Cape Wiles

Summary

Cape Wiles is a headland located on the west side of the southern tip of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia about 27 kilometres (17 miles) south west of the city of Port Lincoln. The cape is described by one source as being the south east extremity of “a broad promontory” of which Cape Carnot is the south west extremity at a distance of 3 nautical miles (5.6 kilometres; 3.5 miles) to the west. The cape also is the western extremity of Sleaford Bay.

Cape Wiles
South Australia
Cape Wiles is located in South Australia
Cape Wiles
Cape Wiles
Coordinates34°56′44.3″S 135°41′3.3″E / 34.945639°S 135.684250°E / -34.945639; 135.684250
Elevation143 m (469 ft)[1]
Location27 km (17 mi) south west of Port Lincoln

Name edit

Cape Wiles was named by Matthew Flinders on 19 February 1802 after James Wiles, a botanist whom he described as “a worthy friend at Liguanea, in Jamaica”, along with the nearby Liguanea Island.[2] Wiles had been a friend of Joseph Banks then became First Gardener on the Second Breadfruit Voyage (1791–1793) under William Bligh and Flinders had been a midshipman on the same voyage. He left the ship in Jamaica and became gardener at a public nursery, then Island Botanist. He later owned two coffee plantations.[3] Wiles was a beneficiary of slavery from the British West Indies.[4] The slaves on his plantations had been valued at £4,160.[5]

Uses edit

The cape is the site of a high frequency radar station which is used to collect data about wind direction and wave height. Since 2012, the waters adjoining its shoreline are within a habitat protection zone in the Thorny Passage Marine Park.[1][6][7][8][9][10][11]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Sailing Directions (Enroute), Pub. 175: North, West, and South Coasts of Australia (PDF). Sailing Directions. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2017. p. 182.
  2. ^ "EARLY WHALING OPERATIONS AT SLEAFORD BAY". Port Lincoln Times. Vol. VI, no. 351. South Australia. 15 June 1934. p. 5. Retrieved 9 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "James Wiles - Profile & Legacies Summary". Legacies of British Slave-ownership. University College London. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  4. ^ Coventry, C.J. (2019). "Links in the Chain: British slavery, Victoria and South Australia". Before/Now. 1 (1): 36. doi:10.17613/d8ht-p058.
  5. ^ "Wiles, James (1768 - 1851)". Biographical Notes. Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria, Australian National Herbarium. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  6. ^ "Search for feature SA0073095 (Cape Wiles (SA))". Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  7. ^ "The Commonwealth". The Register. 17 July 1913. p. 9. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  8. ^ "Early whaling operations in Sleaford Bay; Station established there in 1837; Historical review of western coastline". Port Lincoln Times. 15 June 1934. p. 5. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  9. ^ "Wiles, James (1768 - 1851)". Australian National Herbarium. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  10. ^ "IMOS - ACORN - Cape Wiles HF ocean radar station (South Australia Gulfs, South Australia, Australia)". Research Data Australia. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
  11. ^ "Thorny Passage Marine Park Management Plan 2012" (PDF). Department of Environment Water and Natural Resources. 2012. pp. 24/31. Retrieved 3 April 2014.

External links edit

  • Cape Wiles - video by Cy Starkman