Victor Harbor is a vibrant seaside town on the south coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula, a favoured holiday destination and bursting with historical charm. It is the traditional home of the Ramindjeri and Ngarrindjeri people whose culture is celebrated in and around the town.
It was discovered by the British Explorer Matthew Flinders. His encounter with the French Explorer Nicolas Baudin here in 1802 in these waters resulted in the bay being named Encounter Bay. In 1837 HMS Victor anchored off Granite Island and its captain named the sheltered waters Victor Harbor after his ship.
Around this time two whaling stations were established in the area one of which was managed by Captain John Hart who later became Premier of South Australia. In 1863 the town of Port Victor was laid out following the extension of the horse drawn tramway from Goolwa.The name was changed to Victor Harbor in 1921 retaining the original spelling.
The town architecture tells a story of how the town evolved and the Town Centre Heritage Trail is great way to enjoy this lovely town.
One of Victor Harbor's premier attractions is the Horse Drawn Tram and this was my first stop when I arrived on this lovely sunny, warmish day. It was a special day as a film was being made to attract sponsors.
This is Barney getting a shampoo and set before filming starts. He is only 7 years old, a very handsome Clydesdale who is one of 9 heavy horses who pull the tram along the causeway from the town to Granite Island. The double-decker tram runs on rails and operates all year round.
Barney is new to the crew and is only doing one return trip today - he is still learning. I was so impressed with Barney - he follows voice commands and moves at a stately pace as he takes up the slack and begins pulling the tram along the new causeway. In 2019 the old causeway was replaced and the road surface is much kinder to the horses' feet. One horse can pull a fully laden tram which seems like a tremendous task.
The horses continue working with the tramway into their twenties generally doing 4 return journeys in a day before another horse takes over. They return at night to their pastures where they live a much loved, pampered and family life with their friends. Horses are very social animals who thrive as part of a herd.
Most of the human crew are female - and there is never a shortage of girls who apply when job vacancies come up.
Apart from the Horse drawn tram Granite Island has a small colony of Little Penguins, a walking track and stunning views out to sea. It's a great place to watch for whales which are now beginning to migrate to warmer waters for calving and mating after spending the summer in the cold of Antarctica.
Granite Island
The old and the new causeway. The first railway track was laid on the newly erected pier in 1867 and originally operated for transporting railway goods however by 1894 increasing numbers of visitors and holiday makers were turning the causeway into an attraction and the South Australian Railway to offer a tram service using a surplus double-deck horse drawn tram. It's been very much loved by thousands of people since then.
When I was in the Flinders Ranges I was disappointed to miss out on a guided tour but today there was no such problem.
Being winter, cruises of the Coorong operate on limited days and sometimes are cancelled due to lack of demand. I was lucky and managed to go on the Thursday Lunch tour departing Goolwa Wharf - yet another gorgeous historic wharf.
The Spirit of the Coorong berthed near the bridge to Hindmarsh Island - a somewhat controversial build back in the late 1990s.
The port area extends for some distance up and downstream from the wharf but soon we arrive at the first barrage structure in the channel separating the sea water from the fresh water.
Prior to construction of the barrages , during periods of low river flow, tidal effects and the intrusion of sea water were felt up to 250k upstream from the mouth of the Murray River. The barrages, 5 in all, were erected in the thirties principally to reduce salinity levers in the lower reaches of the River Murray, Lake Alexandrina and Lake Albert, stabilise the river level and as a means of regulating the river flow. Whether it is a solution continues to attract vigorous debate.
Our boat entered the loch, waited until the gate closes and the water level lowers then exits at the lower level and continues on.
The mouth of the River Murray.
It's estimated that in 5000 years the mouth of the River Murray has only been completely closed once - in 1981. Salinity continues to be a huge issue as water levels rise and fall over periods of time. Water purchases is currently ensuring the flow through the barrages; essential for the migration of fish up river.
A dredge operates near the mouth and continually pumping sand out of the opening and distributing it on the beaches.
The lumps on the pipe behind the dredge are seals!
Halfway through the cruise we landed quite near the mouth of the river and walked through the dunes to the beach. The wind was quite benign today and the sea relatively calm. If you wanted you could walk for 170k before reaching another town of any size,
This beach is a popular area for harvesting pippis: only commercial fishers may fish here. The fisherman digs in the sand with his feet, locates the pippis and then digs them out with his/her hands. No mechanical means are allowed. There is another beach for recreational fishers who may remove up to 300 pippis per day.
As we walked through the dunes we noticed a number of "balls" in varying sizes which had washed up. These are formed from the roots of sea grass which in winter is torn from the plant and rolled around in the water forming these balls. The indigenous people used these as fire starters and met here to feast on the pippis harvested nearby. They are everywhere along this coast line as well as huge piles of the sea grass which washes up. Shell middens in the dunes show this has always been a popular place.
The tour ends here and we returned to Goolwa via the barrage and past the pelicans, seals and their companions whilst having coffee and slice made from one of the local indigenous fruits - some people enjoyed a complimentary port. The wind really picked up and everyone scrambled for puffers and jackets.
Resting up on the barrage.
What a life! Fish, sun and safe!
It was a really great day!
No comments:
Post a Comment