People playing on the beach at Stansbury

Stansbury (including Wool Bay)
Pleasant and attractive holiday destination on the Yorke Peninsula.
Located 213 km west of Adelaide, Stansbury is substantial community on the coast of the Yorke Peninsula. It is 17 km from Port Vincent and 23 km from Yorketown. The main town centre is characterised by some attractive stands of Norfolk pine. The defining characteristic of Stansbury is that, unlike many of the coastal settlements on the Yorke Peninsula, it is looks very permanent. While it is clearly a family holiday resort, there are plenty of long established residences and little sign of the transience (cheap holiday homes, caravan parks etc) which characterise many of the smaller towns on the peninsula.

Prior to European settlement the whole of the Yorke Peninsula (which was always marginal land) was inhabited by the Naranga Aborigines. It is estimated that there were about 500 of them by the 1840s and this had reduced to a mere 40 by 1880. These Aborigines lived on a diet of oysters and fish supplemented by the kangaroos which abounded on the peninsula.

The first settler in the district was Alfred Weaver who brought 7,000 sheep with him. He was constantly confronted with problems in terms of disease, reliability of water and the penchant of the Aborigines to kill the sheep whenever they needed meat. Weaver built a shearing shed where Stansbury now stands.

Stansbury was originally known as Oyster Bay because of the region's reputation as a place where the best oyster beds in South Australia could be found. Governor Musgrave renamed the town 'Stansbury' after a mysterious 'Mr Stansbury' who was a friend of his. The Oyster Bay Hotel was completed in 1875 and the District Council was established in 1877 and the first Stansbury jetty, which was over 300 metres long, was constructed that same year at the cost of £3,750.

The town grew up as a ketch port. The grain from the surrounding area was brought to the port where it was loaded on ketches and shipped across Gulf St Vincent to be loaded on the larger ships at Port Adelaide.

Today the town operates as a service centre for the surrounding farmers but its primary focus is on tourism. It has a charm which is quite distinctive and it attracts holidaymakers from Adelaide who want to escape from the city.

Things to see:  

Dalrymple House which was completed in 1878 and was originally the old school house

Stansbury Museum
Dalrymple House which was completed in 1878 and was originally the old school house. It is now a folk museum with the original schoolrooms having a lot of interesting educational memorabilia. For more information contact (08) 8852 4231.

Police Station 1870s
Although the Police Station is historic the facade which has been placed on it has managed to make it one of the least interesting buildings in town.

Old Jetty
A symbol of earlier times when the port of Stansbury was alive with workers moving the grain from the surrounding farms onto the clippers which called into the port.

The Wool Bay jetty from the Wool Bay Lime Kiln

Wool Bay Lime Kiln
The sign on the cliffs above the Wool Bay Lime Kiln reads: 'The Wool Bay Lime Kiln was built between 1900-1910 and was used for burning lime. Lime production was a significant industry on the Yorke Peninsula from the turn of the century to the 1950s. A number of kilns were built around Stansbury and Wool Bay to burn the lime. The lime was mainly exported to Adelaide for use as building mortar. Limestone was readily available in the area and tea tree, cleared to open farm land, was used as fuel. While many kilns were changed to oil burning, the Wool Bay kiln was a draw kiln using wood, and was not converted. Due to the cliff top location, variation in wind conditions caused problems. This kiln was not a great success, but is one of a few still in reasonable condition and represents the past lime industry of the Yorke Peninsula. The lime industry declined in the 1950s largely due to competition from hydrated lime imported from Melbourne.'

Today Wool Bay is a popular holiday destination for fishermen and people wanting a safe, sandy beach to relax on.

	Tourist Information
	Dalrymple Store St Vincent St Stansbury SA 5582 Telephone: (08) 8852 4400
	Motels
	Oyster Court Motel South & West Tce P.O. Box 77 Stansbury SA 5582 Telephone: (08) 8852 4136 or 018 817 902 Rating: ***
	Stansbury Holiday Motel Adelaide Rd Stansbury SA 5582 Telephone: (08) 8852 4455 Rating: ****
	Hotels
	Dalrymple Hotel Anzac Pde Stansbury SA 5582 Telephone: (08) 8852 4202 Rating: **
	Dalrymple Hotel Anzac Pde Stansbury SA 5582 Telephone: (08) 8852 4202
	Apartments
	Drummonds Holiday Apts 10 Richards St Stansbury SA 5582 Telephone: (08) 8849 4565 Rating: **
	Stansbury Villa Holiday Apts Adelaide Rd P O Box 99 Stansbury SA 5582 Telephone: (08) 8852 4282 Rating: ***
	Wool Bay Apts 8 Esplanade Wool Bay Stansbury SA 5582 Telephone: (08) 8852 8137
	Wool Bay Holiday Apts 7 The Esplanade Wool Bay Stansbury SA 5582 Telephone: (08) 8852 8284
	Cottages & Cabins
	Lavendar Blue Cottage 12 St Vincent St Stansbury SA 5582 Telephone: (08) 8852 4203
	Pickering Cottages Coringle Rd Wool Bay Stansbury SA 5582 Telephone: (08) 8852 8226
	Willow Holiday Cabins 3 Pioneer St P.O. Box 149 Stansbury SA 5582 Telephone: (08) 8852 4303
	Caravan Parks
	Stansbury Oyster Point Drive Park Oyster Point Dve. P.O. Box 101 Stansbury SA 5582 Telephone: (08) 8852 4171 Facsimile: (08) 8852 4414 Rating: **