Address & Contact
48 Farrell St
Whyalla SA 5600
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In 1802 Matthew Flinders was the first European to navigate and chart this unknown coast of SA, solving the centuries old mystery as to whether Australia was one continent or two. A few
miles offshore he wrote, "...our prospect of a channel or strait, cutting off some considerable portion of Terra Australis, was lost..."
Ten months later, in January 1803, Louis-Claude de Freycinet (1779 - 1842) navigated and charted the isolated coast for the Baudin expedition. He and his crew spent a night at sea, off what was to become
Whyalla, and were impressed by the local scenery.
Located at the
intersection of Farrell and
Elliott Streets, until 2002 the Flinders
Lookout was a memorial to Matthew Flinders (1774-1814), Commander of HM Sloop Investigator, who surveyed and named Spencer Gulf. A memorial was unveiled on Pioneers Day in 1950 - erected under the auspices of the Royal Geographical Society of Australia, SA branch, with the generous contribution of Mr Essington Lewis (a famous BHP and
Whyalla name.)
As part of the Encounter 2002 project to recognise French exploration, the two
explorers were commemorated at the
lookout by contemporary sculptures and the area renamed the "Flinders and Freycinet Lookout". Signage refers to both the European and Aboriginal history of the region.
The
lookout offers excellent
views of the upper Spencer Gulf, Southern
Flinders Ranges and Middleback Range in the west.