Fleurieu Magic: An excursion to Port Elliot

Although the sky was an overcast grey, we set off for a wander around the lovely coastal village of Port Elliot just down the coast from us. I always love a visit here, strolling past the old sandstone buildings that convey a sense of times past, popping into the secondhand bookshop for a browse, perusing the homewares and posh clothing at Coast By Design and ending up along the coastal walk. And that's just what we did on this visit.

First up, we wandered around the current railway station, built 1911. Even though it was holiday time and a Saturday, the Cockle Train that runs from Victor Harbor to Goolwa was not running so the station was deserted; (the train gets its name from the train that used to take day-trippers who flocked to Goolwa to gather the cockles at the beach).

I am cheating here as this next photo is from an earlier visit, but it was so exciting to see the Cockle Train coming round the bend (and it was all I could do to stop singing Johnny Cash's 'Folsom Prison Blues' with the lines ' I hear the train a'comin rollin' round the bend.')

This hotel was originally called the Railway Hotel, built in 1868 and situated just down from the station.

We were now strolling down The Strand, the main thoroughfare in Port Elliot that goes from the main road right down to the coast. I'm always interested in old Social Institutes - those buildings that were built to foster a love of science, history, new inventions, reading and entertainment for the masses. They flourished in the mid-1800s and onwards. Here is Port Elliot's contribution to enlightenment, the Library and Institute Hall constructed in 1880.

I love the warm honey-coloured bluestone and the obvious attention to detail.

Using similar material is the tiny 1879 Council Chambers, with the 1920's war memorial in the background.

To the left, Steve takes a shot, while to the right is a front-on view.

While many of the old buildings survive, some places are reduced to a wall, some foundations, or one building instead of the many that once occupied the site. Here, all that remains of the post office site is the wall and an adjoining building.

Here's a lovely touch of art imitating art.... the 1970s classic film 'Storm Boy' was recently remade and Port Elliot was chosen for a number of location shots. A full sized mural of the Rosella parrot circa 1950s was painted onto the Jelly General Store for the movie.

The cottages and gardens are lovingly cared for and impart a seaside ambience that visitors love and admire.

I find it inexplicably sad and cannot find an answer to explain the wilful demolishment of so many similar cottages to make way for this set of units near all these lovely homes.

A little further on and my faith is restored with these magnificent reminders of the days when Port Elliot was the place to go for summer holidays to avoid Adelaide's bustle and heat, and boarding houses abounded.

We were getting near the end of The Strand by now and came across the former Obelisk Croquet Club. In the background you can just see the 1853 obelisk erected as a landmark for shipping.

Look closely to see what is perched on the top of the obelisk.

We descended some steps and below us we could see what used to be the ladies'-only beach. A nearby plaque tells us that the Harding girls - Mary, Doris and Daisy - were regular bathers here in the early 1900s. Men had already been given the right to bathe at nearby Horseshoe Bay (but only if they were wearing a suitable bathing costume and with a policeman on duty). I walked down the steep steps to the beach and soaked up the atmosphere for a while, noting that it was indeed secluded from the Bay, so women would have certainly felt free to bathe in peace.