Port Wakefield, South Australia

Port Wakefield
The Uniting Church at Port Wakefield
Port Wakefield
Coordinates: 34°11′17″S 138°08′54″E / 34.18819°S 138.148325°E / -34.18819; 138.148325
CountryAustralia
StateSouth Australia
LGA
Location
Government
 • State electorate
 • Federal division
Population
 • Total593 (UCL 2021)
Time zoneUTC+9:30 (ACST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+10:30 (ACST)
Postcode
5550
Localities around Port Wakefield
Port Arthur Port Arthur
Beaufort
Beaufort
Gulf St Vincent Port Wakefield Bowmans
Kallora
Gulf St Vincent Proof Range
Inkerman
Inkerman
Adjoining localities

Port Wakefield (formerly Port Henry) is a town at the mouth of the River Wakefield, at the head of the Gulf St Vincent in South Australia. It was the first government town to be established north of the state capital, Adelaide. Port Wakefield is situated 98.7 kilometres (61.3 miles) from the Adelaide city centre on the Port Wakefield Highway section of the A1 National Highway.

Port Wakefield is a major stop on the Adelaide – Yorke Peninsula and Adelaide – Port Augusta road routes. Travellers between Adelaide and any of the Flinders Ranges, Yorke Peninsula, Eyre Peninsula or the Nullarbor Plain will likely travel through Port Wakefield. Due to its strategic location, Port Wakefield is known for its roadhouses and trucking stops.

Just north of the township there is a major forked intersection where the Yorke Peninsula traffic diverges west onto the Copper Coast Highway from the main Augusta Highway. The intersection is notorious for road accidents and traffic delays, especially at the end of holidays and long weekends.