Henley Beach
Named for English town of Henley-on-Thames, the Town of Henley Beach was promoted in the South Australian Register in 1860 as being "free from all the noxious smells which have been cause of complaint elsewhere".[3] The Register again advertised the township in 1874: "While admitted to be one of the finest in the colony, [it] has been somewhat neglected owing to the road not being made. The District Council and private enterprise, however, have overcome this..."
Henley Jetty is as popular for pleasant walks as it is for fishing from. Henley Square is a popular Adelaide dining spot, offering fine cafes and restaurants including Thai and Greek.
Henley Beach boasts the first surf life saving club in South Australia established in 1925 and its still going strong. Sadly the same cannot be said of the legendary Henley Pool. All that is left are three starting blocks. Just like the pavilion that once stood proudly on the end of the jetty, the pool took some pretty severe poundings. It survived the storm in 1948 that splintered the jetty at Glenelg, and took another beating in 1953. Masses of concrete were poured into the pool to save it, but not long after the deep end disappeared along with the diving boards.
Henley Beach had its beginnings on 1st November 1850, when William Bartley obtained the land grant for the land on which Helney now stands. By May 1877 the land was in the hands od developers Arthur Harvey, Henry S. Anthony and William P. Wicksteed who laid out the official town of Henley Beach. In May 1869, the township was described: " The hotel and one or two cottages constitute the present representatives of the future rival to Glenelg. Access on the land side is obtained by means of an omnibus which makes two or three trips daily at a cost of a shilling each way... A post office subsidy compels daily trips between Adelaide and Fulham, a mile or so inland, and the proprietor of the bus apparently considers that he is only doing his fair share toward developing the trade of Henley Beach, by running his conveyance over the remaining distance, even though at first it may not repay the extra outlay..."
The Henley Surf Life Saving Club is located 100 m south of the jetty. The entire beach is backed by residential development, including a seawall and road paralleling the back of the beach, with a continuous low tide bar attached to the beach. This section of coast is relatively safe inshore and on the attached portions of the inner bar. Care must be taken in the trough particularly if occupied by currents, and on the outer bar. Children sometimes get caught on the bars by the rising tide.
The surf here depends on the winds, with strong westerlies required to produce a sloppy beach break. Occasionally high outside ocean swell reaches the beaches as a low swell.
Many fishers use the Patawalonga and Torrens boat ramps to launch their boats for outside fishing, while the two jetties and the Patawalonga Creek mouth are the most popular shore locations. Along the beaches the migrating bars and higher wave produce a range of holes and gutters along the beach, which change over time.
