Port Augusta is a city in South Australia at the top of Spencer Gulf, 322 km north of Adelaide. The first people to live in the area where the indigenous Banggarla or Nuguna people. Matthew Flinders explored the gulf in 1802. Edward Eyre explored the land in 1839 before going north to Lake Eyre. The harbour was set up in 1852 by Alexander Elder and John Grainger. They named it after Lady Augusta Sophia Young, the wife of the Governor of South Australia. Because of its location, the city quickly became an important port, servicing much of the inland of Australia. In 2006 there were 13,257 people living in Port Augusta.