Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area

Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area South Australia
IUCN category Ib (wilderness area)
Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area
Nearest town or city	Port Lincoln
Coordinates	34°55′51.5244″S 135°57′53.3124″E / 34.930979000°S 135.964809000°E / -34.930979000; 135.964809000Coordinates: 34°55′51.5244″S 135°57′53.3124″E / 34.930979000°S 135.964809000°E / -34.930979000; 135.964809000
Established	2004
Area	93.36 km2 (36.0 sq mi)
Managing authorities	Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources
Website	Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area
See also	Protected areas of South Australia

Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area is a protected area located on the south east tip of Jussieu Peninsula on Eyre Peninsula and on a number of nearby islands in South Australia about 25 km (16 mi) south-south east of Port Lincoln. It was established in 2004 on land previously part of the Lincoln National Park. The protection area contains significant sites of natural, indigenous and early European heritage.

The wilderness protection area occupies the south east tip of Jussieu Peninsula on Eyre Peninsula and the following islands - Hopkins, Little, Lewis and Smith in Spencer Gulf and Williams in the Great Australian Bight down to Mean Low Water Mark. Its extent on Jussieu Peninsula is bounded by the peninsula's coastline as follows: its eastern boundary extends from near Taylor’s Landing (a small cove located opposite to Taylor Island) in a southerly direction to Cape Catastrophe, its southern boundary extends from Cape Catastrophe in a westerly direction to West Point and its western boundary consists of the coastline of the east side of Jussieu Bay from West Point in a northerly direction to a point on the coastline approximately west of Memory Cove. The west and north sides of the wilderness protection area adjoin the Lincoln National Park.

Previously the land was part of the Lincoln National Park and its predecessors since 1941. During the 1980s, the land around Memory Cove was ‘identified as having some of the highest quality wilderness values in the state’. In 1992, a locked gate was installed on the road to Memory Cove in order to restrict access in order to minimise disturbance. In 1999, it was proposed to proclaim the area and the following islands - Hopkins, Lewis, Little, Smith and Williams, as a wilderness protection area under the Wilderness Protection Act 1992. On the basis of significant support for the proposal, the area was excised from the park and formally proclaimed as the Memory Cove Wilderness Protection Area on 30 September 2004. Prior to being part of a protected area, the land supported the Aboriginal tribes of Barngala and Nauo as well as a small amount of agricultural activity by European settlers.