Millicent Living History Museum: Ron learns some of the history of the creation of the South East regions European settlement

Come heavy winter rains and Bool Lagoon near Naracoorte puts on a spectacular show, as it did for the Postcards crew back in 2004. When full, it gives the visitor some idea of what much of the Limestone Coast must have looked like for thousands of years. A receding sea and the creation of massive and ancient dune systems created a patchwork of wetlands across much of south-eastern Australia. With the arrival of the first European settlers, a massive engineering program was soon underway as the early land holders forced the country to bend to their will. The story of this epic era of engineering is told here at the Living History Museum at Millicent.

John Mullins, Living History Museum: "The water moves from the south towards the north and from the east to the west on each of the flats. The drains cut through the dunes - taking the water to the sea. The drains started being built in about 1862 when the first outlet was dug at Maria Creek here near Kingston."

The museum has a diorama and video which tells the story of the network of drains cut over a century or more which transformed the countryside from swampy marsh country to arable land - but at significant environmental cost. Today many of us would baulk at projects like these but landowners like John say the south-east's drainage history must be seen in the context of the times.

John Mullins, Living History Museum: "We're looking at a generation of people coming out of Ireland and England who were land hungry and here was an opportunity to get some good productive land. It's a vexed issue - there are people who say maybe it should never have been done. People who say if you hadn't done it, none of the land would have been used. When you've got water and people you'll have controversy."

They began with picks, shovels and wheelbarrows and later moved to steam shovels and created a network across the entire south-east which extends for some two thousand kilometres. As the marshes drained and the crops and livestock moved in, small communities grew. Millicent was one of them and its transformation is charted in the Living History Museum. Remote communities like these were still reliant on goods shipped around the region's treacherous coastline. In 1876, one cargo vessel, the Geltwood, was wrecked not far from nearby Rivoli Bay and so would begin a saga that would bring shame to this part of the Limestone Coast.

Colleen Hammat, Living History Museum: "This is one of the anchors from the Geltwood which was brought to shore in 1983. The original cargo was valued or insured at around ?10,000. But the amount of material that washed up onto the beach was valued at between ?1,000 and ?2,000 so police embarked on a campaign to find the rest of the stolen goods and those who'd nicked it. In the coming months four local cockies went to jail."

The rewards prompted some to come forward but others were prepared to sit out the investigation.

Colleen Hammat, Living History Museum: "There was a lot of pilfering that went on after the wreck was found and several local farmers hid stuff in the sandhills and then came back later with their wagons to collect it and they were caught. The court case went on for several weeks."

It caused great excitement and later considerable shame for some. Even today - every so often locals will bring artifacts to the museum, a little red-faced about forbears prepared to ransack a valuable cargo washed ashore following a shipwreck in which 28 people drowned. And truth be known, there may still be a few artifacts that could still find their way to the Living History Museum.

From stories of dramatic shipwrecks to one of the most comprehensive wagon and sulky exhibits in the State - the Living History Museum at Millicent is well worth a visit. It's open daily. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au

The Living History Museum
1 Mount Gambier Road
Millicent
Open Mon - Fri 9am - 5pm
Weekends 10am - 4pm

Published 16th May 2010