Port Rickaby

Port Rickaby, south of Port Victoria on the western side of Yorke Peninsula, is now a beachside holiday destination but was once an active grain port frequented by steamships and ketches. The port is named after Thomas Rickaby, an early settler pastoralist who arrived in South Australia from Ireland aboard the ship Marshal Plecier in 1858. Rickaby was the founder of the Orange Lodge in South Australia and served in the South Australian Mounted Police in Goolwa and the Far North. In 1877 Rickaby was integral in lobbying for the construction of the Port Rickaby jetty, which was needed for transporting grain grown on the Yorke Peninsula.

The original jetty was completed in 1879 and was lengthened several times to accommodate the mooring of a number of grain ships at one time. At completion the jetty measured 282 metres.

Some of the ships that visited Port Rickaby include the Falie, the Jessie Darling and Coringle, which is the name of the drive running along the Port Rickaby shoreline.

Port Rickaby's function changed with the advent of bulk grain handling and transport at Wallaroo, and the town became more of a holiday retreat.

In the 1960s the jetty was reduced in length, and is now used for recreational fishing. Other holiday activities include boating, bird-watching, walking trails, snorkelling and swimming.

Further reading:

Carmichael, Ern, The ill-shaped leg: a story of the development of Yorke Peninsula , Fullarton, S. Aust., 1973

Collins, Neville C., The jetties of South Australia: past and present, Woodside, S.A.: Neville Collins, 2005, page 129

Cook, Diana. The Striding years: a history of the Minlaton District Council area, Minlaton, S. Aust.: Minlaton District Council?, 1980, pages 66-68

Cyclopedia of South Australia in two volumes, edited by H.T. Burgess, Facsimile edition. Hampstead Gardens, S.A.: Austaprint, 1978 vol. 2, p. 675-676

Parsons, Allan, Yorke Peninsula ... a resident's views , Yorketown, S. Aust.: A. Parsons, 1987