Porter Lagoon, South Australia

Porter Lagoon is a rural locality in the Mid North region of South Australia, situated in the Regional Council of Goyder.[1] It was established in August 2000, when boundaries were formalised for the "long established local name". Most of the locality lies in the cadastral Hundred of Hanson; a small strip along the eastern side lies in the Hundred of Apoinga.[2]

Porter Lagoon
South Australia
Porter Lagoon
Coordinates33.823550°S 138.877270°E / -33.823550; 138.877270
Postcode(s)5416 [1]
LGA(s)Regional Council of Goyder
State electorate(s)Stuart [1]
Federal Division(s)Grey [1]
Localities around Porter Lagoon:
Hanson
Farrell Flat		 Hanson Burra
Farrell Flat Porter Lagoon Koonoona
Farrell Flat Black Springs Koonoona
Black Springs
FootnotesCoordinates[2]
Adjoining localities[2]

The area was originally the territory of the Ngadjuri people.[3] The dominant feature of the locality is the eponymous lagoon.[2] The lagoon can cover several miles in wet seasons, and is "intensely salty". It is used by "many thousands of water birds, pelicans, great cormorants, whiskered terns and silver gulls" at certain times of year.[4]

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, it was a popular alternate "seaside" attraction, with visitors coming from across the district.[5][6] It was a popular venue for aquatic sports when the water level was high enough, had both a boat club and a tennis club, and was also a popular hunting ground when wild fowl were in season.[7][8][9] The boat club had tenure of the lagoon in the late 1920s, and banned the drinking of alcohol in the vicinity.[10] In 1935 a newspaper correspondent wrote that the lagoon had been drying up, and was only six inches deep, with the water "always very salt, now positively brine".[11]

In 1939, a correspondent described swimming in Porter Lagoon as "the remedy being worse than the complaint" due to the water being at an exceptionally low level, such that bathers bore a "close resemblance to the Biblical character, Lot's wife, when they emerge from the brine", although they noted that the previous year it had been a "veritable 'sea-side' resort for residents living anywhere near it - hundreds of bathers taking full advantage of its cooling and invigorating prospects.[12] The Porters Lagoon Boat Club ceased to exist on 30 June 1947, having been weakened by a series of dry seasons and the impact of World War II.[13][14]

By the early 1950s, there was an issue with the provision of facilities at the lagoon, as the District Council of Burra Burra noted that they "had no one who could be made responsible for the maintenance of lavatories, etc., at this locality."[15] In 1954, the Burra Demobilised Soldiers' Association undertook a project to build conveniences such as toilets, dressing sheds and rainwater tanks, and received a license over the north end of the lagoon for that purpose.[14][16][17]

References
  1. "Search result(s) for Porter Lagoon, 5416". Location SA Map Viewer. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  2. "Search result(s) for Porter Lagoon, 5416". Property Location Browser. Government of South Australia. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  3. Emmaus to Worlds End: a history of the Robertstown Council Area. The Area - Its Settlement and Development: District Council of Robertstown. 1986.
  4. Hoskins, Paul M. (2011). Caleb. Xlibris Corporation. pp. 18–19. ISBN 9781465300331.
  5. "PORTER'S LAGOON". Burra Record. XV (328). South Australia. 27 February 1895. p. 3. Retrieved 27 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "Porter's Lagoon". Burra Record. XV (313). South Australia. 17 April 1895. p. 3. Retrieved 27 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "PORTER'S LAGOON". Burra Record. XXXXIX (1). South Australia. 5 January 1927. p. 3. Retrieved 27 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Historical Timelines". Burra History Group. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  9. "PORTER'S LAGOON". Burra Record. 58 (15). South Australia. 13 April 1937. p. 2. Retrieved 27 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "PORTER'S LAGOON". Burra Record. XXXXIXIII (4). South Australia. 30 January 1929. p. 3. Retrieved 27 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. "PORTER'S LAGOON". Burra Record. 56 (9). South Australia. 27 February 1935. p. 3. Retrieved 27 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "Porter's Lagoon Not So Good For Bathing". Burra Record. 60 (2). South Australia. 10 January 1939. p. 2. Retrieved 27 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. "District Council of Burra Burra". Burra Record. 70 (34). South Australia. 26 August 1947. p. 8. Retrieved 27 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ""Seaside Resort" For District". Burra Record. 84 (8). South Australia. 2 March 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 27 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. "District Council Of Burra". Burra Record. 80 (12). South Australia. 21 October 1952. p. 7. Retrieved 27 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. "DEMOBILISED SOLDIERS GET PERMIT". Burra Record. 85 (14). South Australia. 13 April 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 27 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. "Porters Lagoon Project". Burra Record. 86 (44). South Australia. 9 November 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 27 November 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
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