For many thousands of years, the area around Streaky Bay has been inhabited by the
Wirangu people. In 1627,
Dutch explorer
Pieter Nuyts, in the
Gulden Zeepaard (Golden Seahorse), became the first
European to sight the area. In 1937 an obelisk was erected on the median strip in Bay Road, near the Alfred Terrace intersection. It was described by
W. H. Howard as "The only monument in Australia commemorating the ter-centenary of an historic event". In 1802,
Matthew Flinders named Streaky Bay whilst on his voyage in the
Investigator. In his log of 5 February 1802, he notes: "And the water was much discoloured in Streaks... and I called it Streaky Bay" It is now thought these streaks are caused by the release of
oils by certain species of
seaweed in the bay. The first European land exploration was conducted on behalf of the Secondary Towns Association by
John Hill and
Samuel Stephens, whose expedition arrived at Streaky Bay on 15 August 1839 using the chartered brig
Rapid as a base. A fortnight later, on 25 August 1839,
Edward John Eyre, who had explored overland from
Port Lincoln, arrived at the locality and established a small base about 3 kilometres from what is now the Streaky Bay Township, which he used as a store for his overland expeditions to Point Bell. That site, known as
Eyre's Waterhole, is listed on the
South Australian Heritage Register, and can still be seen just off the
Flinders Highway. The Streaky Bay and nearby
Elliston areas became taboo for the
Aboriginal people of the region following conflict with European settlers in the mid-19th century. There were killings on both sides, the most significant event being the
Waterloo Bay massacre of a large number of Aboriginal people in May 1849. Pastoralists moved into the area from 1854. The town was officially proclaimed in 1872 as
Flinders, but was changed to
Streaky Bay in 1940, to reflect local usage.
Wheat growing began in the 1880s and, by 1906, 31,000 bags of wheat and 470 bales of
wool had been exported from Streaky Bay by ship. By that time a
telegraph office had been established and regular
mail deliveries were made from
Port Lincoln. In September 1918, a massive
blue whale, over 26 metres long, was cast onto rocks on Gibson's Peninsula. Its
skeleton is still on display in the
South Australian Museum. ==Geography==