Clinton, South Australia

For other uses, see Clinton, South Australia.

Clinton South Australia
General store
Clinton
Coordinates	34°13′31″S 138°01′06″E[1]
Population	313 (SAL 2021)[2]
Established	14 August 1862 (town) 27 May 1999 (locality)[1][3]
Postcode(s)	5570[4]
Location	101 km (63 mi) NW of Adelaide 36 km (22 mi) NE of Maitland
LGA(s)	Yorke Peninsula Council
Region	Yorke and Mid North[5]
County	Daly
State electorate(s)	Narungga[6]
Federal division(s)	Grey[7]
Mean max temp[8] Mean min temp[8] Annual rainfall[8] 22.6 °C 73 °F 10.7 °C 51 °F 332.0 mm 13.1 in
Localities around Clinton: Kainton Kainton Gulf St Vincent Clinton Centre Clinton Gulf St Vincent Winulta Price Gulf St Vincent
Footnotes	Locations[4][1] Adjoining localities[1]

Clinton (also known as Port Clinton) is a locality in the Australian state of South Australia located on the east coast of Yorke Peninsula overlooking the north west head of Gulf St Vincent about 101 kilometres (63 mi) west of the state capital of Adelaide and about 36 kilometres (22 mi) north-east of the municipal seat of Maitland.^[4][1]

History

The Hundred of Clinton was proclaimed on 12 June 1862 over land with an area of 350 square kilometres (137 sq mi).^[9][1]

The town was surveyed during March 1862 by A Cooper and land offered for auction on 14 August 1862.^[1] The town was named by Dominick Daly, the Governor of South Australia after Henry Pelham F.P. Clinton, the Duke of Newcastle who served as "the Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1859 until his death in October 1864."^[10]

The port was surveyed in 1862, with a jetty being erected in 1863. Surveys and closer settlement by farmers soon followed, along with land clearing of the mallee woodland.

The first European occupiers were leaseholder pastoralists. In 1854 in the northern parts of the Hundred of Clinton, W. & A. Rogers leased 190 square kilometres (75 sq mi) at an annual rental of ten shillings per square mile. In 1860, near the centre of the Hundred, T. & W. Day leased 31 square kilometres (12 sq mi).

This was an important and busy port in the 1860s and 70s, being a transfer point for goods and passengers travelling between Port Adelaide and the copper mines at Wallaroo and Moonta. That was despite the shallowness of the beach, which closed the port to larger vessels during low tide.

Beach and mud flats just after low tide

On 28 November 1878, the District Council of Clinton was established.^[11] Clinton began a gradual decline after 1878 when the railway between Wallaroo and Adelaide was completed. The jetty was dismantled in 1916.

Boundaries for the locality were created on 27 May 1999 for the "long established name."^[3] The name Port Clinton was reported in 2013 as being a "variant" name and as being the "incorrect name for town."^[1]

Present day

Clinton, "the Gateway to the Eastern Yorke Peninsula", is a 1.5 hour drive from the capital of South Australia, Adelaide.

Having a boat ramp, Clinton is popular for trailer boating. It has a beach for children, along with recreational fishing and crabbing areas. Raking for blue swimmer crabs is done on the extensive mud flats at low tide. As a result, since the 1950s the township has attracted the construction of beach and holiday houses.^{[citation needed]}

Accommodation in the town is varied and includes various holiday rentals. Shopping is available at the Local General Store and in the township of Ardrossan a 23 km down the road.

The rural land surrounding Clinton is primarily used for dry grain farming of wheat and barley, with some sheep grazing.

Notable residents

• George McLeay, Minister in the Menzies government and member of the Australian House of Representatives^[12]
• Sir John McLeay, longest serving speaker of the Australian House of Representatives and former Lord Mayor of Adelaide^[13]

See also

• List of cities and towns in South Australia
• Clinton Conservation Park

References

1. "Search results for 'Clinton, LOCB' with the following datasets being selected – 'Suburbs and Localities', 'Postcode',"Government Towns', 'Counties', 'Hundreds', 'Local Government Areas', 'SA Government Regions', 'Land Development Plan Zone Categories' and 'Gazetteer'". Location SA Map Viewer. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
2. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Clinton (SA) (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
3. Kentish, P.M. (27 May 1999). "GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES ACT 1991 Notice to Assign Boundaries and Names to Places" (PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. South Australian Government. p. 2696. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
4. "Postcode for Clinton, South Australia". Postcodes Australia. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
5. "Yorke and Mid North SA Government region" (PDF). The Government of South Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2017. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
6. Narungga (Map). Electoral District Boundaries Commission. 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
7. "Federal electoral division of Grey" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
8. "Monthly climate statistics: Summary statistics PRICE (nearest weather station)". Commonwealth of Australia, Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
9. Waterhouse, G.M. (12 June 1862). "Proclamation" (PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. p. 490. Retrieved 4 February 2019. the Counties of Robe, Grey, and Daly, in the said Province of South Australia hereinafter described should respectively be created Hundreds
10. "Clinton (in "Place Names of South Australia – C")". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
11. Morgan, William (28 November 1878). "Untitled Proclamation re "The District of Clinton"" (PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. p. 1569. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
12. Richards, Eric (2000). "McLeay, George (1892–1955)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
13. Barlin, L. M. (2012). "McLeay, Sir John (1893–1982)". Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 22 October 2015.

External links

• Yorke Peninsula website