The first town of any substance on the South Australian side of the Nullarbor Plain. It is a typical Wheatbelt town characterised by its many windmills which pump water up from a large underground basin.

Where is it?: 73 km west of Ceduna; 543 km west Port Augusta; 854 km north west of Adelaide.




To the south lie Lake MacDonnell, Point Sinclair and Cactus Beach. Lake MacDonnell is known to have the largest deposits of gypsum in Australia with estimated reserves in excess of 500 million tonnes. The gypsum, which is now railed to Thevenard (see Ceduna), has been mined since 1919. In the early days it was shipped from a jetty at Port Le Hunte. The gypsum, which is used both as a fertiliser and in the building trade, has been laid down to a depth of 4.8 metres.

Penong Woolshed on the western edge of the town is a restored 100 year old shearing shed, which now serves as an historic museum and arts and crafts shop.

The basin with the windmills near Penong is called Anjutabie Basin and wells were sunk from 1868 to 1884. In later years the windmill bores were sunk. Each windmill there is privately owned and supplies water for domestic use. Twenty six windmills service the people of the area.

Point Bell is a striking cliff-edged promontory of granite, situated to the south of Penong and 87 km west of Ceduna, reached from Shady La off Denial Bay Road. Point Bell is connected to the mainland by a slender isthmus. The wild beaches either side offer abundant choices for swimming, fishing and birdwatching. Access is by 4WD only. Point Bell Conservation Park has a small camping area is suitable for off-road camper trailers. Bring firewood and water, and use designated camping sites.

Coastal Settlements

Point Sinclair (21 km south): a popular location and a port for 100 years, the surf has placed in on the map and lead to the development of its camping area. Point Sinclair offers beach, rock and boat fishing and is a popular year-round fishing and camping location. Point Sinclair was named by Matthew Flinders after his midshipman Kennet Sinclair during his 1802 exploration of the coast). Its delightful 502 ha area of coastline is characterised by dramatic cliffs, blowholes and huge sand dunes. Point Sinclair was the first land in South Australia to come under a 1980 Heritage Agreement where, in exchange for not paying rates, a landholder agrees to maintain the native vegetation and allow access to the public.

Cactus

Well known in surfing communities as one of the best surfing beaches in Australia, Cactus has several excellent breaks which have made this remote part of the Great Australian Bight a mecca for surfers, some of whom have stayed on to live in the dunes. Cactus is a 20 km drive out from Port Sinclair, the last few kilometres across the salt flats of Lake McDonnell, through an arid but interesting area. Although access to the beach is through private property it is possible to camp for a fee although there is no fresh water on the site. Contact (08) 8625 1036 for more details.

Origin of name: 'Pening' is of Aboriginal origin, believed to be the Anglicised spelling and pronunciation of a local Aboriginal word meaning 'rock hole'.

Brief history: the area was first settled by Europeans in the 1880s but the town did not come into existence until the railway arrived in 1915. Large deposits of gypsum at Lake MacDonnell, the largest in Australia, with estimated reserves in excess of 500 million tonnes, were first mined in 1919.