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| At the end of the 19th
century there were already a numerous amount of fishing boats in the Strand,
unfortunately quite a few of
the fisherman had lost their lives due to drowning in stormy waters. |
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This
occurred mostly at “The Poort” on their way back to the Strand. Often
the weather conditions would change rapidly while they were still fishing, and
considering the fact that they still had to row their boats to shore, it was very
difficult for them to reach safety.
In an effort
to help the local fisherman the council decided to put a warning signal at “The
Poort”, a big round steel buoy with a big bell on top of it. Fisherman would
now be able to hear this bell ringing from the beach, if the sea were rough.
This helped for many years, and the fishermen were very thankful, until one night
in 1913, when a big storm hit the strand. This caused the buoy to break lose from
its anchor and wash ashore (it washed out where the Blinkwater building is today).
It became a great source of entertainment for old and young, and with a lot of
trouble some could climb to the top of it. It stayed there until World War II
when it was used for scrap metal.
After the lost of the buoy not much were done for the safety of the fisherman.
A few years later they did put up a “landmark” that was lit during
the night so that the fisherman could find their way to shore.
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The
Jetty with a few fishing boats |
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In
an effort to help the conditions in which the fisherman had to operate, the local
town council decided to build a structure where they could safely board their
boats, and anchor them at night.
In the morning
newspaper of 28 June 1933 there was an article announcing that Murray and Steward
won the tender to construct the Strand Jetty. The Jetty was built in 1934. Local
residents were employed in its construction. A resident building contractor, Danie
Malan, was put in charge of completing the construction. The trunk of the jetty
is about 70 m long by 3m wide, while the platform at the seaward end is about
20m long by 8 m wide. Both the wooden uprights and the jetty top were constructed
of Jarrah wood imported form Australia. This was and is still considered to be
the best wood for the construction of piers and jetties.
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Each
Jarrah column had a pointed (pyramid shaped) tip which was capped and pinned with
a metal cap. The metal pointed column end was hammered into the sand and stone
by means of a very powerful l but crude electrical-driven winch. The winch hauled
a massive weight of about 2500 kg, which was released at the top of the stroke,
thereby hammering down the upright to a measured depth. This pile driver construction
technique was then slowly moved on as construction of the jetty progressed seawards.
The electrical supply was from the pavilion that is situated alongside the jetty.
The original purpose of the wooden jetty was to allow the fishing community to
get in and out of their fishing boats and also permitted the public to bid on,
and buy fish thrown out form the boats onto the jetty. This was welcomed by the
public who wanted to buy fish, since they did not have to go into the sea, to
meet the boats, anymore. The jetty soon became a very convenient fishing spot
for both old and young, and the more daring at heart used it as a platform to
dive into the sea. Some of the boat owners took people on cruises of the bay on
clear days. This was very popular amongst the visitors, and they use to stand
in long queues on the jetty waiting for their turn to go on a cruise.
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The
jetty enjoyed by old and young |
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There
were two level stepped platforms for anglers to get in and out of their boats
at different tides. It also had ten Jarrah ladders with galvanized pipe rungs
forms the top to bottom, with five ladders on each side enabling more than one
boat to offload on either side of the jetty, depending on which side the wind
and current allowed, without the boats bumping into and damaging one another.
Despite
occasional routine maintenance work to the jetty over the years, what remains
consists predominantly of the original construction. The mild steel balustrade
is a later addition, as the type of balustrade is still commercially available
and was probably added for safety reasons
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