The town of Cervantes took its name from the three off-shore islands that lie about three kilometres south of the town, but the islands got their name first, from the ship ‘Cervantes’, a three-mast sailing vessel which ran aground and was wrecked during the 1840s. The gallant skipper, by the name of Gibson, led the survivors on a 100 mile trek to Fremantle. The wreck was discovered in the 1960s, lying in just 7 ft of water, by a local diver, Laurie Walsh.
On display in Cervantes, the anchor from the Italian sailing ship the ‘Europa’, wrecked in the late 1800s.
This stretch of coastline is promoted as the Sunset Coast and the Tourquoise Coast, but there have been so many wrecked vessels along its length I believe it should be called the Shipwreck Coast… but I have yet to drive along the South-West corner of this enormous country. Perhaps that will be called the Shipwreck Coast…?
The wind howled, rattled and raged all night and this morning, though the sun was shining in all its glory, the wind still whistled and roared. That was tolerable, but when rain slashed horizontally across the windscreen visibility was severely reduced, much like the heavy showers of yesterday.
How glorious is this coastline. Amazing white sand dunes, mile after mile of what we used to call blackboys (I don’t recall the politically correct name we are expected to use now) and abundant wild life, all for as far as the eye can see. The glimpses of ocean confirmed that reefs and low-lying islands protect the mainland from the constant pounding of the waves.
But… there is a great deal of development going on from Yanchep north, and this is worrying. Such natural beauty exists along this stretch of the coast that I fear building so many homes is playing with fire. Look at the condition of parts of the eastern coast of Australia, particularly on the southern Gold Coast where developers have built right down to the beaches. It only takes a couple of days of rough seas and high tides and the Council are required to reinforce or repair to protect property. What became of those extensive sand dunes?
In brief stops along the coast road – and in the occasional dry moment – I photographed wild flowers, though the wind made that quite difficult. If only they could have held still for just a moment.
My new $55 Aldi sat-nav performed brilliantly. Unlike her predecessor she doesn’t do the “Tch… Recalculating,” thing when I turn too soon or too late. I did wonder if I’d gone awfully wrong when I found myself following a huge lorry across a level crossing in suburban North Fremantle, but she obviously knew what she was doing, for she said nothing, but quietly brought me right to the entrance of the Esplanade Hotel.
For the next two days I shall be at the Romance Writers Conference in Fremantle. I won’t actually be off the air, but I hope my time will be filled with Conference activities. I can only offer an optimistic, “Watch this space,” to followers of my blog. I’ve really enjoyed having you along on this fantastic journey and, when I leave here on Monday, I hope you’ll join me for the long trek back to Tenterfield.