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Port Augusta, South Australia, Australia

Port AugustaView of Port Augusta with the Flinders Range in the background
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jacaranda_Time_Port_Augusta.jpg
Author: GeorgieSharp
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Port Augusta is a city on the southeastern part of South Australia. It is located on the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula. The city has a population of 13,500 people, making it the fifth most populous city in the state after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, Whyalla and Murray Bridge.

Port Augusta was founded in 1852 by Alexander Elder and John Grainger as it is a choice location for a harbor. Grainger, who was then a member of the Government of Adelaide, named it in honor of Augusta Sophia, Lady Young, the wife of the Governor of South Australia, Sir Henry Edward Fox Young.

Tent Hill, Port AugustaRailway cars at Tent Hill, north of Port Augusta
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:G530_TentHill_Aug07.jpg
Author: Samuel Wittwer
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Port Augusta is the second most populous urban area on the Eyre Peninsula after Whyalla. Its economy is supported by power generation and tourism, the main employer in town. This comes in the form of many direct and subsidiary industries, from eco-tourist guides to hotels and restaurants.

Port Augusta is the start of highway A87, also called Sturt Highway. This is the highway that leads north into the outback, towards the town of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. For that reason, the city is often called the Gateway to the Outback.

Visiting Port Augusta

From Adelaide, take the A1 (Princes Highway) to reach Port Augusta. The journey takes about four hours.

Places of Interest in Port Augusta

  1. Alan Mclellan Lookout
    A lookout point marked with a stone cairn by Captain Matthew Flinders in 1802. From here, visitors get a scenic view of Spencer Gulf, the Flinders and surrounding sights.

  2. Australian Arid Land Botanic Gardens
    Gardens specializing in the plants of the arid landscape of Australia.

  3. Great Western Bridge
    Bridge across the Spencer Gulf, first built in 1927 and replaced with the present one in 1972.

  4. Urramunja Art Centre
    Art gallery displaying the works of 28 aboriginal clan groups from outback South Australia.

  5. Water Tower Lookout
    Lookout point on a 1882 water tower, with views of surrounding Port Augusta.

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Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.

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