The first view of Ceduna from Eyre Highway

St Francis Island, Nuyts Archipelago

Australian fur seals on St Francis Island, Nuyts Archipelago

Ceduna is a small town in the West Coast region of South Australia that is the last major settlement before crossing the Nullarbor Plain from east to west. It is also the western gateway to the Eyre Peninsula and the southern reaches of the Great Australian Bight.

Situated in the northwest corner of Eyre Peninsula, it is west of the junction of the Flinders and Eyre Highways around 786 km northwest of the capital Adelaide.
With a population of 2,304, Ceduna is set on Murat Bay and the sandy coves, sheltered bays and offshore islands of the bay make it a popular base for a beach holiday. The name is a corruption of the local Aboriginal word Chedoona and is said to mean a place to sit down and rest.
The foreshore at Ceduna is lined with Norfolk Island pine trees. There is a jetty for walking, fishing and small boats. The port town/suburb of Thevenard lies 3 km to the west on Cape Thevenard.
Ceduna is a town of some 4000 people supported by a number of local industries, including wheat farming, gypsum mining, salt mining, and commercial fishing for a number of local fish species such as the much renowned King George Whiting, Snapper, Garfish, Prawns and Lobsters which are known locally as Crayfish.
Recent developments have also seen the discovery of 6 heavy mineral sands deposits within the "Eucla Basin". This extensive mineral sands province ranges eastwards of Ceduna through to Western Australia.
Ceduna's annual Oysterfest is a major attraction on the October long weekend. Established in 1991, it celebrates the oyster industry in the clean waters of SA's far-west coast, with a wide variety of activities, including a gala dinner, a charity quest, live concerts, children's amusements and a street parade. The finale is marked by a fireworks display.

History: European contact with the coast near Ceduna began in the early 17th century, 166 years before the establishment of the first European settlement on Sydney Harbour, when the islands offshore were first charted. In 1622 that the Governor General of Dutch East Indies, Jan Pieterszoon Coen, made plans and gave instructions for a thorough investigation of the South Land. He wanted 'to ascertaining as much of the situation and nature of these regions as God Almighty shall vouchsafe to allow'. In 1627 the crew of the Gulden Zeepaert, under the command of Francois Thijssen, touched the most southerly part of the continent and sailed east as far as present day Ceduna. 1,800 km of Australia's south coast were traversed and mapped, between Cape Leeuwin and Nuyts Archipelago. The land was named Pieter Nuytsland, after one of the 220 passengers on board, Pieter Nuyts, an esteemed councillor of India who planned to settle in Java. Two of the islands discovered were named St Peter and St Francis on what became Australia Day (26th January) 1627. Later, both French and English navigators, including Matthew Flinders, praised the accuracy of the Dutch mapping, the first of any part of the southern coast. They are now the oldest place names in South Australia. Not finding anything of their liking or to trade, most of the Dutch soon lost interest in New Holland and very few thought of colonising it or establishing a small foothold or port. However on 20th May 1717, Jean Pierre Purry, who had been working for the Dutch East Indie Company (VOC) tried to convince the Governor of Batavia that a colony should be established in Nuytsland. He came up with several good reasons but was unsuccessful. When back in Holland he put together a small book on the subject, which was published in Amsterdam in 1718.
Europeans did not establish a permanent settlement on Murat Bay until a whaling station was established on nearby St. Peter's Island during the 1850s. Ceduna was the site of a major satellite telecommunications facility operated by the Overseas Telecommunications Commission. This facility was a major employer in the town until the facility became redundant due to technological changes.

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