Visit Hummock Hill Lookout, Whyalla, South Australia

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Hummock Hill was sighted and named by Matthew Flinders in 1802. The town of Hummock Hill emerged in 1900 after BHP got leases on ore deposits in the ranges at what became Iron Knob. The ore was used for flux in the Pire smelter. A BHP tramway was built from the coast to Iron Knob in 1901 and a port established with ore shipped out from 1903. By 1905 the settlement had a school, general store and hall. In 1916 the town name was changed to Whyalla. From 1920 iron ore was shipped to the new steel works at Port Kembla in NSW. In 1939 BHP got a contract to build naval ships in its newly constructed blast furnace and iron works. The town grew rapidly because of this and the construction of a water pipeline from the River Murray. The first ship was launched in 1942 named the HMAS Whyalla which is now the Information Centre. After the war BHP built an integrated steel works in Whyalla (completed 1965) and built commercial ships. By 1976 Whyalla had 33,000 residents the largest city outside of Adelaide but with the loss of shipbuilding the city’s population is down to less than 22,000 people. The 1940s buildings in the main street were built in local red ironstone are and quite distinctive and attractive.

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