Fowlers Bay, South Australia. Fowlers Bay (31.9896° S, 132.4379° E) is a sheltered east-facing bay, located in lee of the prominent Point Fowler. It is the westernmost settlement in South Australia, with the next town located 1000 kmto the west at Esperance. The bay was first used by whalers in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and remains of their camp can be found along the bay shore together with a stone shelter located on the point used as a lookout for whales. A landing was established at Fowlers Bay in the 1860s to service large sheep runs nearby and a jetty was later built and an active port established.However, it fell into disuse in the 1960s and by the 1980s it was a ghost town. The small remote town has been revitalised since the 1990s by tourism and holiday houses and now has a population of about 50. Temperate seagrass meadows, dominated by Posidonia and Zostera species, grow almost to the shore. In the image, seagrass debris is piled on the beach forming a seagrass berm. The berm is a perennial feature all low-energy beaches, such as this one, along the southern Australian coast. They may reach 2min height and 50min width. In the background, high bare dunes are slowly transgressive towards parts of the town and have already buried some old buildings and roads. The dunes originate at high-energy Scotts Bay located 2 km to the south and are in the process of overpassing the headland. Attempts are being made by the locals to stabilise the leading edge of the dunes, with little success. (Photograph taken on 17 November 2019 by AndrewD. Short, School of Geosciences,University of Sydney, NewSouthWales, Australia.)
Fowlers Bay, South Australia. Fowlers Bay (31.9896° S, 132.4379° E) is a sheltered east-facing bay, located in lee of the prominent Point Fowler. It is the westernmost settlement in South Australia, with the next town located 1000 kmto the west at Esperance. The bay was first used by whalers in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and remains of their camp can be found along the bay shore together with a stone shelter located on the point used as a lookout for whales. A landing was established at Fowlers Bay in the 1860s to service large sheep runs nearby and a jetty was later built and an active port established.However, it fell into disuse in the 1960s and by the 1980s it was a ghost town. The small remote town has been revitalised since the 1990s by tourism and holiday houses and now has a population of about 50. Temperate seagrass meadows, dominated by Posidonia and Zostera species, grow almost to the shore. In the image, seagrass debris is piled on the beach forming a seagrass berm. The berm is a perennial feature all low-energy beaches, such as this one, along the southern Australian coast. They may reach 2min height and 50min width. In the background, high bare dunes are slowly transgressive towards parts of the town and have already buried some old buildings and roads. The dunes originate at high-energy Scotts Bay located 2 km to the south and are in the process of overpassing the headland. Attempts are being made by the locals to stabilise the leading edge of the dunes, with little success. (Photograph taken on 17 November 2019 by AndrewD. Short, School of Geosciences,University of Sydney, NewSouthWales, Australia.)