On Sunday we moved on to Robe where we had scheduled the van to be serviced. Another one night stand due to the itchy footed one, and there were no free camps. We found out that Robe was one of the oldest towns in S.A. In 1845 it was chosen as potential site for a port and in 1847 it was proclaimed a port and became the second busiest international port in Australia in the 1850's
A stone obelisk was built on Cape Dombey in 1852 to assist ships to navigate safely into the bay. We went to see the obelisk but a sea fog rolled in on the beautiful sunny day and all but obliterated it
from site. Also near the obelisk is the ruins of the old gaol. The gaol was in use from 1860/61 until 1870 when it was closed, but like some of the other gaols we have been to it reopened in 1872 but closed again in 1881. To help contain potential escapees, the walls were reinforced with steel boiler plates from the wreck of the SS Admella.
During the years between 1856 and 1858 over 16000 Chinese people landed at Robe to travel overland on foot to the goldfields at Ballarat and Bendigo, 200 miles or 320km's. This was re-enacted for the states jubilee and 150th celebration in 1986 and a memorial was erected near the spot where they landed to commemorate these brave people.
The van took longer than expected so we killed time cooling our feet at Long Beach, as the name suggests it is a very long beach. It is one of the few beaches in Australia that you can drive on, what a weird experience that was, just not use to looking both ways for cars while walking down to waters edge at the beach.
Still killing time we strolled through and looked at what would have to be some of the best examples of 1800's through to the 1950's architecture we have seen. Robe saw a decline in trade during the 1870's with a poor agricultural season, falling wool prices and the construction of a railway not to far away at Kingston led to closure of the port and Robe became a quiet little village. Robe remained relatively unchanged until the 1940's when the extension of roads and more motor transport made it easier for summer visitors and became a popular tourist destination. In the 1950's the Lobster Industry increased due to a demand by overseas countries for Australian Lobster. Robe is just one of the many Lobster communities along the coast.
A stone obelisk was built on Cape Dombey in 1852 to assist ships to navigate safely into the bay. We went to see the obelisk but a sea fog rolled in on the beautiful sunny day and all but obliterated it
from site. Also near the obelisk is the ruins of the old gaol. The gaol was in use from 1860/61 until 1870 when it was closed, but like some of the other gaols we have been to it reopened in 1872 but closed again in 1881. To help contain potential escapees, the walls were reinforced with steel boiler plates from the wreck of the SS Admella.
During the years between 1856 and 1858 over 16000 Chinese people landed at Robe to travel overland on foot to the goldfields at Ballarat and Bendigo, 200 miles or 320km's. This was re-enacted for the states jubilee and 150th celebration in 1986 and a memorial was erected near the spot where they landed to commemorate these brave people.
The van took longer than expected so we killed time cooling our feet at Long Beach, as the name suggests it is a very long beach. It is one of the few beaches in Australia that you can drive on, what a weird experience that was, just not use to looking both ways for cars while walking down to waters edge at the beach.
Still killing time we strolled through and looked at what would have to be some of the best examples of 1800's through to the 1950's architecture we have seen. Robe saw a decline in trade during the 1870's with a poor agricultural season, falling wool prices and the construction of a railway not to far away at Kingston led to closure of the port and Robe became a quiet little village. Robe remained relatively unchanged until the 1940's when the extension of roads and more motor transport made it easier for summer visitors and became a popular tourist destination. In the 1950's the Lobster Industry increased due to a demand by overseas countries for Australian Lobster. Robe is just one of the many Lobster communities along the coast.
Comments
Post a Comment