Overcast
morning after rain during the night.
Rang
Rebecca and Clive to see if they went to the Flicker Fest as it was on in
Cairns Friday and Saturday nights but they didn’t!! They usually go to these
kinds of things. Chatted away anycase.
Steve
unscrewed the bash plate under the van to get out our original radiator as the
PWR replacement one we got in Tassie is now leaking. Will send of an email to
them stating our impression of their product!! Will investigate radiators and
see what we find in Kalgoorlie. The bash plate did its job protecting the
undercarriage of the van but we collected 30 kilos or dirt and rocks from all
the dirt roads we travel on. At least we have lost some weight on the van.
I
did my blog as usual and looked up the death of John Moir from the homestead
grave we saw. He was murdered – here is the details from the newspaper article.
The
Inquirer and Commercial News – Perth, WA - Wed, 9th May, 1877
MURDER OF MR. JOHN MOIR. We have received
reliable particulars of the death of Mr. John Moir, a settler near Esperance
Bay, who it will be remembered was murdered by natives on his station in the
early part of Last month. It appears that Mr. Moir had arrested and chained up
two natives for some misconduct, which however our correspondent does not
describe. Unsuspicious of any foul play Mr. Moir permitted the natives' women
to remain at large with them. Nothing eventuated during the day, but in the evening,
while Mr. Moir lay reading on a sofa in his house, the natives whom he had
chained up rushed upon him, each armed with a blade of a pair of sheepshears,
and stabbed him in several vital parts of the body. Mr. Moir rose and closed
with them, but his assailants, having gained the upper hand, dragged him
outside and. continued their savage onslaught. There was no one on the premises
at the time to render the unfortunate gentleman help save a very faithful
native servant named 'Jacob,' who, on hearing Mr. Moir's cries of ‘Jacob, they
are murdering me! ' ran to the spot, and rushing into the house and seizing a
loaded gun, fired it at the murderers, but unfortunately missed them, and they
at once fled into the bush. 'Jacob' then set off for the nearest neighbours —
one of Moir's sheepstations - and on returning with the shepherd found Mr. Moir
stiff and cold. He had crawled several yards towards the garden fence, and had
evidently expired almost immediately after he was wounded. Without staying to
as much as remove the body to the house the shepherd rode off to. Esperance Bay
— Messrs. Dempster Bros.' station — fifty miles distant. Here he found Mr.
Hannett, the manager, who at once set to work and made a coffin, and proceeding
with it by means of one of Messrs. Dempsters' teams, in company with the
shepherd, to the scene of the murder, Mr Hannett per- formed the mournful duty
of interring Mr. Moir's body, which exhibited a large number of fatal wounds,
on the third day after the sad affray. It has transpired that the natives'
women, who being thoroughly civilised and friendly, had free access to Mr.
Moir's house, stealthily removed the key of the padlock which bound their
husbands, and released them to carry out their murderous purpose, The names of
the natives are Tampin and Joe Fennatty, and, being well known, it is
anticipated there will not be much difficulty in effecting their capture. Mr.
Moir, who was quite a young man, was remarkable for his kindness and
forbearance towards the natives, and his sad and untimely end furnishes yet
another instance of the treachery which they are wont to exhibit as a requital
when their savage propensities urge them on to acts of aggression. The fact of
placing these men under restraint — unlawful and indiscreet though it may have
been — which might very probably have appeared necessary under the
circumstances in such an isolated locality, did not, of course, justify their
conduct, and no doubt speedy retribution at the hands of the law will follow.
The deepest sympathy is felt for the bereft and sorrowing parents in their loss
of a bright and promising son, and generally for the large circle with which he
was connected, a circle, settled for the most part in the Plantagenet district,
and comprising one of the largest and most respectable family connections in
the colony.
I
also looked up Israelite Bay Telegraph Station. It was originally built in
wood. The stone building was built in 1896 and at its peak there 150 people
living here. From a Maritime Heritage Site Inspection Report - The jetty was
assessed in 1994 and the report stated it extended into the bay 89 metres to a
water depth of 3 metres at low tide. All trace of the land-based section of the
jetty has disappeared apart from a pile lying in the shallows about 10 metres
offshore. There is still 59.4 metres of the jetty standing but you have to swim
out to it. It was built so they could unload the poles needed for the Telegraph
line. During the 1890s the ‘SS Ferret’ and the schooner ‘Grace Darling’ called
regularly. The jetty was built in 1898 out to 75.3 metres and was 1.7 metres
wide. It was lengthened inland a further 13.7 metres, repaired and supplied
with a one-tonne crane and tramway in 1902. The jetty was and outport for the
sandalwood and pastoral industry as well as the telegraph station.
A
bit more info about ships associated with the telegraph line – The cutters
‘Twilight’ and ‘Bunyip’ were discharging stores from Albany intended for the
parties engaged in the construction of the Eucla telegraph line when they were
driven on shore by a gale on the night of 24 May, 1877. No lives were lost but
the ships were abandoned as wrecks at the eastern end of Culver Cliffs, at a
place subsequently called Twilight Cove. (Extract from Unfinished Voyages, Vol
2, p 226).
In
June 1876, the 104-tonne schooner ‘Mary Ann’ was engaged in a survey and supply
vessel for the construction of the telegraph line between Esperance and Eucla.
It was on this occasion that Israelite Bay was chosen as the most suitable site
for the 3rd station. The vessel was wrecked on the return voyage
near Bellinger Island, about 40km SW of Israelite Bay. (Extract from Unfinished
Voyages, Vol 2, p 199-201)
Wandered
around the yard taking photos of the beautiful roses and enjoying their
perfume.
After
lunch we all went for a drive back to Hopetoun and down Hammersley Drive to
where the causeway around the Culham Inlet was washed away in the floods.
Apparently the original road put in when they did the big makeover of the
National Park was washed away first so they spent more money putting in a
detour road and they washed away in the recent floods. The roadwork bollards
that are scattered over the beaches and rocks in the National Park are from the
original one’s detour area. The signs didn’t get washed away.
A
car stuck in the floodwaters is still there – full of dirt.
Walked
back to the truck – looking across to the road going up the other side into the
National Park where we had driven down to the road closed sign when we camped
over at Hammersley Inlet.
I
walked up onto the road – looking back to where it was barricaded then to other
way where the inlet’s floodwaters have taken the road completely away.
The
inlet’s opening is only small now as the water level has dropped as it flowed
out to sea. You can still see the bollards on the beach. The floodwaters in
Lake Jerdacuttup can’t as it is landlocked and will just have to evaporate or
soak into the ground.
The
end of the road looking back up the inlet.
Climbed
up onto the top of the road – looking across the washed away road to the other
side.
Nice
view across to East Mt Barren.
Walked
out to the beach side – very windy. Looking back to Flathead Point near
Hopetoun.
Then
up the beach to the inlet opening.
Walked
to the end and stood on the top of the dune looking down on the wide sand spit
to where the sea is flowing back into the inlet at the moment. Kev had walked
down onto the spit and left his initials. The
wind and waves are slowly reaching across the spit. We watched for a while
waiting for his initials to disappear. He had picked the highest point so it
took a while for the waves to finally come across the spit and start to wipe
out his initials.
The
others joined us and we walked back to the truck. Nice view across the inlet.
Drove
around checking out the homes on 5 acre bush blocks. This one was interesting.
Back
home for a cuppa and Kev and Linda taught us Skipbo. Steve liked this one so we
will get a pack.
The
wind has blown the clouds away and the stars were out when we walked back to
the van.
No comments:
Post a Comment