The Jetty Project

A smallish jetty (less than half the original length) that gives the impression of being well used. We visited late on a Saturday and several fishermen were leaving, only one remaining. But the weather shelters and general wear suggest it is popular. It was still a fine, sunny day but extremely windy, which might be why the water looked so turbid.

 There is a small fishing settlement just south of the modern marina. In amongst the fishing sheds is the jetty. It's not particularly long and kinks half-way out. There is a ramp on the northern side near the base and ramps on both sides, angled backwards, towards the end. The far end of the jetty was slick and slippery with guano and stank for that reason. An early jetty was constructed in the 19th century to facilitate the construction of a lighthouse a few kilometers out on a reef. This later collapsed. Because it's a pretty remote and windswept spot there was no reason to build a replacement intil the 1950s when the current jetty was constructed for fishermen. It was progressively lengthened to the current 257m. It is fairly high, but so was the tide when we visited which gives it the impression of being another low jetty like Port MacDonnell.

 These jetties were taken during a long weekend based in Millicent. Being in August the weather was variable and quite blustery - which was most obvious visiting Port MacDonnell. The jetty here is protected by a long breakwater that curves around from the north. It meant that the water was flat but it was still very breezy. There were a couple of people fishing at the far end. It is most apparent from this top picture that the jetty is actually very low - it's the lowest in the state. Now that there is a breakwater that doesn't seem incongruous. The jetty was first opened in 1861. Soon after that there were recommendations that a breakwater would be needed, and without it the jetty needed repairs by the 1930's (although these weren't carried out intil the 50's). Finally in 1977-79 the breakwater was built.

Vivonne Bay is a particularly pretty location. The jetty is a good vantage point from which to see it. There is a motorised crane at the midpoint of the jetty and this is presumably used to raise and lower the dinghies that are stored on the jetty. Rails run out for the first half of the jetty and there is a hand cart that is probably still used.

According to my official jetty list there are four jetties in Kingscote. Unfortunately the actual jetties aren't so clearly labelled and it took a while to work out which was which. The first one here is actually the most recent - the fishermen's jetty. It was built in 1956 after discussions with the Kingscote Fishermen's Association and upgraded in 2002, which is presumably when the ramps at each end were added. Next to it is the Mooring Jetty. This doesn't look much like a jetty but that makes sense given its named purpose. It's a fairly unattractive metal structure. Next jetty is the oldest existing jetty in Kingscote, the screwpile jetty. Built in 1886 it was originally longer, and built with only screwpiles - additional wooden piles were added later. It became less important after the main jetty was built in 1910. The first half of this wa...

 The other end of the Sealink ferry route, a fairly short jetty attached to a large superstructure - the Sealink terminal and the docking facility, the proximal end of which is very rusty and in need of replacement. The far end is much newer and looked sound. It's been L-shaped since 1908, shortly after construction, but was shortened after the 1981 storms. Despite the frequent ferries the water was beautiful and clear.

 The original American River jetty was built by George Hart in 1908 and so named Hart's jetty. This has now been replaced by the general wharf area called Hart's Landing. It has a newer, smaller, boat mooring jetty attached, accessed by two approaches. My jetty list also includes the Ballast Head jetty at American River, which was a large industrial jetty for the local mine, which has since been dismantled.