- published: 21 Sep 2015
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Port Pirie (post code: 5540) (33°11′9″S 138°1′1″E / 33.18583°S 138.01694°E / -33.18583; 138.01694) is the sixth most populous city in South Australia after Adelaide, Mount Gambier, Whyalla, Murray Bridge and Port Augusta. It is a seaport located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf, 224 km (139 mi) north of Adelaide.
The settlement was founded in 1845 and is the site of the world's largest lead smelter, operated by Nyrstar. It also produces refined silver, zinc, copper and gold.
Prior to European settlement, the location that became Port Pirie was occupied by the indigenous tribe of Nukunu. The location was called 'Tarparrie', which is suspected to mean "Muddy Creek". The first European to see the location was Matthew Flinders in 1802 as he explored the Spencer Gulf by boat. The first land discovery by settlers of the location was by the explorer Edward Eyre who explored regions around Port Augusta. John Horrocks also discovered a pass through the Flinders Ranges to the coast, now named Horrocks Pass.
W Mitchell (b. April 11, 1943) is an American motivational speaker and businessman. He is a former member of the United States Marine Corps, burn victim, paraplegic, and a former small-town mayor.
Mitchell was born William John Schiff III. He subsequently changed his name to W Mitchell in honor of his stepfather, Luke Mitchell.
At the time of his first injury, Mitchell was a gripman on a cable car route in San Francisco. After his burn accident and recovery, Mitchell completed his training as a pilot and in 1975 co-founded a company called Vermont Castings along with Murray Howell and Duncan Syme. The company made energy-efficient wood-burning stoves and was later valued at $65 million. It was on a business trip for this company where Mitchell injured his spinal cord. In 1977 he was elected Mayor of Crested Butte, Colorado, where he stopped AMAX (now Freeport-McMoRan) from building a billion-dollar molybdenum mine on Mount Emmons. Because of the anticipated environmental impact, Mitchell claims that he "saved a mountain."