Elliston is a small coastal town in South Australia on the west coast of Eyre Peninsula 169 km northwest of Port Lincoln and 641 km west of Adelaide. The township is located on Waterloo Bay. It has a rainfall of 426 mm per annum, and a Mediterranean climate.^[2] At the 2006 census, Elliston had a population of 377.

History

The first recorded exploration of the adjacent coastline was by Matthew Flinders in the vessel HMS Investigator from 10–13 February 1802. He named the offshore islands but did not note the presence of Waterloo Bay in his log.

Edward John Eyre explored the area on land in 1840 and 1841 on a journey to Western Australia from Port Lincoln. Originally named Waterloo Bay, the township was later named by Governor Sir William Jervois on a plan for the town on 23 November 1878. Locally it is believed to be named after the writer and educator Ellen Liston who was born in England in 1838 and emigrated to South Australia in 1850. She was a governess working on a local property (Nilkerloo) owned by John Hamp.

It has also been suggested that Jervois, who had a military background chose to honour Sir Henry Walton Ellis (1783–1815) who was a hero of the Battle of Waterloo during which campaign he died of his wounds. The area was settled in the 1840s with Elliston being the central port from which the early settlers transported their wool and wheat to market. Sailing ships and later steam ships crossed Waterloo Bay’s notorious reefed entrance. A number of ships foundered in the bay due to its narrow entrance and variable tides.

5^th March, Thursday

We left Coffin Bay late this morning as it wasn’t a long drive to Elliston. The scenery is again all farmland with 2 huge salt lakes along the way. There was only one place along the way to stop, a little road house in the middle of nowhere called Shiranga and just outside of the door is a little opening which is the pub, quite quant. There is a sign there saying 13kms to Nowhere Else and there really is a place called Nowhere Else. We arrived in Elliston at lunch time and the caravan park is lovely, small and personal and exactly the sort of place we like to stay. We have a double site on lush green grass much to Hugos delight. We are lucky that it is not high season and that’s why we have been able to secure a double site just to ourselves. It’s cool, about 20 degrees and blowy but we have put the van against the wind so we are quite comfy. There are many awesome drives and sites to see here so we will take a drive tomorrow and check it out. Some bloke came back a while ago with 48 herring, he was fishing off the jetty so Ralph will go and throw a line in tomorrow and hopefully bring some dinner back, I shiver in anticipation and the mouth is drooling.

6^th March, Friday

This morning was chilly and overcast as we set out. We went for a walk along the jetty to watch what people were catching. There was one old bloke who had been there since 5.30 this morning, a real keen fisherman but we was reaping the rewards. There is a beautiful drive along the clifftops just outside of Elliston and the outlook from the cliffs is spectacular and breathtaking. These cliffs are on the Great Australian Bight and we have been told that what we are seeing now is nothing compared to what we will be seeing when we cross the Nullarbor. There are a number of sculptures along the clifftops and they don’t have the artists name or the name of the sculpture so you are left guessing. One of them we think is Neptune, not sure but they are lovely and well done. There are some querky ones as well. The sun came out and melted all the clouds away, it warmed up and the rest of the day was amazing. Ralph went to the jetty to try his luck on catching dinner but no takers, so steak it is tonight. We went for a walk along the beach in the late afternoon, we couldn’t go before because the tide was in so there was no beach. We had the beach to ourselves but Hugo wasn’t that keen on having a swim as there were waves and he’s a bit wary of them as he has been dumped a few times, the beach is full of little caves and they are great for exploring. . We got back to camp and chat, chat, chat to people and then had drinks with the couple next door. We headed in early as it gets really chilly when the sun goes in. Ralph says that he is going out fishing early tomorrow morning, we shall see HAHA, it’s chilly and staying in bed might be a better option, will keep you posted. Elliston is really beautiful and it’s so peaceful here. The beach and jetty are right across the road from the caravan park so we don’t have to drive.

7^th March, Saturday

Another beautiful day in Elliston. We took a drive to Port Kenny which is about 60kms from Elliston. There really isn’t that much to see there. The beach is full of seaweed and it stinks really bad, we can handle the smell of rotting seaweed but this was rank. There weren’t too many people there just the odd fishermen so we didn’t stick around. From there onto Venus Bay, it’s a lovely little town with some nice beaches and lots of fishing boats. We stopped for something to eat and the obligatory milkshake. From there, there is quite a bit to see along the coast line, Woolshed caves which are magnificent. There are stairs going down to the rocks and the cave and it is something to see. The coastline is still rugged and just so gorgeous. From there onto the Tub, it looks like a tub and there is an inlet under the rocks where the sea comes in. On the way back to Elliston there was a lookout with a monument which was dedicated to some guy who drowned there quite a while ago. He must have fallen off the cliffs because the beach is way down below. We stopped off a small cemetery in the middle of nowhere. It’s on a farm so it is accessed through the farm gates. I’m not sure if there was a town there at one stage because there is no mention of anything being there and it is odd to find a cemetery so far from anywhere. When we got back to the campsite we booked for an extra day as it really is lovely here. We were going to Streaky Bay after this but have decided to cancel that and head straight for Ceduna. We have been told by a few people that the vans in Streaky Bay are packed in like sardines and there is a big fishing competition there at the moment, not our cup of tea so we will head further along the coast. We had drinks with our neighbours and some people we met at another camp site pulled in so they joined us.

8^th March, Sunday

Ralph got up early this morning to go fishing at the jetty. He came back with 1 herring which we put on the bbq with our steak, just a little taster and a tease. No one is catching anything here even the guys that are going out on their boats are getting nothing. We spent the day vegging so not much to tell.

9^th March, Monday

It was raining very lightly until late morning. We started packing up and doing some housework. We went to the pub for lunch (fish and chips, seeing as Ralph didn’t catch anything) and very nice it was too. The sun came out at about lunch time although the wind is pretty cool. We head off for Ceduna tomorrow which is just before we hit the Nullarbor Plain.