Cliffs at Ardrossan. Silos and jetty can be seen in the background. Beach in the foreground

Ardrossan's imposing red cliffs provide the early morning riser with a fascinating light show as the rising sun strikes the cliff and brings about an amazing range of colours. While the cliffs dominate the forshore, a little further south a rich mine of dolomite provides a major export from the region, along with the wheat and barley.

Cambrian fossils - trilobites - were discovered by the local school teacher Otto Tepper in 1878: the cliffs are composed of Ardrossan clays and sandrock thought to be formed by a 'slow creep down the very gentle slopes characteristic of the relief at this time. These deposits blanketed vast areas of the peninsula' (Crawford p. 65) They also feature pseudo-stratification and are overlaid by kunkar or limestone.

Ardrossan's bulk handling facilities were the first in South Australia and came into operation in 1953. The grain elevator tower is 74 metres, the largest in the state, and the conveyor belt can load 2,400 tonnes of dolomite, 900 tonnes of grain or 750 tonnes of salt per hour. The new jetty was built several kilometres south of the old one, which continues to be used by fishermen and tourists. The facilities were built by BHP under an agreement with the state government that ensured they could handle grain as well as the dolomite that BHP mined locally. The Port of Ardrossan is operated by the Australian Barley Board (ABB Grain Ltd).

Crawford, A R The geology of Yorke Peninsula. Geological Survey of South Australia. Bulletin no. 39 Adelaide, 1965.

Tepper, J. G. O. Introduction to the cliffs and rocks at Ardrossan, Yorke's Peninsula [Adelaide: Philosophical Society of Adelaide, 1879]

Ardrossan and Cunningham Ward Centenary Book, 1873-1973 produced by M.L. Sanders [Ardrossan: District Council of Central Yorke Peninsula, Ardrossan and Cunningham Ward Centenary Committee, 1973?]