Seacliff is a coastal suburb located in the capital city of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

;

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. Overseen by the council,

City of Holdfast Bay The City of Holdfast Bay is a local government area in the south-western coastal suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. History The council was formed 1 January 1997, when the City of Glenelg and City of Brighton councils were amalgamated by ...

, this suburb is adjacent to South Brighton, Seacliff Park, Marino and

Kingston Park Kingston Park is a suburb of Newcastle upon Tyne, about north west of the city centre. It is home to several large retailers, the largest being one of Tesco's flagship stores—at 11,055 square metres (119,000 sq ft) which was also t ...

. Seacliff Post Office opened on 1 July 1915 and closed in 1978.

History

Heritage listings

The suburb of Seacliff has an extensive list of heritage listed locations all deemed to have historical value. The Seacliff Hotel built in 1927, originally named the Hotel Australia and renamed in 1935, was proposed to be heritage listed in 1998. It received great publicity for being the headquarters for the English Test Cricketers during the Adelaide Test in the 1935 and 1936 tour. The Brighton and Seacliff Yacht Club formed in 1919, and later had its clubrooms built in 1927 after land was purchased by Tom Mayfield Hardy. It became home club to nationally and internationally renowned yachtsmen Sir James Hardy, and in 1966 hosted the 505 World Championships.

European settlement and development

Originally landing in 1836,

Colonel William Light William Light (27 April 1786 – 6 October 1839), also known as Colonel Light, was a British- Malayan naval and army officer. He was the first Surveyor-General of the new British Province of South Australia, known for choosing the site of ...

aboard the '' Rapid'' finally scouted somewhere he deemed suitable for settling. This was after rejecting locations of

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...

Port Lincoln Port Lincoln is a town on the Lower Eyre Peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia. It is situated on the shore of Boston Bay, which opens eastward into Spencer Gulf. It is the largest city in the West Coast region, and is located a ...

and

Encounter Bay Encounter Bay is a bay in the Australian state of South Australia located on the state's south central coast about south of the state capital of Adelaide. It was named by Matthew Flinders after his encounter on 8 April 1802 with Nicolas Baudi ...

. He named the bay which he stood "Holdfast Bay" after the ''Rapids anchor held as a storm blew in. Once Governor John Hindmarsh arrived and agreed to settle, South Australia was born, as the official proclamation of colonial government in South Australia was conducted. The location they landed would later be named Glenelg, which is north of Seacliff and shares the same stretch of beach. Settlement and colonising immediately begun and this led to the development across the coast and into Seacliff The coast between Seacliff and Outer Harbor (at the Port River estuary) is more interfered with by man with urban development than any other coast in South Australia.Bourman, P & Murray-Wallace, C & Harvey, N. (2019). Coastal Landscapes of South Australia. Retrieved from: https://www.adelaide.edu.au/press/system/files/media/documents/2019-04/uap-coast-sa-ebook.pdf. p. 58-61. Before European Settlement in the area, which started in the mid-1800s, there were large sand dune systems that spanned the coast all the way from the South of Kingston Park to the North of Outer Harbor, including the areas of Seacliff. These sand dunes extended for 30 km, were 20m high and travelled as far as 300m inlandHoldfast Bay City (n.d.) Down By the Sea. Retrieved from
Holdfast Bay booklet
/ref> Development over time removed the majority of the existing sand dune systems which naturally provided replenishments of sand. The diminishing of these sand dunes caused adverse effects to the condition of the coastline and existing ecosystems. To counteract the damage that development caused to the coastline and to maintain healthy beaches within and north of Seacliff, the protective measures of building

breakwaters A breakwater is a permanent structure constructed at a coastal area to protect against tides, currents, waves, and storm surges. Part of a coastal management system, breakwaters are installed to minimize erosion, and to protect anchorages, h ...

and

groyne A groyne (in the U.S. groin) is a rigid hydraulic structure built perpendicularly from an ocean shore (in coastal engineering) or a river bank, interrupting water flow and limiting the movement of sediment. It is usually made out of wood, concre ...

s was undergone to prevent the natural drift of sand moving North away from Glenelg. This alongside sand replenishment using an automated pumping system has ensured the maintenance of coastal development and sand supply for Seacliff Beach.

Indigenous significance

The traditional owners and custodians of the land, the

Kaurna The Kaurna people (, ; also Coorna, Kaura, Gaurna and other variations) are a group of Aboriginal people whose traditional lands include the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. They were known as the Adelaide tribe by the early settlers. Kaurn ...

people, are the original people of Adelaide and the Adelaide plains. Sand dunes near the shore located North of Seacliff and South of Largs Bay and Osborne, were once used to make camps for dances and ceremonies. The vast majority have long since been replaced by development, housing and by the Glenelg Wastewater Treatment Plant which was first commissioned in 1933. These dunes were also an important source of food and shelter for the Kaurna People as they provided a natural habitat for animals such as birds, reptiles and insects, as well as providing natural storm and tide protection. Witu-wattingga (or Wituwartingga) has become the accepted Kaurna name for the area from Seacliff to Brighton, although its origin is probably arose through confusion with ''Wita-wattingga'', the certified Kaurna name for an area around present-day Seacliff Park, meaning "in the midst of peppermint gums". There is, however, a

Kaurna language Kaurna ( or ) is a Pama-Nyungan language historically spoken by the Kaurna peoples of the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. The Kaurna peoples are made up of various tribal clan groups, each with their own ''parnkarra'' district of land and ...

meaning for ''witu-watti'', meaning "reeds in the middle" (or "in the midst of reeds"), so could be applied to some small, intermittent swamps with reeds in the area, such as the now extinct one near Young Street at the mouth of Seacombe Creek.

Environmental conservation

Sand dunes

The

in 2019 delivered a plan to improve the dunes along the coast including Seacliff. This includes combating the effects of development, human trampling and weed infestation of the sand dunes. Proposed methods of management involve breaking the areas of concern into management zones, removing damaging plant species such as weeds from the area, conducting re-vegetation and re-introduction of critical sand dune components which were removed or made missing by human intervention. These planned efforts outline the aim to improve the population of the endangered Hooded Plover habituating on Seacliff's shores. Specifically, by introducing continued signage and awareness, temporary fencing, chick shelters and monitoring. Also, the plan outlines the aim to combat the lack of native species of Fordune and Swale by re-vegetation.Holdfast Bay City. (2019). Holdfast Bay Dunes Biodiversity Action Plan. Retrieved from: https://cdn.holdfast.sa.gov.au/general-downloads/Development-and-Infrastructure/Holdfast-Bay-Dune-Biodiversity-Plan-2019-24.pdf. p. 47.

Recreational activities

The main recreational activities for Seacliff are water-based activities such as swimming, surfing,

snorkelling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, ...

, boating, yachting and fishing. Surfing is a recreational activity offered within Seacliff. With the stretch of beach including Seacliff being Adelaide's and South Australia's most popular,Beach Safe. (n.d.). Seacliff. Retrieved from: https://beachsafe.org.au/beach/sa/holdfast-bay/seacliff/seacliff Seacliff Beach is patrolled by the Seacliff Surf Life Saving Club which on the southern end of the Esplanade at Seacliff.Seacliff SLSC. (n.d.). Our Proud History. Retrieved from: https://www.seacliffslsc.com.au/our-history/ The Seacliff Surf Life Saving Club was initially founded in 1930 and located near the Seacliff Beach Hotel. Later in 1950 the clubhouse moved to its current position and in 2011 received a complete rebuild in conjunction with the City of Holdfast Bay and the South Australian Government. Fishing is popular along the stretch of beach including Seacliff, with the Seacliff rock flats being an attractive spot due to it being the Glenelg breakwater. Seacliff Beach has also been host to net fishing with fishers using the water as far back as 1930 Snorkelling is available in Seacliff and the adjacent coastal suburbs. There are a number of reefs reachable from Seacliff Beach including the Seacliff Reef which is from shore and is one of Adelaide's most popular spots. Visible fish include blue devils, boarfish, cuttlefish,

nudibranch Nudibranchs () are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod molluscs which shed their shells after their larval stage. They are noted for their often extraordinary colours and striking forms, and they have been given colourful nicknames to match, ...

s, leatherjackets, bullseyes,

wrasse The wrasses are a family, Labridae, of marine fish, many of which are brightly colored. The family is large and diverse, with over 600 species in 81 genera, which are divided into 9 subgroups or tribes. They are typically small, most of them le ...

, blue gropers and

leafy seadragon The leafy seadragon (''Phycodurus eques'') or Glauert's seadragon, is the only member of the genus ''Phycodurus'' and is a marine fish in the family Syngnathidae, which includes seadragons, pipefish, and seahorses. It is found along the sou ...

s. Sight-seeing is also a recreational activity offered by the suburb of Seacliff as the aesthetic value of Seacliff's views of beaches and cliffs has been appraised, as well as the views from neighbouring suburbs. Seacliff is home to boaters and yachters with the Brighton and Seacliff Yacht Club celebrating its 100-year anniversary in 2019, and being based on the Southern end of the Esplanade in Seacliff. Thanks to relatively safe waters, Seacliff's beach and the adjacent beaches are suitable for swimming as there are low waves and a far-spanning shallow bar. It is known however that strong currents can occur near the

Patawalonga The Patawalonga River is a river located in the western suburbs of the Adelaide metropolitan area, in the Australian state of South Australia. It drains an area of flat, swampy lands formerly known as the Cowandilla Plains or The Reedbeds, which ...

breakwater. Caution should be taken near the rocks at Seacliff, around the two

jetties A jetty is a structure that projects from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French word ', "thrown", signifying somet ...

on the stretch of beach, and in the bar, where occasional breaks occur leading to an increased water depth.

Demographics

Population

In the 2016 Australian census, the population of Seacliff was 1,957 people, with 950 people (48.7%) being male and 1000 people (51.3%) being female.ABS. (2018). Census of Population and Housing: Reflecting Australia – Stories from the Census, 2016. Retrieved from: https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/2071.0~2016~Main%20Features~Sex%20and%20Gender%20Diversity:%20Characteristics%20of%20the%20Responding%20Population~103ABS. (2016). 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved from: https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/SSC41298 The median age of people in Seacliff was 44, and there were 555 families, with the average children for families with children was 1.7. There were 9 people recorded as identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, making up 0.5% of the population. This is compared with the state measurement of 2% in South Australia and the country measurement in Australia of 2.8%.

Housing

The total number of private dwellings owned was 921, with about 2.3 people per household. The median weekly household income for Seacliff was $1,610 and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,950. For rent, the median weekly amount was $321. Each dwelling was found to be on average containing 1.7 motor vehicles. Of the number of private dwellings in Seacliff, 796 were occupied (89.5%) and 93 were unoccupied (10.5%).

Ancestry

900 respondents identified as having English ancestry (33.4%), 633 respondents identified as having Australian ancestry (23.5%), 232 respondents identified as having Irish ancestry (8.6%), 228 respondents identified as having Scottish ancestry (23.5%) and 152 respondents identified as having German ancestry (5.6%). Seacliff was measured to have a higher percentage of English ancestry than the percentage in South Australia (28.5%), lower percentage of Australian ancestry than South Australia's (25.0%), higher percentage of Irish ancestry than South Australia's (6.0%) and higher percentage of Scottish ancestry than that of South Australia (6.3%). German ancestry in Seacliff was measured to be just lower than that of the percentage in South Australia (5.8%).

Religious Affiliation

Within Seacliff, the five most predominant responses for religious affiliation were No Religion with 839 people (43.1%), Catholic with 357 people (18.3%), Anglican with 266 people (13.7%), Not Stated with 156 people (8.0%) and Uniting Church with 143 people (7.3%).

Transit to work

Respondents to the 2016 ABS census said they travel to work by; driving a car (62.8%), train (9.7%), car as a passenger (3.3%), by bicycle (1.6%). With 4.3% of responders claiming they work from home.

Occupation

The most common occupations of respondents to the 2016 ABS census were; Professionals (31.8%), Managers (15.1%), Clerical and Administrative Workers (12.8%), Sales Workers (10.9%), Technicians and Trades Workers (10.0%), Community and Personal Service Workers (9.8%), Labourers (5.9%) and Machinery Operators and Drivers (2.1%).

Language

The top five most common responses other than English from respondents to the 2016 ABS census said they speak; Italian (0.8%), German (0.6%), Swedish (0.4%), Greek (0.4%) and Portuguese (0.4%). With 88.8% of responders claiming they only spoke English at home.

References

{{City of Holdfast Bay suburbs Suburbs of Adelaide