People fishing off the jetty at Venus Bay

Port Kenny (including Talia Caves and Venus Bay)
Outstandingly beautiful section of the Eyre Peninsula coastline
Between Elliston and Streaky Bay lie the quiet seaside holiday locations of Port Kenny and Venus Bay. Port Kenny, the larger of the two settlements, is located 349 km west of Port Augusta and 655 km from Adelaide via the Princes and Eyre Highways.

Like nearly all of the west coast of Eyre Peninsula the first European to sight this area was Matthew Flinders who sailed along the coast in the Investigator in 1802. There is a piece of local folklore which claims that Flinders named Venus Bay after the Roman God of Love but the more plausible, and more pedestrian, explanation is that it was named after a 40 ton schooner named Venus which traded along the coast until she ran aground at Tumby Bay in 1850. Equally Port Kenny was named after the first European settler, Michael Kenny, who, having made his fortune on the Victorian goldfields, moved to Eyre Peninsula where he was one of the first farmers to try to grow grain rather than raise sheep. Talia probably is an Aboriginal word. Some sources suggest that it means 'near water'.

The first settlement in the area was that at Venus Bay where a whaling station was established in the 1820s. The tiny settlement consisting of a shop, hotel and police station operated until the 1840s. After that time the focus of the settlement turned inland as the surrounding area was opened up for grazing in 1840s and cereal cropping in the 1870s. The township was abandoned by 1900. It was somewhat revitalised in the 1920s when it became a base for a commercial fishing operation.

12 km away is the equally tiny settlement of Port Kenny. The township was surveyed in 1912, a local hall was opened in 1934, and the hotel began operation in 1939. These bald facts almost sum up the interest of this small town which lies about midway between Elliston and Streaky Bay. Port Kenny and Venus Bay have survived because during the early part of this century they were important (if very small) ports handling the grain and wool which was produced in the hinterland. Grain was still being shipped from Port Kenny and Venus Bay until the late 1950s. As early as the late 1920s the area had been discovered by recreational fishermen who travelled to these tiny outposts eager to catch trevally and trout.

Things to see:  

Venus Bay
Today Venus Bay is really nothing more than a caravan park, a few very temporary looking holiday homes, a jetty and a small community of people with that 'getting away from it all' look in their eyes. A road behind the settlement climbs up to the nearby cliffs. It is hard to imagine to more different scenes than the quiet harbour on one side and the pounding waves of the Southern Ocean on the other.

Talia
To experience the real drama of this very dramatic coast it is necessary to travel south 18 km from Port Kenny to the tiny town of Talia. Here is another forgotten little settlement. Talia was surveyed in 1882. The school opened in 1889 and the local hall was built in 1895. Looking at the town today it is hard to imagine that as late as the 1940s Talia was a thriving settlement.

Talia Caves
6 km out of Talia (on a road which runs from the town across to the coast) are the famous Talia Caves. The notion of 'caves' is really a bit of a misnomer. The 'caves' would be more accurately described as large eroded areas in the cliff face.

The cave at Talia known as the Wool Shed

The first 'cave' is known as the Woolshed (there is a painted sign on a boulder and a small parking area - the 'cave' is reached by a relatively easy walking track). The Woolshed is a large cave, or cavity, in the cliff face which has been formed by the erosion of the cliff face by wind and water.

The second 'cave' in the series is known as The Tub (again it is signposted by a painted sign on a boulder). The Tub is a collapsed limestone crater. It is possible to climb into The Tub. The ocean access to the area is through a tunnel in the rocks.

These so called 'caves' are the result of the weathering of two very different kinds of rock. The cliffs were formed as recently as 100 000 years ago and are a form of compacted sand dune. Not surprisingly they are very vulnerable to erosion. Below the cliffs are pink conglomerate and sandstone which was formed some 1 500 million years ago. The action of the sea on these two different surfaces has resulted in the erosion which, in the case of 'The Tub' has led to the collapse of the roof of a cave and in the case of 'The Woolshed' has resulted in the waves eating in between the surface and the hard conglomerate.

The beach at the end of the Talia Caves drive

Beyond The Tub is a dramatic cliff face which offers views for kilometres to the south along the Talia beach. This lonely and dramatic beach looks dangerous and, as if to confirm this initial impression, there is a substantial marble monument to a Sister Millard who lost her life on 24 June 1924 when part of the cliff face collapsed. Her story is a reminder of the dangers of these cliffs. The day before her death she had resigned from Ceduna Hospital. With three friends she travelled down the coast to have a picnic on the cliffs. While she was taking a photograph the cliff collapsed and she fell into the sea. Her companions watched helplessly as she struggled to keep afloat. There was nothing they could do to save her.

	Hotels
	Port Kenny Hotel Flinders Hwy Port Kenny SA 5671 Telephone: (08) 8625 5004 Rating: **
	Cottages & Cabins
	Venus Bay General Store Accommodation Main St Venus Bay 5607 Port Kenny SA 5671 Telephone: (08) 8625 5075 Rating: ***
	Venus Bay Holiday Homes Main St Venus Bay 5607 Port Kenny SA 5671 Telephone: 0418 819 561 Rating: ***
	Venus Bay SA Holiday Homes Horne Res, Main St, Venus Bay 5607 Port Kenny SA 5671 Telephone: 0418 819 561
	Caravan Parks
	Port Kenny Caravan Park Flinders Hwy Port Kenny SA 5671 Telephone: (08) 8625 5076 Rating: **
	Venus Bay Caravan Park Matson St, Venus Bay 5607 Port Kenny SA 5671 Telephone: (08) 8625 5073
	Restaurants
	Port Kenny Hotel Flinders Hwy Port Kenny SA 5671 Telephone: (08) 8625 5004