HERITAGE South Australia NEWSLETTER JULY 2000 • NUMBER 17 I SSUES AND I NFORMATION ON H ERITAGE C ONSERVATION IN S OUTH A USTRALIA Heritage South Australia Government of South Australia A WORD FROM THE NEW MINISTER for Environment and Heritage Contents A word from the new Minister for Environment and Heritage / 2 Port Elliot’s maritime heritage / 3 Protecting our history: Colonel Light Gardens declared a State Heritage Area / 4 Since taking on the new The State Government is Goodbye to Sue Scheiffers / 6 portfolio as Minister for also pleased to be working Heritage News/Heritage on line / 6 Environment and Heritage, closely with the City of I have been encouraged by Adelaide in the promotion The Fides in Finland: history, exhibition the good work already of conservation in South and religion / 8 achieved in the heritage Australia. In June, The Lord The Heritage Unit of DAIS / 10 field. Mayor and I launched new publications on Painting of Conservation of the Clan Ranald In April I launched a Older Buildings in South Shipwreck Anchor / 12 modern interpretation of the Queen’s Australia, and Early Roofing and Roof What’s new in the State Heritage Register / 13 Theatre, linking the past with the present, Materials in South Australia. They are New heritage publications / 14 and encouraging an appreciation of our important additions to the proper history. Since 1994 the State Government conservation of our heritage places. Gulaga, The Mother: a short story / 15 has spent $600,000 on the conservation South Australia’s 19th century memorials / 16 of the Theatre, and an allocation of almost Heritage SA has been busy making it $100,000 a year is set aside for its easier to access heritage information by conservation and management. We have developing its own website. The address is come a long way since Barry Humphries www.heritage.sa.gov.au. stood outside an almost derelict Queen’s Theatre in 1983 urging South Australians A further three maritime heritage/ to care for this building. shipwrecks trails are being developed: the Southern Ocean Shipwrecks Trail, Port Support for the National Trust continues, Elliot, and Garden Island Ship’s Graveyard and I was invited to speak at the opening Maritime Heritage Trails. This brings the of the National Trust’s Heritage Festival in total to eight trails. Discussions are also March. The Department for Environment proceeding with Tourism SA to further and Heritage contributed to the Trust’s develop the tourist and recreational Newsletter of Heritage South Australia successful recreation of a 1909 heritage potential of South Australia’s maritime dinner held at Ayers House. heritage. These trails help to encourage Department for Environment and Heritage community involvement in the protection ISSN 1320-4173 Regional Heritage Surveys of the State, and conservation of shipwrecks. July 2000 Number 17 which began in 1981, are due for completion this year. The Far North and Wilpena Station in the Flinders Ranges is Editor Far West regions, covering two-thirds of currently being developed as a tourist site. Francesca Stropin the State, will be divided into thematic Heritage SA and National Parks staff will surveys given the size of the areas. be working closely together, to ensure the Products and services advertised are not proper conservation of the outbuildings necessarily endorsed by Heritage South Australia Heritage SA liaises with interstate heritage and homestead for their reuse. agencies to ensure that heritage Advertising information is consistent, and to minimise As the Minister for Environment and If anyone would like to advertise duplication of information. A national Heritage I look forward to working with in this newsletter, please contact publication is due to for release later this the State Heritage Authority, and external The Editor, year on twentieth century heritage: this heritage agencies, in continuing the Heritage South Australia Newsletter publication looks at the way history has conservation and management of heritage GPO Box 1047 changed the built environment of in South Australia, and to find the best Adelaide South Australia 5001 Australia in the last hundred years. ways of protecting that heritage. Another national publication organised by Telephone: (08) 8204 9243 Heritage SA is the Heritage Advisory Iain Evans Facsimile: (08) 8204 9455 Services Handbook, which will be available Minister for Environment and Heritage on the Australian Heritage Commission’s Front Cover: website in September of this year. Charles Compton Reade (1880-1933) Source: TPCA archives, London Charles Reade was principal designer for Colonel Light Gardens which has been declared a State Heritage Area – see article on page 4 2 HERITAGE SOUTH AUSTRALIA • NEWSLETTER No.17 • JULY 2000 PORT ELLIOT’S MARITIME HERITAGE Development of the River Murray as a “This ship-trap has been the occasion of on the increase. Unfortunately a violent significant inland transport route involved the stranding of two more vessels ...” storm in December 1860 broke the by-passing the hazardous Murray Mouth Adelaide Times, 9 Sept., 1856 schooner Flying Fish from its mooring. The and constructing, instead, a rail link vessel was driven towards the beach between the port of Goolwa on the In February 1866 the schooner Io was the where it became embedded in the sand Murray, and a suitable ocean port on last vessel to officially use the port above high water mark. Encounter Bay. facilities. In May 1864, one week before the In 1850, despite strong support for Victor Seven Shipwrecks opening of the railway extension to Victor Harbor, Governor Young selected Port The first maritime tragedy occurred in May Harbor, Port Elliot’s deficiencies as a port Elliot on Horseshoe Bay, as the site for this 1853 when the schooner Emu, travelling were confirmed with the loss of the coastal link. His decision may well have to Port Adelaide with 164 bags of wheat, brigantine Athol, which dragged its been an economic one, based on the was forced to turn back and anchor in the anchor in heavy seas, drifted inshore and shorter distance overland to Goolwa, but lee of Pullen Island. The next morning the grounded. was undoubtedly influenced by Captain anchorage was empty, but wreckage was Thomas Lipson’s favourable report: strewn along the southern shoreline. The Of the seven vessels wrecked at Port Elliot, captain and three crew were presumed the remains of four (Harry, Josephine “Indeed, it is my opinion, that Port Elliot drowned. Loizeau, Lapwing and Flying Fish) are will be proved the safest anchorage ... on often exposed within the surf zone at the south line of the Province.” By 1856 memories of the Emu had faded Horseshoe Bay. The Emu, Commodore and local confidence was returning. and Athol sites are thought to lie outside Between 1851-1854 a single-track railway Unfortunately optimism gave way to the Bay and have not been located. was constructed between the two ports – despair as four vessels came to grief in or the first public railway in Australia. A jetty adjacent to Horseshoe Bay. New Heritage Trail and breakwater were constructed, The Maritime Heritage Unit of Heritage SA moorings were laid and other port In February the schooner Commodore has established a series of Maritime facilities and harbour improvements anchored in an exposed position, dragged Heritage Trails in many coastal areas of authorised. South Australia’s first reticu- its anchor in gusty conditions and struck South Australia and along the River lation scheme piped water from nearby the rocky promontory now known as Murray, to promote the State’s maritime Waterport to establish a permanent water Commodore Point. In July the brigantine heritage and to encourage community supply for the developing town and Josephine Loizeau broke from its moorings involvement in the protection and visiting vessels. The railway and river trade in a gale and was driven ashore, with the conservation of historic shipwrecks and attracted new settlers and, in the early thirteen passengers (all women and related sites. 1850s, Port Elliot looked to a prosperous children) courageously rescued by the future. captain. At the time it seemed that the The Port Elliot Maritime Heritage Trail, mooring cable had parted, but it was later consisting of a coloured brochure and five From 1851 to 1866 more than 500 vessels determined that a crew member had interpretive signs, will soon be launched at used the facilities of the port. mistakenly shackled the vessel to the buoy Horseshoe Bay, Port Elliot. Unfortunately, despite the costly and chain. In September disaster struck again extensive harbour works, seven vessels when the ketch Lapwing dragged its Funding for this project was achieved anchored or seeking shelter in the Bay anchors in a storm and gradually drifted through a Coastcare Grant submitted were wrecked between 1853-1864 (four inshore. The vessel was a total loss with jointly by Heritage SA and the Port Elliot in one year!) with subsequent loss of wreckage scattered over the Bay. In Surf Living Saving Club, with assistance property and crippling increases in freight December the fully laden brig Harry was from the Alexandrina Council. and insurance rates. moving to the outer anchorage when the swell carried it inshore. The anchor was Robyn Hartell These catastrophes confirmed Port Elliot’s immediately dropped but failed to hold Heritage SA growing reputation as an unsuitable and the vessel was grounded – Port Elliot’s Below: Horseshoe Bay based on a view anchorage and, together with the port’s fourth shipping disaster in 10 months! circa 1860. recognised lack of space for expansion, resulted in Victor Harbor replacing Port The impact of these wreckings was Sketch by Russell and Doris Mitchell, courtesy Port Elliot Elliot as the coastal outlet for the Murray considerable, but by 1859 trade was again National Trust trade.