Robe Customs House(The):Ron takes in some of the history of the Limestone Coast in the South East region of South Australia

Robe is one of South Australia's top holiday spots. It its heyday, the seaside town on the Limestone Coast about 300 kilometres from Adelaide, was a bustling port, second only to Port Adelaide in terms of trade coming in and out of the young colony of South Australia. Come the Victorian Gold Rush of the 1850s the townspeople of this remote outpost were in for a rude shock as Robe became the focus of a Chinese invasion.

In 1855 the Victorian government imposed a ?10 Poll Tax on each Chinese person entering a Victorian port. In order to evade that tax the Chinese began landing and walk the 300 kilometres to the Victorian Goldfields.

Many had already spent months in crammed conditions as the people smugglers of the mid nineteen century sent their human cargo across the sea to a very uncertain future.

It's hard to imagine that at one stage there were about 3,000 Chinese diggers camped along the Robe foreshore. Many of them were sick with dysentery and a group of local women banded together to build a shelter and help care for those people. Notable among them was Eleanor Brewer, the wife of the government resident. Tragically she died of dysentery in 1856.

Eleanor's story is one of many told at the Robe Customs House, which takes the visitor on a journey back to a very different Robe when many must have thought of this as a town under siege. So much so, that a military garrison was built to provide a sense of law and order in uncertain times.

Janette Seaton, Robe Customs House: "It was fuelled by gold fever and many of the people were actually representatives of their village so everything depended on them coming here, making a fortune and sending it back."

One of the men charged with keeping order during this time of great change was Henry Melvillle who came to Robe to take up the position of Harbour Master. The quaint heritage listed building - strategically placed at a circular entrance way - was a major hub of transport and bureaucracy. Here Mr. Melville would record all incoming and outgoing shipments at one of the most important ports between Adelaide and Melbourne. And many of the shipments included bales of wool from surrounding pastoral properties.

David Seaton, Robe Customs House" "You needed a large circular area to keep the bullock drays moving around what is now called the Royal Circus? There could have been up to maybe 20 bullocks in a team and they didn't turn very easily so they needed a big area to get around the circuit and drop off their cargo and get going again."

Play with the puzzles inside the Customs House and you'll solve the riddle of the Admella, one of the worst maritime disasters in Australian history which claimed 89 lives at nearby Carpenters Rocks. As Receiver of Shipwrecks Henry Melville had his work cut out with a list of maritime catastrophes that would make any Harbour Master shudder.

But Robe's heyday as a centre of trade was short lived. By the latter part of the 19th century much of the commerce that once came through this bustling port had been diverted to rail. Today, its heritage buildings stand as testament to a boom time on this wild stretch of coastline and one of its most interesting buildings is the Customs House. It's located on The Royal Circus at the western end of town and is open Saturdays, Tuesdays and Public Holidays. If you have any further questions please email info@postcards-sa.com.au

The Robe Customs House
The Royal Circus
Western end of town
Open Saturdays, Tuesdays & Public Holidays

Published 4th May 2010