Australia So Much to See
Port Pirie - more than just a lead smelter
Childhood exposure to lead has been linked to lower IQ and academic achievement, and to a range of socio-behavioural problems such
as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning difficulties, oppositional/conduct disorders, and delinquency. The disabling
mental health issues from lead exposure often persist into adolescence and adulthood. Port Pirie has been affected by lead-smelting
emissions for over 120 years.
At first looking to east, towards the Flinders Ranges as the sun's rays lowered (above left).
Darkness was coming fast as I looked further west to the smelter (banner at top of page).
Like the towns of Mount Isa and Broken Hill, lead smelters have been real health hazards in these towns. Port Pirie has had with greater lead contamination than Broken Hill or Mount Isa. More than a century of IQ-lowering poisoning continues, according to The Conversation in 2012.
Why is the port town named Port Pirie?
It is named after the schooner John Pirie. Model of schooner as displayed in the Port Pirie Visitor Centre at left.
The John Pirie, 19 metres in length and 105 tons load capacity, was built by Aberdeen Ship
Builder Alexander Hall, in 1827.
The first voyage to South Australia was in 1836 for the South Australian Company.
This
schooner was named after Alderman (later Sir) John Pirie, Lord Mayor of London. Sir John Pirie was a London shop owner and merchant
banker, and a director of the South Australian Company.
March 1846 the John Pirie, under Captain Thompson, sailed up Samuel's
Creek, which is now known as Pirie River, and loaded a cargo of sheep and gum tree timber which it took to Port Lincoln.
In
the southern hemisphere, the schooner John Pirie was a valuable work horse, kept constantly busy in colonial, international and inter
colonial trade, plying i to ports such as Brisbane, Fremantle and Mauritius, as well as being a general carrier and support for the
scattered seal and whaling stations of South Australia.
The anchor from the schooner John Pirie is located Port Pirie's marine park. This anchor was lost in Aldinga Bay, south of Adelaide,
in September 1841. It was recovered by divers in May 1967 and placed in Memorial Park in June 1969.
The schooner
John Pirie loaded cattle at Port Albert near Wilson’s Promontory to the south east of Melbourne in 1848, and departed for Hobart but
failed to arrive. In December 1848 the John Pirie was reported overdue. Finally, on 3 October 1850 a sealer found a large portion
of wreckage on the south western side of Prime Seal Island in the in the Bass Strait, including the stern of a longboat bearing the
name of the ‘Sir John Pirie [sic] of Sydney’. It is therefore believed that the wreck of the John Pirie is somewhere in the
vicinity.
Above right shows a ship docked at the wharf, and beyond the jetty, the northern end of "The Bridge to Nowhere". The buildings, like the ship, are on the far side of the Pirie River as it meanders around a spit of land which, due to other creek inlets, is almost an island.
With the intention of opening this area for light industrial developments, a bridge was built, but the developments did not eventuate hence it gained its colloquial name.
The Port Pirie Museum is in the magnificent Victorian style railway station, dating back to 1902. This station closed in 1967. The Visitor and Arts Centre is at the site of a former railway siding, and this section of the line is now closed. Overall,
the town is very neat and clean, as we had noted on our 2005 visit.
The early settlers were Italian, and fishermen, with many coming from the village of Molfetta. Molfettesi Fishing Boat Museum is near the wharfs. Other museums include the Aerodrome Museum and the RSL Military Museum.
Mural (at right) on a fence in the town centre has a fisheries theme.
Camping and Public Dump Points
Port Pirie
24 hours stopover near Globe Oval on Warnertown Road on way into town (southern entrance) for self contained, public dump point. Potable water is available at the Port Pirie boat ramp.
Update: CMCA campground at Port Pirie Football Club, fully self contained only. 14 day limit. $7 per night for two for CMCA members, and $15 for non members.
Port Pirie Beach Caravan
Park $38, $35. Fully serviced sites, dump point
Hillsview caravan park, south of town, $25, serviced sites, swimming pool, reviews
poor and say very run down.
Rangeview Caravan Park, north of town, $29 – 35, powered and serviced sites, $25 unpowered, close to highway,
traffic noise.
Federal Hotel Port Pirie, Free customer parking behind hotel, no amenities.
Port Germein (25 kilometres north of Port Pirie)
Public dump point along Esplanade
by a disused toilet block. Drinking water available.
Port Germein Caravan Park, serviced sites $30 powered, $20 unpowered.
Baroota Campground, private campground, toilets and showers, unpowered. $10 per person per night. Eight kilometres north of
the Port Germein turnoff.
We chose to go to the Port Pirie Beach Caravan Park. This proved a very good choice. The owners Rob and Meg were very
welcoming, friendly and helpful. The park is well run and maintained, and in a quiet location away from traffic noise. It is by Solomontown Beach on the Pirie River inlet, or Pirie Creek as it is sometimes known, with views to the grain silos and the
smelter which are in town. A two kilometre but pleasant walk alongside the beach and into town for sightseeing and shopping
while we were stranded due to a mechanical fault in our vehicle. The park backs onto donga style smelter workers accommodation,
but apart from cars going to and coming from work, residents were not heard.
We visited Port Germein in 2017, and walked the length of the longest wooden jetty in South Australia. Slightly shortened due
to storm damage, this jetty was once 1,680 metres long when extended in 1833, being the longest jetty in the southern hemisphere at
that time.