Port Neill was originally known as the township of ‘Carrow’, but was re-named Port Neill September 19th 1940.
Port Neill is an attractive coastal town on the eastern shore of Eyre Peninsula. Although only 3km off the Whyalla-Port Lincoln highway, it is a tranquil backwater, with protected beaches for swimming, as well as providing a venue for fishing, boating, sailing, skiing or skin-diving.
The Port Neill Scenic Drive travels along the coast south of Port Neill, taking in the district’s pioneering heritage, visiting historic Carrow Wells and Cowelys Beach. Two kilometres north of the town, the Port Neill Town Lookout has beautiful panoramic views across the township, Mottle Cove and Byrne Bay.
Port Neill houses the second largest conservation park on Eyre Peninsula – Hincks Wilderness Protection Area. One of three mallee parks of significant wilderness quality, the conservation park is home to endangered and vulnerable flora and fauna, and a paradise for bushwalkers, four-wheel drivers and trail bike enthusiasts. Bush-walking tracks in the Hincks Conservation Park wind through broombush and wattles which support a variety of wildlife.
The Hooded Plover breeds in spring and summer on sandy beaches. The Hooded Plover have one of the lowest rates of chick survival in the world. Nests are small scrapes in the sand above the high tide mark and are vulnerable to disturbance including 4WD, pedestrians and dogs.
The Natural Heritage Information Gazebo has information about the flora, fauna, ecology, coastal dunes and geology of the Port Neill coastal wetland environment.