Mt Gambier to Warrnambool
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We were happy to pull off the highway for a few minutes rest after hours of driving. After a wet spring, Lake Bolac is as full as I've ever seen it which made for a nice B&W landscape shot.
This scene is a view of the village display of Flagstaff Hill. Built to highlight life along the south cast of Victoria during the mid 1800's. Lady Bay is far less tranquil than this scene claiming 29 recorded shipwrecks and groundings between 1842 and 1905'
More than 100 years after renowned Williamstown boatbuilder J. R. Jones first launched her, Warrnambool’s historic ‘couta boat, "Viator", is set for a return to the water. Flagstaff Hill has secured funding to fully restore the vessel, which is on display in the maritime village’s dry dock. It was built between 1890 and 1905. The vessel is the most significant of Flagstaff Hill’s fleet of 22, due to its age and connection with local and state maritime history. The Viator is a fine example of the style of boats believed to have originated in Port Phillip for the once lucrative barracouta fishing industry. Very few early examples of these fast and seaworthy craft remain. Viator was a familiar sight in the Warrnambool harbour for decades, serving as a barracouta fishing boat until the mid-1930s, then as a mail ferry across to Portland before becoming a general fishing and recreation boat for local families. This hull is being restored to its original condition under a grant from the Australian government.
Set back a few hundred metres from the Robe lighthouse, Jaffe Headland also is marked by a small lighthouse showing mariners the way into Robe Harbour.
I like this version of the shot that depicts the Flagstaff Village after sundown.
Couta boat, The Viator. Wooden, single masted ketch-rigged vessel with wooden clinker hull, high gunwales. "Couta" rigging, typical of the SE Victorian region. Listed on Australian Register of Historical Vessels (ARHV Number: HV000561 ) The Viator was built in Williamstown, Victoria, by J.R. Jones, a renowned boat builder, between 1890 and 1905. This design of boat is believed to have originated in Port Phillip for the purpose of barracouta fishing. There are very few remaining examples of this type of craft, which is fast and seaworthy. Viator served as a barracouta fishing boat in the Warrnambool area until the mid-1930's. Then she served as a mail ferry across to Portland. She then became a general fishing and recreation boat for local families. For years she sat in a paddock in East Warrnambool until purchased in 1975 for Flagstaff Hill, as the last remaining local 'couta boat'.
This photo was taken at standard exposure speed and captures all the details of the water coming over the falls. The Hopkins falls are the largest falls on the Hopkins River and are accessed by sealed road, 15 minutes northeast of Warrnambool Water plunges 12 metres over the dark basalt rocks, leaving mist trailing in the wind when volumes of water are at their peak in the winter months.
Cape Jaffe on which is located the Robe Lighthouse, a star-shaped concrete tower which was built in 1972. It is 3.5 metres wide at the bottom, and slants towards 5 metres wide at the top. In the early days of settlement, Robe was the main port for the south-east of South Australia and the border country.
Awaiting the arrival of the next sailing ship to Melbourne. People sailing the south Victorian coast were at higher than normal risk of boarding ships that came to grief along the dangerous coast, know called the Shipwreck Coast. Over 100 ships were wrecked or grounded along the stretch of coast near Warnnambool.
The buildings have been recreated using original and replicated material. Most of the objects on display are original to the period.
This photo is done as a long exposure which blurrs the water making it look milky.
This sleeping little town is located on the south-west coast of South Australia. Robe was the main port for the south-east of South Australia and the border country. Once a thriving fishing village, Robe is now a popular tourist centre for people looking for a slow and quiet vacation.
The sailmaker's loft is amongst the largest of old waterfront buildings due to the requirement of laying out the sailcloth for sailmaking. The small boats in this photo are on display as each has its own heritage history.
Lady Bay Lower Lighthouse - Warrnambool
The square tower was originally built in 1854 as one of two obelisks on Flagstaff Hill. The light was originally used in its predecessor, the Beach Lighthouse, built in 1859. This lighthouse was the leading lighthouse but was ineffective due to lack of elevation. During 1871-72, the light was relocated to the top of the obelisk. At the same time the old Middle Island Lighthouse was relocated stone by stone to replace the other obelisk further up Flagstaff Hill to become the Lady Bay Upper Light. The light was originally powered by oil, then gas and finally electricity. The Lower Lighthouse is still in use.
Another long exposure photo that smooths the water.
Bluestone paving bricks, vintage street-lamps and well maintained shops create a perfect replica of Australian heritage villages.
As well as old boats under repair and new construction, a collection of historically significant boats sit in this sheltered cove awaiting their turn to be brought back to original condition.
The Lady Bay Lighthouse Complex is of architectural significance as a fine example of Public Works Department architecture of the 1850s and 1880s. The modest but dignified and sturdy lighthouse structures are indicative of the importance of lighthouses to the communities that relied upon them to facilitate safe passage for shipping, at a time when such transport was crucial to relatively isolated towns like Warrnambool.