Weekly Chat, Sunday, March 14

Continuing SA history . . . Ships came to the many small ports on Spencer Gulf & St Vincent Gulf - Wallaroo, Port Minlacowie, Port Broughton, Port Germein, Port Lincoln, Port Pirie and many more. These ports sprang up to export copper from Moonta, salt from Edithburgh and the wheat & barley harvests.

Although steamships were faster, it was cheaper to transport grain in sailing ships. The most important port was Port Victoria on the west side of SA’s Yorke Peninsula where the bags of grain were taken by 20 ketches from the wheat stacks to the sailing ships anchored in deep water offshore. In those labour-intensive days of bag sewers & wheat lumpers, the sacks were handled 6 times from farmer’s waggon to ship. It took 6-8 weeks to fill a ship’s hold.

Port Victoria became known as "Mariehamn of the South" as many of the ships were Finnish, owned by Gustav Erikson. In the 1920s to 1940s the windjammers held an informal race, the Great Grain Race, for the fastest to carry grain from Spencer Gulf via Cape Horn to Falmouth in the English Channel. A good passage was less than 100 days and the fastest was Parma in 1933 in 83 days.

The last square-rigger Passat sailed from Port Victoria in 1949 loaded with 60,000 sacks of barley for distillers in Scotland.

Scroll halfway down

for a photo of ships at Port Victoria in 1933 and other pics of the last of the great four-masted barques.

So much happening here now – can’t keep up with all the posts – but great to see LG nest again.

Are you still online, AQ?  If so, good morning to you as we prepare for bed after a busy day out – I don’t like shopping in cities, even ‘though Carlisle is a small one!  I think I said yes to the camera we came home with just so that we could leave the shop – hope I like it by tomorrow.  Had a one hour phone call from Son tonight – plenty happening, he seems to be getting the job started.  The youth centre had been closed awaiting his appointment, and he is having to get restarted in line with the objectives required by funders.  This is the first time he has managed staff, other than volunteers.  But he seems happy and organised.

To everyone, goodnight.

AQ: Can't the cricketer or his fiance go to rehab for his/her problems? Then they can make a bunch of dough "confessing" to the media!   :-)

Back later. Trucker Dude is still in Montana (Big Sky Country).

AQ, Thanks, great update. Nothing like a good drama! Stay cool.

Annette, that would make all the papers for sure lol

OG - I think you must be in bed by now. I went off to reply to an email. A lengthy & difficult one. The trouble with putting family history info on my website is that people write and ask for more details about what happened back then. And usually I don't know !!! <sigh> I only record the names I find in the Govt Gazettes or suchlike.

Annette & Gary - When I worked (back in the Dark Ages), I can't imagine that my boss would have tolerated me letting my private life affect my work. And as for going to counsellors - what ever happened to the"stiff upper lip", the "don't wash your dirty linen in public"? Ah, I see, that doesn't sell newspapers, magazines, etc.

Hey AQ: Well, here in California, you're considered dysfunctional if you don't see a counselor!!  Anyone who comes here loses their stiff upper lips after about 10 minutes in the sunshine.  Had nice cloud cover for the most of the day but it got warm - mid 70s in the afternoon.

Been watching the Trucker cam on and off: Funny coincidences - the truck had just passed Butte, Montana, when National Public Radio's The World did a story on all the Irish immigrants that had settled there; they interviewed a man who was going to be in the big St. Patrick's Day parade and he was bursting with pride about his Irish heritage. Now, one of our local Public Broadcasting TV stations is showing a documentary on Butte and the boom - and bust - days of the copper mines (around the 1920s), where, they report, the  "No Smoking" signs were in 16 languages. THe narrator has an Irish accent.

Have another load of laundry in the washer, which includes some dirty linen! Can the ironing pile be far behind?  Tired tonight, so take care all and have a good - um - oh yes - Thursday.

I will shortly be leaving on a 300 mile drive to see my sister, but will be taking my laptop with me so that I keep in touch with you all and  our ospreys. I have seen ospreys passing through, where my sister lives ( on NW coast) so I will keep my eyes open.

Thanks for all the news, links and chat. Have a great day.

Morning Alan and thanks for letting us know about the Glaslyn osprey cam being up.  Really getting excited now, can't be long before we have ospreys now.

Good morning Brenda H do have a safe journey, that's a long way to drive.  Maybe you will be lucky and see and osprey.  have a good time.