Guide to Cleve South Australia Australia

Cleve is a town of about 800 people on the Birdseye Highway, 25 kilometres inland from Arno Bay and 143 kilometres north of Port Lincoln. It sits among low hills, with wheat and sheep country all around.

It is the service centre for the eastern farming districts and the best-supplied town between the coast and Kimba.

Known For

• The Eyre Peninsula Field Days
• Ticklebelly Hill lookout
• Yeldulknie Weir

Things To Do in Cleve

Eyre Peninsula Field Days

The largest agricultural show on the peninsula is held at Cleve over three days in August of even-numbered years, drawing about 10,000 people. The next is in 2028. Every bed in the district is taken that week.

Ticklebelly Hill

The lookout on the edge of town, once a wartime aircraft spotting post, has views over the town and plains and a reserve of native plants.

Yeldulknie Weir

Five kilometres from town, a stone weir built to supply the district with water holds a small reservoir among the hills, with barbecues, tables and toilets.

Museum and Murals

The National Trust museum in the old council chambers opens by appointment, and murals around the town show scenes of farming life.

Scenic Drives

Back roads through the hills towards Cowell give long views to Spencer Gulf, and emus and kangaroos are common.

Where To Stay

The Cleve Hotel Motel has rooms.

The Cleve Showgrounds RV Park, on the Birdseye Highway, has about 30 powered sites, toilets, showers, a camp kitchen and a dump point for about $20 a night, paid by honesty envelope. There is also a caravan park on Cowell Road, and camping by donation at Yeldulknie Weir.

Eat & Drink

The hotel serves meals, and the main street has a bakery, a cafe and a supermarket.

History

Cleve is on Barngarla country. The McKechnie brothers took up land here in 1853. The town was surveyed in 1878 and proclaimed the next year, named by Governor Jervois after the Devon home of his cousins.

Getting to Cleve

Cleve is on the sealed Birdseye Highway between Cowell, 42 kilometres east, and Lock. Sealed roads also lead to Arno Bay and north to Kimba.