"A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself." ~ Jim Morrison
There's a different kind of energy when doing anything with a friend - someone who might not enjoy what you do but, nonetheless, enjoys you. I have friends like that. Is there any other kind? I don't think so.
Yesterday I stood on the porch of a new friend and heard my new friend describe me as her soulmate.
It’s now 158 years since by Great Great Grandmother, Susan Kelleher, arrived in South Australia from Ireland, aboard the ill-fated Nashwauk and I was wondering what life was like for Susan, after her arrival? Did she often reflect back to the night of the wreck? Did she remember the Anniversary of that traumatic event as she made a life for herself in this foreign land?… Of course, we can never know the answers to these questions but I decided to use TROVE, and look through our digitised Australian newspapers, to get a sense of what was happening in the area where Susan made her home on the 15th Anniversary of the Wreck of the Nashwauk… 13 May 1870.
On her arrival in South Australia, Susan was initially housed in the German Hospital, Carrington Street, Adelaide and transported 4 months later to the newly established “Clare Servants Depot”, in the mid north of South Australia, from which she was employed by Mr Bryden, near Skillogalee Creek, at 5/- a week.
Four months later, on 17 Jan 1866, Susan married Edward Nicholls and they had three daughters, Catherine Ann, Mary Anne and Margaret Nicholls. On 20 Oct 1860, when Margaret was only 2 1/2 months old, Edward died of Bronchitis and was buried at his workplace, Bungaree Station. The following year Susan, who was working as a Dressmaker, purchased land at Armagh (just outside of the township of Clare) and settled in a home there with her 3 daughters.
On 7 Feb 1864, after almost 3 1/2 years as a Widow, Susan married a near neighbour Timothy Rowen. By the time of the 15th Anniversary of her arrival, and the shipwreck, Susan had added to her family with 3 more children: Bridget, Eliza Jane (my great grandmother) and her only son Andrew Rowen. She did go on to have another 2 children, Susan and Mary Ellen, but on 13 May 1870 Susan had been widowed, remarried, given birth to only 6 children of her 8 children and still lived at Armagh on the outskirts of the township of Clare with her husband and children.
Their local paper was the Northern Argus and this is what I found on Pages 1 and 2 which I expect would have been of interest to Susan and her husband, Timothy Rowen, as they worked and provided for their 6 children.
On page 3 I found this letter which shows that even 143 years ago the young were irritating their elders with “rowdy” behaviour.
So thanks to TROVE I have a snapshot of what daily life was like for Susan on the 15th Anniversary of her arrival and wonder if, in her busy life, she took a moment to reflect on her unusual landing in this new, and foreign, country.
Many thanks to Amy Houston, of Branches, Leaves & Pollen, for initiating the TROVE TUESDAY Theme. Please click HERE to visit Amy’s Blog and HERE to read the contributions of others.
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Copyright © 2013. Catherine Ann Crout-Habel
It was a dark Sunday morning, on this day 158 years ago, as my Great Great Grandmother Susan Kelleher and her sister Bridget were sailing north along the coast of South Australia and were only 40 miles from their final destination when the “Nashwauk” ran aground. The young Irish servant girls were carried ashore on the sailor’s backs and violent storms over the following days ripped the ship apart and all my Susan’s worldly goods went down with it. The emigrant ship left Liverpool on 13 Feb 1855 with Captain McIntyre, as master, and 268 mostly Irish emigrants aboard and now met its fate on this lonely strip of South Australian coast exactly 3 months later.
I’ve written about the shipwreck on many occasions and today, on the 158th Anniversary of that fateful morning, discovered some recent photographs of the location of the wreck and decided to share. They are taken by an amazing young South Australian photographer, Joel Dawson, and I encourage you to visit his facebook page to enjoy many more stunning sights Joel has captured of my beautiful state of South Australia.
“The night was clear, with starlight and a fresh breeze, and one yellow point of light glanced across the water from the shadow of the land. At 4 a.m. the watch was changed. Clouds obscured the coast. Less than an hour later the Nashwauk was aground off the mouth of a creek that wanders half heartedly through the Moana sand hills.”
Copyright (c) Joel Dawson
View from the end of the Port Noarlunga jetty looking toward the wreck site.
“For half an hour after the Nashwauk struck the crew ‘made sail on her’ in a desperate effort to get her canted off, but, although her sails were all drawing, the surf, pounding in about her, shook the wind out of them and left her helpless. There she remained until the wind, setting in from the southward and westward next day drove her firmly on the reef, which in those waters lies some six feet beneath the sand.”
The passengers all made it safely to shore but one young woman, a servant girl Catherine Stanley, died later of exposure as did Captain McIntyre. The emigrants walked, or were taken inland by dray, to the township of Noarlunga and cared for overnight by the residents.
Copyright (c) Joel Dawson
The Port Noarlunga jetty which was constructed in 1855 just prior to the wreck
The following morning the passengers were taken to the newly built Port Noarlunga jetty to be transported aboard the mail steamer “Thomas Melbourne” to be transported to Port Adelaide.
“Here the sea was so rough that boarding was impossible. The Thomas Melbourne had to be relocated at the mouth of the Onkaparinga. So the passengers trudged another four kilometres along the cliff tops from Harriott’s Creek and reassembled at Gray’s Store near the present day footbridge.”
My Great Great Grandmother spoke of the terror she faced walking along those cliff tops with the raging sea below.
Copyright (c) Joel Dawson
Cliffs at Port Noarlunga
By the time they reached the boarding spot it was dark and only seventy girls agreed to get on the lurching steamer for the journey. The remainder were returned to Noarlunga and the following morning were taken overland, by dray, the city of Adelaide. My Susan, and her sister Bridget, were amongst those who refused to travel by sea and were lodged in the newly built “German Hospital” in, Carrington Street, until arrangements were made for their employment.
Some months later both Susan and Bridget travelled to the newly established “Servants Depot”, in the mid north township of Clare, and were soon employed within the district. However, that is another story… for another day.
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Thankyou to:
Joel Dawson for the magnificent photos. Please visit Joel’s facebook page, to enjoy more of his work, by clicking HERE.
Jean Callen, author of “What Really Happened to the Nashwauk?” from which the quotes are taken. Printed by Butterfly Press, 225 Main North Road, Blackwood, South Australia. 5051. Tel: 08 8278 2899. ISBN 0-9595356-2-4 © 2004
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Copyright © Catherine Ann Crout-Habel
My beautiful mum…
Remembering my beautiful Mother… Kathleen Mary (Allan) Crout (31 Mar 1925 – 7 Sep 2007) and dedicating this enchanting song to her this Mother’s Day, 2013.
The lilting voice of “Geraldine Sexton” drew my daughter, Kirrily Ann, and myself to Geraldine as she sat perched on a stone wall adjacent to the Bunratty Folk Museum in County Clare, Ireland in 1994…. My first visit to the land of our Ancestors. This is for you mum…
My 2X Great Grandmother. Susan Kelleher
Mum closely identified with our Irish Heritage which soon became part of my personal identification, through the stories passed down through the generations. We heard how the ship my Great Great Grandmother, Susan Kelleher, immigrated to South Australia on was wrecked as they were approaching their final destination. How everything she owned went down with the “Nashwauk” and especially meaningful was hearing of Susan’s reluctance to leave her family, and her homeland… but that the effects of the “Potato Famine” made this a necessity.
I dedicate this song to my Susan Kelleher, born Country Clare, Ireland in 1836 and died in Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia on 9 Apr 1922 leaving behind three living daughters and one son, with three daughters deceased. “The grandchildren and great grandchildren number 71.” Susan never did return to her native land.
Lastly I thank my precious children: Cullen Andrew, Jarren Vaughan (deceased), Kirrily Ann and Chad Sean Habel for enriching my life and loving me. This is for you my lovelies.
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Copyright © 2013. Catherine Ann Crout-Habel.
THURSDAY THOUGHTS flowed for from the keyboard of “THE ADELAIDE TAXI DRIVER OF THE CITY” last week in response to a newspaper article regarding the continual screening of Reality TV shows…
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“My idea – put all the reality shows together that can only be shown for one hour a week.”
“Imagine an island loaded with single fat people who have to hunt and gather food to cook into a five star meal served in a renovated shack while singing and dancing.”
“They could find love amongst the other players, lose weight, get fit, be resourceful in finding food and building materials, invent tools.”
“And the losers never get to leave the island.”
“It’s just an idea.”
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SOURCE: Adelaide Advertiser, page 13. 26 April 2013.
http://adelaide.now.com.au
COPYRIGHT © 2013. Catherine Ann Crout-Habel.
Our Australian Digitised newspapers, provided free of charge by the National Library of Australia, are not only interesting and entertaining but provide a wealth of information for those researching family. This article from the 1927 Adelaide newspaper, “The Mail” is but one example of the value of this wonderful resource.
The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 – 1954)
Saturday 27 August 1927page 1.
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/page/5291051
Finally the mystery of “the Anchor”, which had been embedded in sand on a southern South Australian beach for 73 years, was solved. It was indeed the abandoned anchor from the ill fated ship “The Nashwauk”, the Irish “bride ship” on which my 18 year old Great Great Grand-mother Susan Kelleher, and her sister Bridget, emigrated and was wrecked just 40 miles short of their destination. A witness, Mr Giles, confirmed the anchor was not that of the other nearby shipwreck, “The Star of Greece“.
For 73 years the Nashwauk Anchor lay abandoned near the shoreline until in 1927, the same years that the Roundhouse was constructed, the Noarlunga Council offered a reward for its recovery. Local residents, Mr Robinson, his brother, son and three of their horses successfully completed the task.
“Mr. Robinson said that one day in about every two years the anchor of the Nashwauk used to become visible about 50 yards from the shore off Moana, and when, in May of this year, he noticed the anchor showing, he decided that he would endeavor to reclaim it. With his brother and son and three horses he set about the task, and after five or six hours of strenuous effort was successful. The anchor of the Nashwauk is 11. ft. long and weighs several tons, but Lake Beach Estate, Limited, which is developing Moana, has decided to transport it another hundred yards, and set it upon a pedestal to remain a link with history for all time. A concrete base to take the huge anchor has already been constructed.”
Click to enlarge
As the area developed the iconic Roundhouse was demolished the Anchor moved, from its grand plinth on the foreshore, and embedded in a slab of concrete in the Moana Caravan Park. Although no longer the grand monument to Irish Immigration, and the settlement of South Australia, but rusting away behind boom gates. However, at least it survived and for that we’re very grateful.
Nashwauk Anchor before restoration
In 2010 the curator of the Exhibition – “Not Just Ned – A True History of Irish Settlement in Australia” Dr Reid, borrowed the ”Nashwauk Anchor” had it restored by the Australian National Museum and placed this iconic relic on display in Canberra. It’s now back in South Australia, the public is being consulted re: its placement. Many are calling for it to go back to its original spot, in the caravan park, totally unaware its unique history. The original display site of the “Nashwauk Anchor” was never the Moana Caravan Park but on the foreshore, alongside the iconic Roundhouse which unfortunately was demolished in 2006.
This article, in the 1927 copy of “The Mail”, is but one of the many which describe these events, can be accessed on-line and are there to “set the record straight” so the decision makers have the correct facts upon which to base their decision.
I LOVE YOU TROVE!!!
Public consultation of the placement of the restored Anchor is just that… “public“. You do not need to live in the area to provide feedback and if you are of Irish descent and especially if your Ancestors were immigrants on the “Nashwauk” you are an “interested person” and entitled to contribute your opinion.
Only problem is, if you wish to give feedback, that there is a very tight time-line and responses need to be in by this Friday, 3 May 2013… however, with the wonders of modern technology you can quickly and easily contribute. Just click HERE to access my post where you’ll find the link to provide on-line feedback.
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To read the very detailed and informative Newspaper article, quoted here, just click on this link: http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/page/5291051
For other fascinating articles on the wreck, the enquiry and the Anchor just go to TROVE and do a search…
Copyright © 2013. Catherine Ann Crout-Habel
In the emotional aftermath of ANZAC DAY 2013 I needed something to “put a smile on ma dial”. Here ’tis…
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THE SILENT BATTLEFIELD
“THE Australian soldier returned, he made it home to me:
Beyond the joy, the twinkling in his eyes I could not see;
His eyes were full of darkness, twinkling there was no more;
The man I loved had not returned, it was only the soldier that I saw;
So confident and so brave, but something had gone wrong;
He left himself behind in that battlefield all alone;
Where is the man that I adore, for it is he I need;
Silent prayers have gone unanswered, please return to me;
I hold my breath and make a wish, for I know that he is trying;
Trying to leave his battlefield, a battlefield for the dying;
Waiting is what I will do, for eternity if need be,
Waiting for my love to return, return once more to me.”
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Last ANZAC DAY I posted this haunting poem written by KRYSTI NEALE of Kapooka, New South Wales, Australia (born and raised in Semaphore, South Australia)… Since then I have constantly wondered how life is now for her, her husband and family and continue to send much love and healing energy their way.
Last weekend the following article, by Ian Henschke, appeared in the SAWeekend section of the South Australian Advertiser which reminds us all that it is not only the dead and physically maimed members of the armed services we should be re-membering and honouring this ANZAC DAY, but also those carrying the horrific hidden injuries that were once called “Shell Shock” and “Battle Fatigue” but now carry the moniker of PTSD “Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.”
IT READS: (the emphasis is mine)
I’ll be co-commentator for the BC TV Anzac Day coverage again on Thursday morning. Every year we see fewer and fewer veterans. First the World War I Diggers thinned to just a lone marcher. Then there were none. The World War II ranks have been decimated too as they get their final marching orders. The bulk of the ex combatants this year will be from Vietnam and now they’re falling away as age wearies them.
It makes you wonder about the veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. I met a mother the other day whose son is a vet from the war on terror. He is now fighting his own war on terror. He is one of those from the bloody-roadside bomb-ridden conflicts who won’t march, not because of physical wounds, but because of psychological wounds.
Last Remembrance Day Major-General John Cantwell was in Adelaide to raise aware- ness of vets like that mother’s son who were suffering privately. He had just published his biography Exit Wounds. He’d enlisted as a private, gone up through the ranks, been on the front line in Iraq in 1991 and by 2006 had risen to be commander of the Australian forces in Afghanistan, but within a few years his world caved in.
Seeing enemy soldiers buried alive and a car bomb blow up a Baghdad marketplace crowded with women and children left haunting memories. His mind was filling with horror. And it kept filling. Ten of his soldiers were killed in 2010 in Afghanistan. He came home and was about to be promoted to the pinnacle of his military career when he ended up in a psychiatric hospital. We’d heard about the war trauma before but from not such a high-ranking-soldier.
Perhaps the most famous incident of a high-ranking officer confronting post-traumatic stress was 70 years ago when US General Patton had a brain snap in a military hospital. He wasn’t a patient but he showed the symptoms. He came across two of his fellow soldiers suffering from battle fatigue. He slapped them across the face, and verbally abused them. He kicked one of them and pulled out a pistol on the other and threatened to shoot him on the spot. He is reported to have said, “I won’t have those cowardly bastards hanging around our hospitals. We’ll probably have to shoot them some time anyway, or we’ll raise a breed of morons”.
Post-traumatic stress disorder was diagnosed as shell shock and war neurosis in World War I. It became battle fatigue in World War II. In 1943 at the very time General Patton ws thinking about how many “yellow bastards” should be shot, the US military was frantically making secret training films to show their medical officers just how serious and real the issue was becoming. In one, now declassified, film they talk about the campaigns that Patton headed in North Africa and Italy where they were seeing up to 50 per cent of soldiers with some form of “battle fatigue”.
Patton led an army that fought for 281 days straight from the landing in Normandy to the fall of Berlin. It ended up killing, wounding or capturing around one and a half million enemy. For its part, it sustained 140,000 casualties. The long term toll of PTSD is still debatable, but it is now recognised that up to a third of those in sustained fighting end up with some sort of psychological wound. It prompted the US military by the end of the war to come up with the slogan: “Every man has his breaking point”.
General Patton’s was when he broke his neck in a car accident on the way to a pheasant shoot near Speyer in Germany just before Christmas 1945. One of his last comments was: “This is a hell of a way to die.” He was buried in a war grave in Luxembourg alongside his men. This Anzac Day spare a thought, lest we forget, for those who won’t march because they have PTSD, and that’s a hell of a way to live.
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When discussing his Book, EXIT WOUNDS, Major-General John Cantwell is quoted as saying… “This is my story, but it is also the story of thousands of Australian veterans from Iraq, East Timor, Afghanistan and other conflicts who bear similar emotional scars. This is what becomes of those men and women we send off to war, pay little attention to, then forget once they are home.”
We are told that: “As a country boy from Queensland, John Cantwell signed up to the army as a private and rose to the rank of major general. He was on the front line in 1991 as Coalition forces fitted bulldozer blades to tanks and buried alive Iraqi troops in their trenches. He fought in Baghdad in 2006 and saw what a car bomb does to a marketplace crowded with women and children. In 2010 he commanded the Australian forces in Afghanistan when ten of his soldiers were killed. He returned to Australia in 2011 to be considered for the job of chief of the Australian Army. Instead, he ended up in a psychiatric hospital.
Exit Wounds is the compassionate and deeply human account of one man’s tour of the War on Terror, the moving story of life on a modern battlefield: from the nightmare of cheating death in a minefield, to the poignancy of calling home while under rocket fire in Baghdad, to the utter despair of looking into the face of a dead soldier before sending him home to his mother. He has hidden his post traumatic stress disorder for decades, fearing it will affect his career.
Australia has been at war for the past twenty years and yet there has been no stand-out account from these conflicts—Exit Wounds is it. Raw, candid and eye-opening, no one who reads this book will be unmoved, nor forget its imagery or words.”
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To read my previous posts re: ANZAC Day and our Diggers… please just click on HOME, in the Menu bar above, and then select “Military” in the Category “side bar”… Cheers, Catherine.
RESOURCES
Thankyou to the South Australian Advertiser for the poem – “The Silent Battlefield” Published in: “The (Adelaide) Advertiser“, Remembrance Day, 11 Nov 2011
Thanks also to ”The (Adelaide) Advertiser“, for Ian Henschke’s article – “The high price of war” published in SAWeekend 20-21 April 2013.
EXIT WOUNDS can be purchased from the following bookshops and the quotes I’ve used can be attributed to both these companies. Many thanks…
Random House Books – Australia: http://www.randomhouse.com.au/books/john-cantwell/exit-wounds-one-mans-war-on-terror-9780522861785.aspx
ABC Shop: http://shop.abc.net.au/products/exit-wounds-tpb
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Copyright © 2013. Catherine Ann Crout-Habel.
Seeking Susan~Meeting Marie~Finding Family
At long last the process to put the Nashwauk Anchor back on public display has commenced and I sure am smilin’…
The City of Onkaparinga,South Australia is taking it to public consultation and is seeking feedback which you can be a part of, regardless of where you live. However there is a tight time frame and the cut off date is, Friday 3 May 2013 but just click HERE for a link to quickly and easily provide your feedback online.
This would be of particular interest to those with Irish heritage and especially if their Ancestors were upon this ill-fated Immigrant ship when it was foundered and then sank off the coast of Moana, South Australia, taking all their worldly goods with it. Information of the history of the “Nashwauk Anchor”, and the sites proposed for it’s re-location, is provided below.
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Many would remember my post of 12 months ago where I described the sinking of this immigrant ship on which my 18 year old Great Great Grandmother, Susan Kelleher, travelled from County Clare, Ireland to make a new life in South Australia. Susan and her sister Bridget were among the 207 single Irish girls who boarded this “bride ship” in Liverpool, UK which, after a three month journey, made its made its way up the Gulf St Vincent toward its final destination, Port Adelaide, South Australia. It had been an uneventful voyage and was a dark, but clear, moonlit night when at 4am the watch changed, clouds obscured the coast and the “Nashwauk” was wrecked adjacent to Harriott’s Creek (Pedler’s Creek) at the mouth of the Onkaparinga River, some 40 miles short of it’s destination.
Click to enlarge
Childhood stories of the shipwreck, the girls being carried ashore on the sailors backs and especially our family visits to the Nashwauk Anchor, whetted my appetite for researching all aspects of family.
Mum, my brothers and I with our car and caravan in the background. Circa 1954. Copyright(c)2012.Catherine Crout-Habel
It was a sad day when, preparing to take my own children to visit their Great Great Great Grandmother’s Anchor, it was not to be found… No longer was it standing proudly and majestically on the foreshore adjacent to where the ship foundered and then broke apart, taking all of my Susan’s belongings with it. Also gone was the Moana Roundhouse which kept the Anchor company during its constant vigil as well as providing us with yummy icecreams and ice cold cool drinks on those hot summer days.
Sadly the Roundhouse is gone forever.. It was the first building erected in Moana. The stone laid on 19Nov1927 and this iconic building was demolished in 2006. To read about this sad event and view some irreplaceable photographs please click HERE. (please note: 2 days ago this links was working and now it’s not. I’ll leave it here for a while and see if it fixes itself) 
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Fortunately the Nashwauk Anchor has survived and has been in the custody of what was once the “Moana Caravan Park” but has grown and is now the “Moana Beach Tourist Park”. Although I was terribly disappointed that it had been reduced in stature, and no longer had a commanding presence, at least survived. I’m sure that those who dragged it ashore 73 years after the ship went down and then set it on its high concrete plinth, overlooking the sea, would be most pleased that it has not been lost or abandoned.
In 1927 the Noarlunga offerred a reward to recover the anchor and Mr Robinson, his brother, son and three horses successfully completed the task.
“Mr. Robinson said that one day in about every two years the anchor of the Nashwauk used to become visible about 50 yards from the shore off Moana, and when, in May of this year, he noticed the anchor showing, he decided that he would en- deavor to reclaim it. With his brother and son and three horses he set about the task, and after five or six hours of strenuous effort was successful. The anchor of the Nashwauk is 11. ft. long and weighs several tons, but Lake Beach Estate, Limited, which is developing Moana, has decided to transport it another hundred yards, and set it upon a pedestal to remain a link with history for all time. A concrete base to take the huge anchor has already been constructed.”
The entire newspaper report can be read HERE.
Nashwauk Anchor before restoration
So highly regarded is the Anchor that it was taken to Canberra by Dr Richard Reid, restored by the National Museum of Australia, and put on display (17 Mar 2011)as part of the “Not Just Ned – A true History of the Irish in Australia” Exhibition. The Australian National Geographic reported on the significance of this Anchor as an important part of our South Australian heritage:
“Women were sent out on government ships to work as domestic staff on the new colony and to redress the gender ratio. The exhibition will display an anchor from the Nashwauk, a ship wrecked off South Australia in 1855, carrying 207 of these young Irish women. They were carried from the waters on the shoulders of men who swam out to rescue them – and they all survived.”
To read the entire Australian National Geographic article please click HERE
Dr Richard Reid
It’s wonderful that this precious relic has been cleaned, restored and has taken pride of place in such and important Exhibition but my fear, which I wrote about HERE, was that it would never come back to its rightful home in South Australia. Well, its back home and ready to go on display. To read about the ”Not Just Ned – A True History of the Irish in Australia” exhibition, please click HERE. Thankyou Dr Reid. All that’s needed is a decision about the location which you, the public, is invited to be a part of. The City of Onkaparinga has listed 3 Potential sites:a) Moana Tourist Park: approximate cost $4,000
The proposal was to return the anchor to the Moana Tourist Park and to have the anchor semi-enclosed in a recycled timber and galvanised iron structure which would give the anchor some protection from the environmental factors at the site. The cost of the structure and concrete plinth is approximately $4,000 but does not include any enclosed side panels on the structure. This site has existing lighting which will reduce costs associated with its display. This location would not address the concerns of some people in the community who have expressed an interest in the anchor being located in a more publicly accessible area.
Roadway leading down the side of the Moana Pioneers Memorial Hall to Moana Tourist Park
b) Nashwauk Reserve: approximate cost $4,000 – $15,000
There is existing developed open space that resides between the Moana Surf Lifesaving Club and the Moana Tourist Park. This reserve was developed several years ago as part of the Coast Park program. The anchor could be located as a feature within the reserve. This location would not have the passive surveillance that it previously enjoyed at the Tourist Park to assist with avoiding vandalism. The cost of the structure would be $4,000 for the same structure as is proposed in the Tourist Park but would be increased if side panels were added to the structure to protect it from the sea environment. Lighting of the structure and anchor would also increase costs. For an enclosed structure with lighting the cost would increase to approximately $15,000.
Nashwauk Reserve viewed from Nashwauk Crescent
Nashwauk Reseve viewed from Moana Crescent
c) Moana Pioneers memorial Hall approximate cost $4,000 – $15,000
There is sufficient area in the open space in front of the Moana Pioneers Memorial Hall to locate the anchor and this would also serve as an entry statement to the Coast Park area. The cost of the structure in this location would be as described in option (b) above, dependent on the nature of the structure.
Nashwauk Pioneers Memorial Hall
The City of Onkaparinga has provided this “birds eye” view to help folks get their bearings.
Potential sites for the Nashwauk Anchor placement
However, thanks to the wonders of modern technology via Google Maps, you can go for a stroll down Nashwauk Crescent, Moana, South Australia towards the Esplanade and check out the sites for yourself. Just click HERE to begin your journey at the round-about, with the road to the Moana Tourist Park (proposal a) on your left, the Pioneer Memoral Hall (proposal c) on the corner… and as you travel down to the seashore Nashwauk Reserve (proposal b) is on your left. Enjoy…
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The managers of the Moana Tourist park left a message, about this matter, on my blog… click HERE to read in the comments section. I phoned, we chatted and they took up my offer to publish their point of view which differs from mine, because we’re coming from a different perspective, but certainly is worthy of consideration before any decision is made. Thanks Daryl and Sandi-Kate. Their proposal is as follows:
Proposal for relocating the
Nashwauk Anchor
from the
Moana Beach Tourist Park
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“As the current Managers of the Moana Beach Tourist Park, we would like to contribute to the community consultation process in regard to finding a new location to place the Nashwauk Anchor. There is debate about the length of time that the anchor has been displayed inside the Park, but it has been a significant number of years. During this time many a guest to the Park have taken photographs of their families with the Anchor, some of them repeatedly each time they visit. The anchor is a part of many guest’s childhood memories of summer holidays spent at the Tourist Park. Over the 12 months of 2012, we received a visit from 549 families that reside within the City of Onkaparinga. This accounts for over 30% of all reservations for the year, and demonstrates that the Park is accessed by a high proportion of local ratepayers who qualify to be part of this engagement process. The residents that live on the Park under a lease agreement are also used to the anchor being a part of their home environment, and some feel very connected to it and are prepared to put forward their ideas. Over the years, the Tourist Park has built an identity around the anchor, with it’s inclusion on the Logo and photographs on the Parks Facebook Page. We would like to continue marketing the Tourist Park with the anchor as our point of difference, as it gives a great impression of history and proximity to the beach.
We understand completely the views of those who have ancestors that were on the Nashwauk when it went down. They should be able to visit and view the anchor easily, and would choose for it to remain close to the actual site where it occurred.
Everyone shares the same concern for the safety of the anchor going forward, that it can be protected from the elements and also intentional damage caused by vandalism.
Daryl and I would like to propose an alternative site to the current 3 choices under consideration. We would love to see the anchor displayed at the entrance to the Park within close proximity to the visitor car park and Nashwauk Crescent. This would be a compromise to address the concerns of those in the community who have already expressed an interest in the anchor being located in a more publicly accessible area, and also allow it to continue the passive surveillance from Park Management in an endeavour to avoid vandalism. This location would also be ideal to serve as an entry statement to the Coast Park area from the south, along Nashwauk Crescent, while also highlighting and identifying the entrance to the Park.
This proposal would tie in comfortably with the proposed future upgrade of the Tourist Park entrance area and/ or the sealing of the dustbowl that is a visitor car park that has been put forward as a Capital Works Project for several years running. The associated costs in choosing this location would still be in the same vicinity as the other 2 sites that have been proposed outside the confines of the Tourist Park.
As with any issue that is undertaken, either by City of Onkaparinga or Moana Beach Tourist Park, you will not be able to satisfy each and every person with an interest in the outcome. However we suggest that this site would at least address the issues raised thus far by interested parties, and could be viewed as a positive result for all stakeholders.
Best regards,
Daryl and Sandi-Kate Hutchins
Managers Christies Beach and Moana Beach Tourist Parks.
To access the Park’s Facebook page please click HERE
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My vision is to see the Nashwauk Anchor retured to its former glory before being removed from the foreshore, tucked away behind boom gates and removed from the public eye. It would be wonderful to see it returned to serve the purpose envisaged by Lake Beach Estate, Limited, which developed Moana when, in 1927, it set it upon a pedestal on the foreshore for it to remain a link with history for all time.
I envisage a future where exciting public events, celebrating this important aspect of our South Australian heritage, are held on Nashwauk Reserve… especially during May, which is South Australian History Month and also the same month the “Nashwauk” foundered and was torn apart by the stormy seas.
The 160th Anniversary of the shipwreck is only 2 years away – 13 May 2015- and is a perfect time to proudly showcase Moana Beach, and its environs, pulling in tourists from far away just as the summer season is coming to a close.
For these reasons, of the 3 Potential sites, my choice has to be Option b) the Nashwauk Reserve. However, like the Management of the Park, I have an alternative, and preferred site, which is right there at the corner of Nashwauk Crescent and the Esplanade… overlooking the sea, close to the Life Saving Club and the Australian flag. Family picnics, fetes and history festivals could be held on the Nashwauk Reserve with the Nashwauk Anchor in full sight.
The view along Nashwauk Crescent
Corner of Nashwauk Crescent and the Esplanade
Just imagine swinging around the corner of Nashwauk Crescent, travelling past the Pioneer Memorial Hall, and being drawn towards the beachfront by the stately majesty of this iconic piece of South Australian History… and to see it floodlit at night would add to its magnificence.
This position is more central and protected than the reserve as it is close to the Lifesaving Club, the car park and with buildings on this corner of the Esplanade. If the Lifesaving Club has security cameras, this would be an advantage… if not, installing them would provide extra protection for both structures. If funding is an issue, maybe other organisations would be willing to contribute a little to help offset the cost… after all it is a State Heritage item.
These are my thoughts and I hope the City of Onkaparing gives them due consideration. Your view may differ, and that’s OK… remember that the cut off date is Friday 3 May 2013 which is not far away. Just click HERE and you can download a hard copy of the form to provide feedback, or fill in an online survey.
On Saturday, January 26, 1929 – Australia Day… The Adelaide Newspaper “The News” featured a magnificent photo of the “Nashwauk Anchor” mounted high on its pedestal on the foreshore and the caption read:
MOANA BEACH LANDMARK
This old anchor has been mounted on a concrete base. It formerly belonged to the Nashwauk, which was wrecked at the mouth of the Onkaparinga in May, 1855. After 72 years the anchor was em-bedded upright in the sand, but it has been since mounted and will be suitably inscribed in the near future.
How wonderful it would be to once again see the Nashwauk Anchor return to its former glory as a Moana Beach Landmark.
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RESOURCES AND FURTHER READING:
To provide feedback on the Anchor’s placement: http://onkaparingacity.com/onka/council/community_engagement/project_status_board/nashwauk_anchor.jsp
Nashwauk Anchor Needs a New Home:
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/historic-nashwauk-anchor-needs-new-home-in-adelaides-southern-suburbs/story-e6frfkp9-1226624244320
A True History of the Irish in Australia – Not Just Ned
http://www.nma.gov.au/exhibitions/irish_in_australia/home
Major Exhibition of Irish Australia to open in 2010:
http://www.irishecho.com.au/2010/02/17/major-exhibition-on-irish-australia-to-open-in-2011/2000
ABC includes interview with Richard Reed:
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/02/15/3139451.htm
Exhibition opened on St Patricks Day 2011:
http://www.irishscene.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=220:irishaust
The Irish in Australia:
http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/irish-in-australia.htm
Moana Roundhouse:
http://winecoast.heimat.eu/index2/moana_beach/pages/moana_roundhouse.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moana,_South_Australia
Treasures recovered from the Nashwauk: http://maritime.historysa.com.au/collections/shipwreck-collection/moulded-bricks-nashwauk
http://www.oceantreasures.org/blog/do/tag/nashwauk/
Nashwauk Passenger List:
http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/nashwauk1855.shtml
Historic Newspaper articles from TROVE:
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/page/5291051
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/58536914
http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/58533948
SAMemory – Shipwrecks:
http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=715
Moana Lifesaving Club History:
http://www.moanaslsc.com.au/history.html
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Copyright © 2013. Catherine Ann Crout-Habel
