the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Sydney in 1788 to establish the penal colony of New South Wales. The European population grew in subsequent decades, and by the end of the 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing British colonies established. Democratic parliaments were gradually established through the 19th century, culminating with a vote for the federation of the six colonies and foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and wealthy market economy.
Currency / Language
| ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUD | Australian dollar | $ | 2 |
| ISO | Language |
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| EN | English language |