Robe South Australia

Arrived in Robe by mid afternoon and after some chores (washing etc) stayed in the warm again.  As the park is on the outskirts of town on the edge of Lake Fellmongery, tomorrow we will go off to explore.   This lake is freshwater and was given the name in 1853 when a fellmongery was established there to wash wool salvaged from a wrecked ship in Guichen Bay.  The wool had been loaded for export and then became wet from the salt water when the ship broke up.  The wool was washed and again baled and shipped to England and the price received was twice what it would have been if the wool had remained unwashed.  From then on the graziers of the district had their wool washed at the fellmongery before export. 

Doorway Rock

Robe was settled in 1846 and named after the then (unpopular) Governor of South Australia.  His reign was short and this is one of the only reminders of his appointment.  It was declared a port in Feb 1847 and by 1856 was the second major colonial out-port. By the 1860’s it was ranked amongst the top three out-ports in SA, both in terms of value and volume of wool exported.  At times more than 50 wagons (from both Victoria and SA) would be lined up waiting to offload their wool for shipment to Europe.  Robe started to decline in the 1870’s and this has assisted the preservation of the many limestone block buildings that have survived to become listed by the National Trust.  If the boom business had continued those older buildings would probably have been ‘redeveloped’ during the 20^th century.  Robe now has a population of approximately 1500 (according to the Patchwork shop lady) and wandering and driving the streets and seeing all those buildings and sites (over 60 cafes, accommodation venues, businesses and private residences) that date back to the mid 1880’s is a wonderful experience.    

The Obelisk was built in 1855 on Cape Dombey to act as a landmark for shipping. 

 Originally painted white it was difficult to differentiate it from the white sand hills so in 1862 it was repainted in alternate red and white bands that can be seen on a clear day from 20km away.  Tidal erosion will eventually result in it collapsing into the sea.   Again the wind here was very strong and coats were necessary during the photo gathering, but wow don’t I love it.

my new career?

sunshine out at sea

Bruiser on Long Beach

Lake Fellmongery and Robe

Leaving Robe we drive up to Kingston SE where we meet up with the Big Lobster and then on to Meningie on the bank of Lake Albert. 

                                                         The Big Lobster at Kingston SE

 Along the way we stop beside the Coorong for lunch and enjoy a walk to the water in this conservation area.  Meningie is a small town (but a great bakery) so we check in for a couple of nights so that we can go for a drive out around the edge of the lake and along the Coorong.  Lake Albert empties into Lake Alexandrina which is where the mighty Murray River empties before flowing into the Southern Ocean through a small inlet.  Barrages are used to hold back salt water from flowing into the lake system which hosts numerous species of bird life.

Finally during the afternoon the clouds clear and there is the sunshine.  What a treat to sit beside the lake, feed ducks and watch the pelicans do a slow flypast as we head towards sundown.

                                                        sunset over Lake Albert at Meningie