Israelite Bay Jetty

Values

The place is associated with the Albany to Eucla telegraph line as it was used as a delivery point for all construction materials for the telegraph station and it provided the only point of contact at the time with the rest of the world.

The place is associated with the Sandalwood and pastoral industry as it served as an outport for these industries.

The place represents the type of construction used to construct jetties in the 1800s.

The place is rare as a extant timber jetty built in the 1890s in Western Australia.

Physical Description

‘The jetty extended into Israelite Bay in an easterly direction for a distance of 89 metres to a water depth of 3 metres at low tide. All trace of the land-based section of the jetty has disappeared, apart from one pile laying in the shallows about 10 metres offshore. A swim of 30 metres out to sea is required to reach the existing structure, which constitutes the seaward half of the jetty. The overall length of the remaining structure is 59.4 metres, with the longitudinal distance between each set of piles being 4.6 metres. The lateral distance between each pair of piles is 1.3 metres. There are 24 piles to the head of the jetty (12 sets of pairs) and a further 6 piles (2 sets of 3 piles) forming the head. The head of the jetty is 2.6 metres wide and 4.6 metres long. Sections of the longitudinal bracing for the head of the jetty are severely eroded. This is possibly due to the fact that these timbers are positioned just below the water level and are therefore subject to the damaging effects of constant wave action. On the right-hand side of the head (looking out to sea) is a flight of steps leading down to the water line.’

History

‘A landing place was chosen in Israelite Bay for unloading poles for the overland telegraph line. The Israelite Bay Telegraph station was established in 1876 and began operations in 1877. During the 1890’s the S.S. Ferret and the Schooner Grace Darling called regularly. A jetty, 75.3 metres and 1.7 metres wide was completed in 1898 at a cost of £364. This was extended landwards by 13.7 metres, repaired and supplied with a 1 tonne crane and a tramway in 1902.

Integrity/Authenticity

High

Condition

Moderate

Uses

Historic Themes

Creation Date

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