Cocklebiddy

History

Cocklebiddy started as an Aboriginal mission station, of which only the stone foundations remain today. The area was thought to be a potential water source and, during World War II, Army engineers attempted to tap fresh water from the lakes, but it was found that a thin skin of fresh water overlay a vast volume of saline water. The Eyre Telegraph Station, located south of the settlement, operated from 1897 until 1929. Unlike most others, it remained in a relatively well-preserved state due to its isolation and protection from the Southern Ocean, and in 1976, when the State Government created the Nuytsland Nature Reserve, the building became the Eyre Bird Observatory, which opened in 1978. The observatory offers basic camping facilities. Over 230 species of birds have been recorded there. A new species in the Restionaceae (a family of tussock-like plants), namely Harperia eyreana, was discovered about to the south-west of Cocklebiddy, and described in 2000. Cocklebiddy was visited in 2007 by the Australian comedic duo, Hamish and Andy.