This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.
The history of the city is closely related to iron and steel production. It was founded in 1901 as the final stop for iron ore transports from the Middleback Ranges (until 1920 it was called Hummock Hill ). The ore was transported by ferry across the Spencer Gulf to Port Pirie , where it was used in the lead foundry. In the following years, the iron ore was also transported to Newcastle on the east coast for use in steel production. It was not until the late 1930s that a blast furnace and shipyard was built in Whyalla, initially only for warships, which led to the city's rapid growth.
In the mid-1970s, Whyalla had the largest shipyard in Australia, a coking plant, a steel mill and up to 33,000 inhabitants and was the second largest city in South Australia. After the collapse of the ship and iron and steel industries, the development went down just as quickly and around 21,000 people still live in the city today.
Whyalla is a steel plant of Arrium , it is the only remaining manufacturer of railroad tracks in Australia. There has been a railway line to Port Augusta since 1972.
Between May and September here the great Australian can cuttlefish (Sepia apama) are observed.
