Southern Yorke Surprises
We spent a couple of days tracing the lower curve of the Yorke Peninsula, exploring the little towns of Stansbury, Edithburgh, and Wool Bay, each with its own quiet charm and story to tell.
Our first stop was Stansbury, where the calm waters and classic jetty scenes made us slow right down. The town’s silo art is a standout, featuring sweeping coastal imagery that pays homage to the region’s fishing heritage. It’s a striking backdrop against the soft blues of the ocean and sky.
From there, we cruised down to Edithburgh, a town that feels like it’s been built for wandering. We parked near the foreshore and walked up to visit the metal horse sculpture, a life-sized piece that honours the role of working animals in the area’s past. There's something stoic and grounded about it, a reminder of the grit that built these coastal communities.
We finished the loop at Wool Bay, where the old lime kiln still stands above the cliffs. Once a vital part of South Australia’s construction industry, it’s now a quiet relic overlooking the sea. You can feel the history in the stone, and the view from the top is beautiful.
The lime kiln at Wool Bay is a fascinating piece of industrial history. Built in the early 1900s, it was used to burn limestone to create quicklime, a key ingredient in mortar and cement. Local limestone was loaded into the kiln from above and layered with timber, then set alight in a slow, controlled burn that could take days. Once cooled, the processed lime was bagged and loaded straight onto boats from the jetty below, ready to be shipped off to Adelaide and beyond. Though silent now, the kiln still stands tall. A reminder of the hard, hot work that shaped early settlements across South Australia.
Three towns, one small journey, and a whole lot of coastal character.
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