port augusta

[clash123]

Hi All
Was looking for any general info on port augusta /wyalla , its about 300 km,s from adelaide ,but im sure somebody must have been there , any help will be much appreciated .

cheers

scott

[everhopeful]

Hi Scott

We travelled thro Port Augusta on the way to Wyalla several years ago on a weeks trip. What info did you want and I will see if I can help

Regards

Joanna

[clash123]

hi joanna

Just looking for a general opinion of the place ,ie is it nice or is it a dump ,have been offered work there ,but have had mixed info about what its really like ,so looking for first hand experiences off people who have been there ,so anything you think might help will be good .

thanks

scott

[salisbury massive]

House prices have gone up in both places by about 20% in the last year because of the mining boom. Its a good 3 hour drive from Adelaide and to be honest I'm not sure its a place I would want to live.

Here are the websites for the local councils

http://www.portaugusta.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm

http://www.whyalla.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm

Some general history

http://www.nullarbornet.com.au/towns/ptAugusta.html

http://www.whyalla.com/site/page.cfm

jo

[clash123]

cheers for the info jo ! im thinking the same myself about living there , really trying to see the best of it , but im struggling to be honest ,have been researching for a while ,but need real life stories , so anything else will help

scott

[jd*]

Hi

I lived in Whyalla for a while- it takes 4 hours to drive there from Adelaide, 5hrs 10 mins on the bus or 25 mins by plane.

Whyalla is termed a desert or out back town, it's coastal and can get very hot during the day and pretty cold at night, it doesn't rain much, but there is a windy season.

There's a few hotels, a small shopping centre, a cinema/theatre, indoor pool, etc, most things you need or else there's Port Augusta - 45 mins drive away - or the big one - Adelaide.

The main employer is One Steel and the factory emits a pinkish dust, which settles over Whyalla, most houses, roads, etc are tinged with a pink/rusty colour.

[Roo1]

I really don't like giving personal opinions about a place, as one man's paradise is another man's ????? (how does that end again??).

Ian and I past through Port Augusta on the way to Ayers Rock last year. I'd never been there before but Ian was detrmined not to stay too long as he said it was a "dump".
What I did see was a nice, well kept little jetty with boats tied up BUT we also lots of little groups of 20 somethings just hanging out drinking and smoking by the dockside. As this was mid week, I can only assume they were unemployed.

As this was only a fleating visit, I'm hardly the best person to comment so hopefully more people on here can give you a better description of the place.

Judi x

[zx6roo]

I'd pick Whyalla over PA any day however I would never choose to live at either.

Is there a reason you chose those towns? maybe we could suggest others?

[clash123]

cheers for the replies , it must be close to port augusta ,due to the work , so if you know of any decent places nearby ,please let us know , car,nt be arsed with herberts on my street corner ,enuff of them ere ....

[zx6roo]

Quorn is nice an quiet (but has a smelter).
Unfortuantely that's the big industrial area. You have the smelter at Port Pirie, Whyalla has One steel, Port Bonython has the oil tankers, Port Augusta has the power station & smelters.

You might already hav these websites, they'll give some of the good aspects of the area as well as about the industries there :) Actually there is good fishing up there and there is always sharks in that part of the gulf. I communte up to Pirie every other week and I've seen a few lately.
http://www.nrdb.com.au/index.php?id_pag=31
http://www.portaugusta.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=826
http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/heritage/ships_graveyards/histories.html
http://www.whyalla.com/site/page.cfm?u=87
http://www.upperspencergulf.com/default.aspx?pageid=infrastructure_transport