Point Labatt is a

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, Jo ...

located on the west coast of

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Earlier called Eyre's Peninsula, it was named after e ...

in the

Australian state The states and territories are the national subdivisions and second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereignty, sovereign, administrative divisions that are autonomous administrative division, self-governing polity, ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

about south by east of

Streaky Bay Streaky the Supercat is a fictional superhero cat that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #261 (February 1960) and was created by Jerry Siegel and Jim Mooney. He is Supergirl's pet cat who g ...

. It is notable as one of the largest Australian mainland breeding sites for

Australian sea lion The Australian sea lion (''Neophoca cinerea''), also known as the Australian sea-lion or Australian sealion, is a species of sea lion that is the only endemic pinniped in Australia. It is currently Monotypic taxon, monotypic in the genus ''Neopho ...

s. The land and the sea adjoining Point Labatt is part of three

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

s - the

Point Labatt Conservation Park Point Labatt Conservation Park is a protected area occupying Point Labatt on the west coast of Eyre Peninsula in South Australia about South by east of Streaky Bay. The conservation park was proclaimed in July 1973 under the ''National Parks ...

, the Point Labatt Aquatic Reserve and the West Coast Bays Marine Park.

Description

Point Labatt is located in the locality of

Sceale Bay Sceale Bay (formerly Yanera) (pronounced "Scale Bay") is a small town 32 km south of Streaky Bay, South Australia, Streaky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia. With a permanent population of only 28, the town's numbers increase by ...

on the west side of the Calca Peninsula, a small peninsula on the west coast of Eyre Peninsula, at a distance of about South by east of Streaky Bay and about west-northwest of Adelaide. When viewed from a platform such as a ship, Point Labatt appears as the start of a line of uninterrupted cliffs starting at a height of that runs in a south easterly direction and that rises to a height of at Cape Radstock, the north head of Anxious Bay.

Formation, geology and oceanography

Point Labatt as a headland was formed when the sea reached its present level 7,500 years ago after sea levels started to rise at the start of the

Holocene The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...

. Point Labatt and the adjoining cliff line consists of a

calcarenite Calcarenite is a type of limestone that is composed predominantly, more than 50 percent, of detrital (transported) sand-size (0.0625 to 2 mm in diameter), Carbonate rock, carbonate grains. The grains consist of sand-size grains of either cor ...

known as the Bridgewater formation overlying a red granite known as the

Hiltaba Suite The Gawler Craton covers approximately 440,000 square kilometres of central South Australia. Its Precambrian crystalline basement crustal block was cratonised ca. 1550–1450 Ma. Prior to 1550 Ma the craton comprised a number of active Protero ...

. The cliff top are finished with a soil consisting generally of a thin layer of calcareous material. The water adjoining the base of Point Labatt drops to a depth of within a distance of of its shore.DMH, 1985, chart 39

Naming

Point Labatt was named as Labatt Point in 1908 after Mr. J. B. Labatt, the Assistant Engineer of Harbours in the

South Australian Government The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government or the SA Government, is the executive branch of the state of South Australia. It is modelled on the Westminster system, meaning that the highest ranking mem ...

Flora and fauna

Flora

The flora present at Point Labatt consists of a combination of both low

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

and low open shrubland. The low shrubland features the following plant species: Ribbed thryptomene, Coastal Daisybush, '' Melaleuca lanceolata'', '' Triodia irritans'' and '' Lepidosperma concavum''. The low open shrubland features the following plant species: ''

Melaleuca halmaturorum ''Melaleuca halmaturorum'', commonly known as South Australian swamp paperbark, kangaroo honey-myrtle or salt paper-bark is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is native to Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria. It is often a ...

'', '' Calocephalus brownii'', '' Maireana oppositifolia'', Grey Saltbush and Nitre Bush.DENR, 1995, page 3

Fauna

The coastline immediately adjoining the point supports a colony of Australia sea lions which is notable as being one of the largest mainland breeding sites for this species in Australia. Other species of

Pinniped Pinnipeds (pronounced ), commonly known as seals, are a widely range (biology), distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semiaquatic, mostly marine mammals. They comprise the extant taxon, extant families Odobenidae (whose onl ...

sighted at Point Labatt include

Australian fur seal The brown fur seal (''Arctocephalus pusillus''), also known as the Cape fur seal, and Afro-Australian fur seal, is a species of fur seal. Description The brown fur seal is the largest and most robust member of the fur seals. It has a large an ...

and

New Zealand fur seal ''Arctocephalus forsteri'' (common names include the Australasian fur seal, South Australian fur seal, New Zealand fur seal, Antipodean fur seal, or long-nosed fur seal) is a species of fur seal found mainly around southern Australia and New Z ...

. Other mammal species possibly include the

western grey kangaroo The western grey kangaroo (''Macropus fuliginosus''), also referred to as a western grey giant kangaroo, black-faced kangaroo, mallee kangaroo, sooty kangaroo and (when referring to the Kangaroo Island subspecies) Kangaroo Island grey kangaroo, i ...

and the

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

while known to occur on the CaIca Peninsula, but have not been recorded in the vicinity of Point Labatt as of 1995. The following

feral A feral (; ) animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in som ...

mammal species have been recorded at the locality:

cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

es and

rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

s. As of 1995, the following bird species have recorded as being present at Point Labatt:

cormorant Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) ado ...

gull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the subfamily Larinae. They are most closely related to terns and skimmers, distantly related to auks, and even more distantly related to waders. Until the 21st century, most gulls were placed ...

tern Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae, subfamily Sterninae, that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated in eleven genera in a subgroup of the family Laridae, which also ...

swallow The swallows, martins, and saw-wings, or Hirundinidae are a family of passerine songbirds found around the world on all continents, including occasionally in Antarctica. Highly adapted to aerial feeding, they have a distinctive appearance. The ...

s, and

kestrel The term kestrel (from , derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour which is to hover ...

s. As of 1995, the following reptile species are recorded as being present: the shingle back lizard and a species of dragon lizard.

History

Aboriginal use

As of 1995, the extent of use of Point Labatt and adjoining land by the Nauo people, the

Aboriginal people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

who lived in the locality prior to European colonisation is not known.

European use

The land that adjoins Point Labatt was used for agricultural purposes until it was donated in 1972 by Ron, Myra and Ellen Freeman for the purpose of creating a protected area for the Australian sea lion colony. The ocean immediately adjoining the point was a popular site for

snorkelling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming face down on or through a body of water while breathing the ambient air through a shaped tube called a snorkel, usually with swimming goggles or a ...

with Australian sea lions prior to 1988. Point Labatt is considered to an important tourist destination within the

District Council of Streaky Bay The District Council of Streaky Bay is a Local government in Australia, local government area in South Australia located on the Eyre Peninsula. Streaky Bay, South Australia, Streaky Bay is the main population centre of about 1,200 people serving ...

, particularly as it and Seal Bay on

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...

are the only two places where Australian sea-lions can be easily observed in their natural habitat.

Protected area status

The point is associated with three protected areas. The first is the Point Labatt Conservation Park. The second is the Point Labatt Aquatic Reserve which protects the body of water immediately the south west of the conservation park's coastal frontage.PIRSA, 2007 The third is the West Coast Bays Marine Park which consists of a restricted access zone immediately the point.DENR. 1995, page 5 The point, some coastline to its immediate east and west as well as the adjoining waters with a total area of has been listed as a "wetland of national importance" in the

Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia A Directory of Important Wetlands in Australia (DIWA) is a list of wetlands of national importance to Australia published by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Intended to augment the list of wetlands of internatio ...

since 1996.Eyles et al, 2001, pages 73 & 77

Gallery

Image: 10 Point Labatt CP 05.JPG , Looking east from visitors’ observation area at Point Labatt. Image: 10 Point Labatt CP 02.JPG , Australian sea lions on beach at Point Labatt. Image: 10 Point Labatt CP 03.JPG , Australian sea lions on beach at Point Labatt. Image: Neophoca cinerea.JPG, Australian Sea Lion

Citations and references

Citations

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Point Labatt Headlands of South Australia Eyre Peninsula DIWA-listed wetlands Wetlands of South Australia