Port Germein is a small, seaside town on the west coast of the Yorke Peninsula.
There are about 250 residents, so it is a sleepy little village. There is a shop and a pub and the jetty. The jetty is worth a mention, because it is reputedly the longest wooden jetty in the Southern Hemisphere!
In its heyday, Port Germein was an important place. It was the departure point for many sailing ships to take grain and wool cargos from the Yorke Peninsula to markets as far away as Europe. Because of the massive tides in this area, they had to build a really long jetty to allow the ships to dock in deep water.
The jetty was built in 1881 of wood and was actually so long, they needed a steam train to take the goods out to the ships. It was extended in 1883 and was around a mile in length.
They are proud of their jetty, so it has been restored a couple of times and it is actually in pretty good nick.
Now, they have lost some of it over the years to high winds and big waves. The train is long gone, so you can easily walk out to the end; the boards are a little uneven but it makes for a pleasant walk.
And it is still an impressive length. Today it is just over 1.5 kilometres from shore to the end. And then back again, of course. I did this in the evening when the wind had died down and the sunset over Spencer Gulf was quite spectacular.
Sadly, many other jetties in this area were substantially reduced in the 1960’s and 70’s due to the high maintenance costs. This lack of foresight means many jetties are now a very sad reminder of their former glory.
