7.30am
21 degrees with the van closed up. Rain in the early hours but all clear now
and the sun is shining brightly.
Headed
off in shorts and t-shirts – silly us should have put a jumper in as the wind
is still cold.
Into
Dongara to the Info Centre but it and the Museum as closed on Sundays. A bit of
history from the tourist brochure.
Drove
down to the lookout over the Irwin River. The headwaters of the Irwin are
located below Canna near Pindar. The river doesn’t reach the sea here either.
Further
on to Seaspray Beach on the north side of the river. Looking south to the
Leander Point and Arurine Bay then north along the beach. Not the prettiest of
beach as there is a lot of limestone in the sand making it darker.
Walked
south along the beach to the closed mouth of the Irwin River.
Rock
bar out the front of the mouth.
Looking
up the river then across the mouth then up the beach and around to the river
again.
Headed
back along the beach and checked out a shack on top of the dune. It was part of
the caravan park where people can clean their fish etc. Great rubbish bin.
Back
into town and across the Irwin River to Port Denison. Followed the road to
Leander Point and up to the Obelisk (built in 1869) high on the point.
Beautiful view over the marina and across to closed mouth of the Irwin River
shame the wind was blowing so hard and it was freezing!! Made a cuppa and
huddled on the seat beside the Obelisk taking in the nice view. Arurine Bay was
used as a shipping port in the early days. Prior to the jetty being built in
1867 a signal flag was raised when those on land wanted passing ships to call
in. The construction of the obelisks and jetty aided ships navigating into
port. Warehouses were built but in 1894 the Midland Railway started and that
was the end of the port and by 1912 it was virtually inoperative. In the mid
1950s the lobster industry brought new life to the port and in 1970 the Port
Denison Fishing Boat Harbour was constructed to provide safe anchorage for the
fishing fleet.
Some info boards about the river and some old photos.
As
the wind is whipping up the waves we can see them crashing on Leander Reef then
White Tops Reef further north. At 10pm on 13th Nov, 1853 the
Leander, a 173 tonne brigantine, struck the shore adjacent to a large and
prominent sand ridge that ran several kilometres from Port Irwin. Leander has
never been found and is thought to be buried in the sand very close to the
shore. The wreck of the Leander in 1853 was the catalyst for settlers to lobby
for the building of a jetty. The new jetty didn’t help the Albatross in June
1868. A new 18 tonne ship helped refloat the Sea Bird and Twinkling Star which
had run aground during heavy storms at Port Irwin. Sea Bird and Albatross then
sailed to Champion bay but both were forced to return dur to the heavy winds.
On June 24th, just 1.5 km from the mouth Albatross was swamped and
rolled onto a sandbank. Seven men and one woman drowned and three men swam to
shore and were rescued. The wreck has not been found.
Lovely
trees line the park beside the marina.
There
is a triathlon on at the moment so we continued along the Ocean Drive to a
boardwalk along the river.
Back
across the river to Dongara and out to the main road to check out the big Rock
Lobster.
Around
to the Royal Steam Roller Flour Mill that has been restored and is now a
private home of a local builder. His sign shows the mill before being restored.
The mill was built in 1894 by Francis Pearse. Huge steam engines powers the
mill which ground wheat from the local area until it closed in 1935. The mill
was capable of producing 6 tons of flower per working day, about 7 to 8 sacks
per hour. (It isn't leaning - that was just my photography skills!!)
Nearby
is another lovely home called The Bungalow. The original rear section was built
in the 1850s. Around 1880 Francis Pearse purchased the property and the front
rooms were added.
Walked
down Moreton Terrace which is lined with lovely big Moreton and Port Jackson
fig trees which were planted in 1906.
Great
sign on the side of the Pop Up Shop – local arts and crafts.
Fabulous
string art – that brings back memories – even Steve said he had done that. Lots
of lovely hand crafted items to buy and paintings and photographs. I snuck a
photo of this wine holder. I bought a small bag to put our wallets in when we
go for walks etc. It was a perfect fit.
Great
metal cutting for the war memorial.
Walked
over the bridge built in 1964 over the Irwin River. The river floods
occasionally due to cyclones dumping rain inland.
Russ
Cottage was one of the buildings that has been flooded a few times. It was
built in 1868 by Titus Russ on land owned by his employer. It was restored by
the Historical Society in 1970 and sadly flooded one month later but they restored
it again.
It
was closed so I peered in the windows at the displays they have created.
Continued
up the river bank to Priory Lodge. It was built on the original road to Dongara
and the Port. It was known then as the Dongara Hotel and was a single storey
limestone rubble structure built by William Criddle in 1881. It was purchased
in 1902 by the Dominican Sisters to be used as a school. They added the second
storey and renamed the building St Dominic’s Priory. This section was built in
1926 and named the Dominican Ladies College. It was both classrooms and
boarding rooms. Boys and girls attended the primary school and girls then could
receive secondary education as day pupils or boarders. A flood in 1971
destroyed the tennis courts, playground and inundated the building with mud so
the school closed the college. It has since been restored and has had its
historic inn licence reinstated.
Such
a range of colours of bougainvillea and they have prickles too. A sign says
today’s temperature is 22 degrees!!
Back
across the river to the Road Board Office which was built in 1910 and was used
til 1958 when new offices were built. There is a well next to it which was
Dongara’s first public water supply.
This
building was built in 1912 for a merchant, S Moore, who used it as a shop and
storehouse. It was then The Elite Supply, a clothing shop and tearooms. It was
then where electricity was supplied from. The electricity supply operated from
6pm to 10pm and on Mondays and Tuesdays for washing and ironing. Motors were
switched off around 10pm waking everyone with the sudden silence.
This
is the second Dongara State School. The first one was built in 1870 where the
new police station is. By 1906 the need for a bigger school arose so this two
room school was built. It continued until 1972 when a new district high school
was built.
Across
the road is the Church of St John The Baptist (Anglican). The foundation stone
was laid in 1884. The stone font was installed in 1913. Some pews have been
made from ships’ timber collected from the beach. The bell was once used to
recall ticket of leave convict men to Fremantle Gaol at the end of the day.
Francis
Kelly, an accountant for Francis Pearse, built this house about 1888. In 1897
it was purchased by the Education Dept and after some renovations the
headmaster of the Dongara School moved in. Big home.
The
Star Bakery and Butcher shop was built in 1904 by James Criddle and operated by
Tom Rowland. It caught fire in 1927 and was reroofed.
The
Mechanics Institute was built in 1881 to help working men to self-education.
They could attend lectures, read newspapers and periodicals of the day or enjoy
a game of chess or cards. The hall was also used for meetings and dances.
Across
the road was the Methodist Wesleyan Church (now Uniting). A local builder
donated the land and then won the contract to build the church – well of course
he would!! The church opened on 14th Dec, 1884 with more than 200
people attending morning and evening services.
The
Info Centre is in the original Post Office. Firstly though the postal services
were conducted from the Mill in 1866 by John Smith. He then sold stamps from
the verandah of the Police Station but the public didn’t like this so in 1891
plans were started for a new post office. It was constructed in 1894 and
incorporated the telegraph office and manual phone exchange.
The
Irwin Museum is housed in the old Police Station which was built in 1870. It
was also used as the courthouse, gaol, ticket of leave hiring depot and police
quarters. It was used until 1983 when a new building was built next door.
Around
the corner was a building and residence built by Francis Pearse for the Bank of
Western Australia. It was built in 1894 and was leased to the bank until 1921
then after the death of Mr Pearse was purchased by the bank. The bank merged
with the Bank of NSW in 1927. In 1950 the building was sold. It still has the
iron-barred windows and solid vault installed for the bank.
This
lovely large home was built in 1870 for Francis Pearse. It overlooks the river
and had lovely terraced gardens right down to the river’s edge. It was built in
two stages. Originally a seven roomed house it later was extended by three
rooms.
Ron
and Angela are looking after a house here for a month so we joined them for
lunch which was lovely. Had a great time chatting. Hopefully we will meet up
with them again somewhere.
Topped
up the water tanks then back to camp. Found a spot in the sun out of the cold
wind beside the van to read. Later Trevor and Barbara joined us for drinks then
another couple from Bundaberg came over. A single lady also from Bundy joined
us too so we had a great afternoon.
Back
into the closed up van to warm up as that wind got colder as the sun went down.
Shame to be at the beach wearing jumpers!!
