Heritage Places
Heritage Place Details
| LOCATION |
| Map |
Show Map
|
| Address |
off Franklin Parade ENCOUNTER BAY |
| Locality |
|
| Accuracy |
H - high level confidence |
| Development Plan |
Victor Harbor Council |
| Polygon Type |
D - item has been digitised (generally because it doesn't exist in a DCDB parcel, eg. bridge |
| DESCRIPTION |
| Details (Known As) |
Rosetta Head Well and Whaling Station Site (former Encounter Bay Whaling Station) (designated place of archaeological significance) |
| Registered Name |
Rosetta Head Well and Whaling Station Site |
| Significance |
STATEMENT OF HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE:
The Rosetta Head Well and Whaling Station Site is on the lands and waters of the Ramindjeri people of the lower Fleurieu Peninsula, who are a part of the Ngarrindjeri Nation. The site represents a once significant early industry that no longer exists in South Australia. Founded by the South Australian Company in 1837 and continually operating until 1851, it was the longest-running whaling station in the State. It played an important role in the establishment of the whaling industry in South Australia as a prototype for other whaling stations and made a notable contribution to the fledgling colony's economic development.
The Rosetta Head Whaling Station is also an important contact site between European colonists and the Ramindjeri people. To Ramindjeri people, the whale is known as Kondli (a spiritual being), and due to their connection and knowledge, a number of Ramindjeri were employed at the station as labourers and boat crews. Therefore, Rosetta Head is one of the first places in South Australia where European and Aboriginal people worked side by side.
Evidence suggests that some archaeological deposits and artefacts associated with the station may survive at this site. Investigation of these deposits and artefacts may reveal further information about early contact between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal South Australians, or about how the whaling industry operated during the first 14 years of colonial settlement.
Rosetta Head Whaling Station is currently the only whaling site in South Australia that has an associated early whaling ship whose site has been discovered.
STATEMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL DESIGNATION:
As one of the first examples of a shore-based whaling station operated by the South Australian Company and one of the State's earliest organised industries, the Rosetta Head Whaling Station played a significant role in the State's early economic development. In an industry where such establishments rarely lasted longer than five years, and most for considerably less time, Rosetta Head's continuous operation for 15 years was the longest of South Australia's known whaling stations. During that time, ephemeral structures were erected to process the whale blubber for oil and to house the men that worked the station. Some structures, such as the storeroom, were more substantial and thus more likely to leave subsurface indications of their construction and use.
While above-ground structures are no longer present, the discovery of the well and other subsurface features demonstrates the site's potential to retain archaeological evidence of the station's occupation and management. Similarly, the recent discovery of Aboriginal skeletal material adjacent to the whaling station site, dated to 200 years old, only a decade or two prior to establishment of the station, indicates the potential for the site to retain evidence of post-contact interactions between Aboriginal people and the early whalers, and provide information on Aboriginal use of European materials. The site has archaeological significance as it is likely that it will yield information that will inform a better understanding of bay whaling industrial processes, the lifestyles of the whalers and, potentially, aspects of the interactions and cooperation with the Ramindjeri people, who were employed at the station.
The site of the historic shipwreck South Australian, which was employed as an offshore whale processing vessel at the station, also provides potential to archaeologically inform aspects of station life and early whaling practices. |
| Subject Index |
Maritime industry - Whaling Station |
| Class |
State |
|
|
| STATUS |
| Status Code |
REG - Confirmed as a State Heritage Place in the SA Heritage Register |
| Status Date |
05-AUG-2021 |
| REFERENCE |
| LGA |
Victor Harbor |
| State Heritage ID |
26454 |
| Heritage Number |
28111 |
|
|
|
| SECTION 16 INFORMATION |
| Section 16 |
b - it has rare, uncommon or endangered qualities that are of cultural significance
c - it may yield information that will contribute to an understanding of the State's history, including its natural history
|
| PLAN PARCEL & TITLE |
| As listed in the SA Heritage Register |
| Plan Parcel & Title Information |
CT 0000/000 |
Disclaimer
While due care has been taken to ensure that the SA Heritage Places Database accurately reflects the South Australian Heritage Register and listings of Local Heritage Places in Development Plans, the State of South Australia does not accept liability for the use of the SA Heritage Database for any purpose. Users should consult the Department for Environment and Water - Heritage South Australia to confirm the listing of State Heritage Places and the relevant Development Plan for Local Heritage Places/Contributory Items.
In the majority of cases, the maps of State Heritage Places on this web site show the footprints of the most significant structures on a registered Place. However, sometimes they simply indicate the complete area of land comprising the Place. Work is proceeding to further refine the mapping of such places. It is also important to note that development control is not limited to the registered structures but extends to their setting and structures nearby (what is termed ‘development affecting’ a State Heritage Place). Hence it is vital that exact details of the listed place and implications for any proposed development be discussed with Heritage South Australia staff, as they cannot be deduced solely from the information on this web site. The inclusion of a place in the SA Heritage Register gives no right of public access. Permission to visit properties must be sought from the owners. The accuracy of the mapping of State Heritage Places is not guaranteed. Please contact Heritage SA ( https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/topics/heritage/sa-heritage-register) if you believe there is an error.
GIS files
To access downloadable GIS files, go to Data.SA.