it's a hot day, how about we visit the beach?

this is what it used to look like, back in the 60s......

(googled image) It's not very clear, in the foreground there are swings, the building to the right is the stage where beauty pageants were held, beautiful baby competitions and sometimes concerts too. it faces the main beach, what you see here is the back. Beyond that is the kiosk and change rooms. The kiosk was accessed from the front with stairs leading up to it and on the right were showers and change cubicles, toilets too, for the girls, on the left of the kiosk, the same set up for the boys.
You'll notice they're both up fairly high off the sand, this is because the tide would frequently come so far in the sand would be completely covered right up to the retaining wall.
Along the section between kiosk and stage, right along the retaining wall, would be rows of beach towels, sometimes as many as three rows, with teenagers sunbaking. Back in those days we were aware of sunburn and the radio station would broadcast an jingle every half hour, "time to turn, so you don't burn." It was funny to watch rows of kids all flipping over at the same time. And still burning.
I remember when I was ten or eleven, walking up and down the rows of towels, spotting empty soft drink bottles and asking the older kids if I could have them. The best kids to ask were boys about 16-17 who were trying to impress their girlfriends, they'd be most likely to hand over the empties, which were refundable at the kiosk for sixpence. I'd save the sixpences until I had enough to buy an ice cream or some chips for lunch.
Between the swings and the jetty was the best sand for the annual sandcastle competitions. I don't think they have those in Port Pirie now.

The beach is very much changed now......

the access roads have been upgraded and this sign is new to me, although I'm told it has been there quite some time.  The brick building right behind those trees is a toilet block, facing the beach. On the left, Men's, open; on the right, Ladies, locked. In the middle a disabled toilet, open. Thank goodness, after walking all that way, I really had to pee!

From there I walked a few metres to the nearest shade structure. It has always been there, but now it is renewed and in better condition. Still without any seats though. There is an identical structure further along the beach, where the kiosk used to be. Any grass and plantings you see, were never there when I was living in the town.

the bricks you see in the foreground are the steps leading down to the sand. I thought I had a better photo of those, but it seems to have gone missing. Anyway, I'm sitting in the shade, taking off my sandals, and what did I see?

A pelican! Is this a coincidence or are these birds following me around the country?
They're everywhere I go.

did I paddle along the shore? You betcha!! That's my sandals hanging off my bag strap. Getting down to the water brought back memories I'd forgotten. Like the sand being very crusty with salt and shell grit. Ouch!  Adelaide beach sand is much softer.

This is the beginning of the jetty, it used to be right up against the pilings holding up the kiosk, and when the tide was high, this section would be completely under water. In the summer holidays, we'd get up just before dawn, my brother and me, and run down to the beach to see if the tide was high. If it was, you could swim (float) right across the jetty and look down through the water to see it.
See the railings? More about those later....

This shade house wasn't there when I lived here, it's probably a welcome addition, but I think it would be better with a seat or two.

the T section has always been lower than the main jetty, but those steps leading down to the water have been moved. They used to be facing us as we look at the image, leading down from the main jetty, directly opposite the set you see just at the left of the photo. Here's where the railings come in. The water was quite deep there, and kids would climb on to the railing, steady themselves by holding on to the lamp post, which was right beside the steps, then jump in. Well, one day, I was up on the railing, getting ready to jump in and someone pushed me before I had my balance. On the way down I hit the steps several times, cutting my elbow open to the bone. At first I thought it was just a small cut, so kept on swimming and playing, but when it didn't stop bleeding, I went to the kiosk for a bandaid. ("get lost, we don't give out bandaids for free..."). When I had a closer look, I could see the bone, but the cut was small even though deep, so I held it together until the bleeding mostly stopped, then went back in the water.

Straight ahead of the toilet block and to the right of the shade where I'd taken off my sandals is this mangrove area. The mud underneath those bushes was black and sometimes smelly and kids would cover themselves in it, then run up to the main beach and scare little kids.  From the mangroves to the jetty used to be a sandy area, but now....the mud and those weedy green low growths are encroaching, you can see it in the previous photo.

 

these seagulls came to see if I had any food, see all those white specks that look like hail? Shells.
Millions of shells.

Further along the beach, almost at the causeway was a whole colony of gulls, maybe a nesting area?

The causeway had been built between the shore and what we called the island (really a small peninsula called Germein Bay) a few years after we'd moved to Port Pirie and was just a shallow bridge of rocks. High tide would cover it easily.

Now there is a proper bridge going across, called John Pirie Bridge. Only the lower level of rocks have been left in the water, the higher ones have been used along the beach where the retaining wall used to be and I believe some of them are in the sign I showed at the beginning. There are still thick banks of rocks at either end of the bridge.

I'm standing on the fake grass at the edge of the skateboard playground, looking across to the "island".

in this last photo, (last for today), you can see the waves breaking over the rocks left under the causeway bridge.

From here I walked to Fisherman's jetty......