THE ESPERANCE SEAFRONT PARK - PART THREE - AND SOME MORE HISTORY (5 MARCH 2015)

As promised in my last, we began today's seafront ramble at what I call the northern bookend of the Esperance town seafront, the impressively long Tanker Jetty,

which curves away seaward from the northern end of the formal esplanade seafront linear park. No longer commercially used, this structure is now a focal point for many locals and visitors alike who flock along it, especially in the late afternoon, chasing herring and squid in particular.

But it was not always so.  This jetty played a significant part in the story of Esperance. Let me quote directly from the informative plaque nearby.

"For 30 years the Tanker Jetty was an important part of Esperance's economic life, but the needs of the town and of the State outgrew it.  The opening of the sand plains for farming and the discovery of nickel at Kambalda drove demand for better export facilities at Esperance.

In 1962 a new wharf was opened, with a second berth opening in 1972.  In 1976 a new jetty was built at Taylor Street for the commercial fishing fleet and yachts.  In 1983 a new fishing boat harbour was constructed at Bandy Creek.

The Tanker Jetty remained in use until 1977 when the last ship unloaded fuel here........."

Sadly, and of real concern to the entire community, this wonderful jetty is showing worrying signs of its age. Expert opinion puts its remaining life at no more than two years. Moves are afoot to have it repaired.....the cost is enormous, but the possibility of using it as the docking facility for the many cruise ships which now visit Esperance is at the fore of current thinking. We wish them luck.  It would be such a shame to see this iconic and much recreationally used structure disappear from the Esperance shoreline. And let's face it, an arrival as a cruise ship passenger to this docking point would be far preferable to sharing a wharf with loading gain ships, as we shall see later.

Some work has been done to enable access to the jetty, but this has created an amusing local problem (well for those of us who are mere onlookers, at least).

This entry grid poses real problems for canine visitors....if you look very closely you will see the chap in the dark shirt is carrying his little pooch.

Ah, solid ground. Thanks Dad...I'll be right now.

This end of the linear park bustles with activity.  It is very popular with Esperance mums who congregate in droves around the well established playground in the park grounds.

And here too, art work can be found on the manicured lawns. These representations of ships' rudders, continued the nautical theme and the apparent obsession with direction. The low, plank like structures which surround the uprights

demanded closer attention.

Sure enough, they showed the four major points of the compass.  They knew I was coming!

And here, too, we discovered that Albany and Esperance have more than a port in common. They both proudly display a 'Sammy The Seal' on the seafront.

The blue caravan on the courtyard behind Sam is another Esperance gem....the Esperance Bakery's mobile pie cart.  Our good travelling friends the Elefthierious had strongly endorsed the quality of the 'Redz' pies (sold from a blue van) which could be bought here.  It was time to allow myself my fortnightly treat.....Steve, you were right....in the appropriate Aussie vernacular....a bloody ripper!  The red van next door is a favourite with many of the gathered Mums as well as the many tourists who frequent this area. The 'Coffee Cat' is the purveyor of a fine liquid product.

Outdoor benches and tables and a large, well decorated public toilet provide real amenity here for those munching, sipping or just in need otherwise.

As you would expect in such a well found public space, BBQ areas are dotted along the paths.  This particular one is at the northern extreme of the park,

beyond which the residential esplanade, with its stunning line of Norfolk Pines, take over from the park for the next two kilometres or so until the beach runs out at the breakwall of the Bandy Creek boat harbour.

Panning even further to the right, the shoreline continues to arc away to the north-east

past the Bandy Creek area and on to the distant bulk of the granite lump which is Wylie Head. From here, beach access allows those with 4WD's to drive the entire 40 kms or so around the huge expanse of Wylie Bay to the Cape Le Grande camp site (which we visit later).

But our heads, or at least our feet, were heading in the opposite direction, south along this section of the park.  This stretch of the seafront is home to large holiday apartment blocks, and the Jetty Motel, the business owned by my newly discovered relatives.

As we happily wandered further south, we came across more BBQ's and shelter sheds, but here there was something new to interest us.

Information plaques have been placed on the edges of the walkway.

It was here that we learnt more about the redoubtable Dempster brothers, whose name lives on in Dempster Street and who are also remembered in the lovely gardens through which we had strolled the previous morning.

In 1866, Andrew, Charles, James and William, together with their families, arrived in the Esperance area as the first European settlers.  They took up a lease on 123,000 hectares of land which they stocked with sheep, cattle, and horses, brought overland from Northam (no mean feat in itself...Northam is 100 kms or so north-east of Perth).

Each of the brothers built themselves houses in the virgin bush and set about creating a grazing property of worth. Within two years they were grazing 5,000 sheep, 150 cattle, 20 horses and 2 pigs. Ever enterprising, and recognising the need to create a better means by which to gain and retain contact with the wider world, their next venture was to build the young town's first jetty at the end of what is now Emily Street at the end of the 1870's.

From here, in their 20 tonne cutter 'Gypsy', these ever enterprising brothers exported sheep and other goods to the markets......in Adelaide no less.....and brought in stores from the much closer (relative term only) Fremantle. 'Gypsy' was also used to move cattle out onto the islands of the nearby Recherce Archipelago (guess who named that) to graze when the mainland was becoming depleted of fodder.

What a story this family can tell. Andrew, in particular, was a real adventurer.  Before establishing the Esperance grazing venture with his brothers, he had skippered a 120 tonne trading craft between Australia and Mauritius and gotten up to all sorts of other tricks, far too numerous to detail here. I am constantly amazed by the extraordinary tales of the exploits of early Australians we unearth as we travel around our wonderful country.

And, in a delicious postscript to this one, Dempsters Jetty was not only essential to early Esperance trade, it was notorious as the spot where the local lads would go to 'skinny dip'. How many local lasses were poised on the upper slopes of Dempster Street, spyglasses raised, checking out prospective husbands, we wondered!

Dotted right along the rocks of the esplanade seawall, we found further small quirky pieces of local art, some obviously just there for their own sake,








others of which actually told a story about some aspect of local life.  This one, for example, describes how the local Aborigines would use crabs to lure snapper the surface before spearing them.  Finding these along the way was something akin to an adult treasure hunt and certainly added much to the enjoyment of our stroll.

Nature also plays a decorative role....to my delight the pigface, a plant which always reminds me of the best of my childhood days in Port Lincoln, was in bloom amongst the rocks and sand.












By now we had almost reached James Street, the point at which we had detoured yesterday, where those in need of physical exercise are well catered for.






From here on we were actually retracing our steps, but there is so much on offer it was anything but mundane.




This time we wandered out to the end of the James Street rock wall where a formal platform and seats invite a short stay and a good look around.

From here we could see the bulk carriers lying in the roads of Esperance Bay,

and gain a better view of he swimming jetty and the Pier Hotel in the background.

And from here we could also see one of the cruise liners to which I previously referred. The 'Astor'', a compact but frequent visitor, was alongside.

What a contrast......the long, dour, businesslike bulk of a grain carrier, its hull painted typically in black and red, and the gleaming white lines of the 'Astor'. Now you may be able to see why I thought the idea of bringing these cruise ships alongside the Tanker Jetty would be such a good idea.





Even if one cannot see the port, there is never any doubt when a cruise ship is in. Signs like this right along the seafront direct passengers to, in this instance, the town centre.







The inclusion of Esperance on the cruise ship itinerary has been a real boon to the town. And the town has responded. Those who come ashore are welcomed by every business, and for those needing advice or information, a foreshore marquee staffed by well informed volunteers is the place to go. many who come ashore toddle off on various organised bus tours to Cape LeGrande and elsewhere, 








but many chose to just stretch their legs

or see the sights on a bike.  How could we tell.....the cruise passengers dress unlike any other tourists....much better! They really do stand out.










Before we leave this magnificent seafront park, I must share another surprise. Come on, I hear you scoff...that's just a rubbish bin.  













Indeed it is, but this is a 'superbin', complete with solar panels.

I'll let the attached sign speak for itself.

Just how good is this? I was stunned.....what a seriously good bit of kit this is. Come on Glenelg.





Before we leave the water front, a few snippets.  As you would expect, we came across some lovely esplanade homes













rows of holiday apartments located to take full advantage of the views over the bay (there's that gym equipment again!)






and the Island View holiday units where the enterprise of the owner tickled us pink. If you look closely, you will see two flags flying on the poles...the Australian and the German. I took a guess as to why....the nationality of incumbent guests. We had previously seen the Canadian maple leaf fluttering on high, and this was the only reason I could think of. 

As it happened the owner emerged just as we were passing....a quick chat, and I was able to inform my equally interested, but sadly sceptical companion that I was right. The clever owner of this holiday establishment was happy to share that incoming guests cannot believe what they see, and more importantly, talk to all and sundry about it here and at home. Clever bugger!







At this point, as we did previously, we farewelled the seafront and made our way back onto Dempster Street. Here we walked past the front of the museum (got that itch yet Liz?)

and the adjacent old railway station which now houses a bookstore,













to the Visitor Information Centre (looking so different to market day) where Liz was on a quest for a particular stubbie holder, one picturing that extraordinary shot of a large red kangaroo lounging on the brilliant white sands of Lucky Bay (and more of that later, too)

And, just complete our Esperance seafront odyssey, we drove back later in the afternoon to watch the departure of the Astor.  



What a sight it was as, with churning bow thrusters and just the slightest wisp of smoke from her raked funnel, she edged away from the dock, stark white in the late afternoon sun, nary a tug in sight (which, as we shall later discover, amounts to a huge saving on the docking cost of each visit)








and made her way at a very goodly clip out into Esperance Bay where she would wend her way past the many islands and steam on out into the Southern Ocean, Albany bound.






What a wonderful way to finish our Esperance seafront saga. Now for the western beaches, a close look at the port and a visit to Cape Le Grande.

Let me conclude with a quick, 'real time' update. As you will have gathered, I'm miles behind with these missives, a product of two factors.  Firstly, we found so much to do in Esperance I was too busy to blog daily.  My plan to use time at The Duke of Orleans Bay to catch up foundered dismally.......we found ourselves completed locked out of the wireless world....even a simple phone call was difficult. Access to the Internet was but a dream.  So there went another ten days of blogging inactivity.

We have now been back in Esperance for four days, during which I have been spending as much time on the keyboard as my fingers and eyes will allow (about six hours per day), and I am still sadly well behind the eightball.

In an hour's time we are heading off to Lake King for the night and thence to Hyden (Wave Rock) for two days before returning to Perth for Easter.  There I hope to catch up...there is so much more to share...Cape Le Grande, the beaches, the port and 'The Duke'.  I crave your patience, dear readers, I'm doing my level best!