Photographs of Glenelg and the Patawalonga [PRG 1459/2] • Photograph
Launching a canoe on the Patawalonga
Two men with a canoe on the edge of the Patawalonga River at Glenelg, early morning, 19 November 1948. A dog is sniffing at the upright paddles and houses along the river can be seen on the distance. 'This photo was taken, looking north, from the point where the old bridge met the western bank of the Patawalonga. (This small patch of white sand can just be seen behind the white boat in photo PRG 1459/2/2.) The eastern end of the bridge began where the Buffalo now stands. Apexian Don Paterson was assisting Apexian Doug Mackenzie (in white). Doug's family home is hard to discern next to the white fence in the top right hand corner of the photo. The house with the small tower roof is the only one remaining to this day [2008]. It was the family home of David Krantz.' [Information supplied by Doug Mackenzie].
Canoeing on the Patawalonga
Two men and a dog in a canoe on the Patawalonga River at Glenelg, early morning, 19 November 1948. They are approaching the wooden bridge that linked the northern and southern sides of the river. 'Apexians Don Paterson and Doug Mackenzie (in white). The present Dive Centre now stands on reclaimed land in front of the house with the white fence near top left of the photo.' [Information supplied by Doug Mackenzie].
Canoeing on the Patawalonga
Two men and a dog paddling in a canoe on the Patawalonga River at Glenelg, early morning, 19 November 1948. Houses built along the river can be seen in the distance. 'Don Paterson and Doug Mackenzie. Photo, looking west, taken from approximately where the Buffalo Restaurant once stood. A considerable area of the western bank, from the old bridge almost to King Street was reclaimed for building and car parks. This considerably narrowed the magnificent sweep of water, as seen on the photo, when at full tide.' [Information supplied by Doug Mackenzie].
Canoeing on the Patawalonga
Two men and a dog paddling a canoe on the Patawalonga River at Glenelg, early morning, 19 November 1948. Houses built along the river can be seen in the distance. 'Photo taken looking north from the old bridge. The old sewerage pumping station can be seen in the left distance.' [Information supplied by Doug Mackenzie].
Canoeing on the Patawalonga
Two men and a dog in a canoe on the Patawalonga River approaching the mouth of the river at Glenelg, early morning, 19 November 1948. A number of small sailing vessels are tied up at the river's edge. 'Photo taken looking west to the mouth of the Patawalonga. The boats mooored along the rotting old wooden sheet-piling would be bogged down in black mud for most of the day when the tide was out. The old Glenelg Sailing Club building is at left of the photo.' [Information supplied by Doug Mackenzie].
Canoeing on the Patawalonga
View across a section of the the Patawalonga River, early morning, 19 November 1948. A number of small sailing vessels and a rowboat are moored on the river's edge, two men and a dog are in a canoe, and a large building can be seen on the far bank. 'Don Paterson and Doug Mackenzie are in the canoe and the Glenelg Town Hall can be seen directly beyond to the right of the trees. Some of the permanent sideshow buildings are in the centre distance and the old Glenelg Sailing Club building is on the right of the picture. At low tide most of this area was comprised of mud flats with only a very narrow, shallow stream snaking through.' [Information supplied by Doug Mackenzie].
Canoeing on the Patawalonga
View across the mouth of the the Patawalonga River, early morning, 19 November 1948. A number of small vessels are moored and a large building can be seen on the far bank. 'Closer to the mouth of the Pat. The Pavilion at the end of the Jetty can just be seen partly obscured by the Sailing Club building and the bathing changing enclosure.' [Information supplied by Doug Mackenzie].
Canoeing on the Patawalonga
View across the Patawalonga River, early morning, 19 November, with two men in a canoe in the middle ground. A large house and the wooden bridge can be seen in the distance. 'Photo taken looking north. Pristine sand hills on the left. Doug Mackenzie (at stern) and Apexian Max Scrymgour in canoe. The old Military Road Bridge and the old sewerage pumping station can be seen in the distance. The bridge is long gone but the pumping station, which I believe is "Heritage Listed" stands to this day.' [Information supplied by Doug Mackenzie].
Canoeing on the Patawalonga
Two men in a canoe on the Patawalonga River, passing grass covered sandhills, 5.50am, 19 November 1948. 'Doug Mackenzie (in white) and Max Scrymgour in canoe heading north past the western bank of the Patawalonga. The rugged sand hills, seen here, then stretched unbroken, from where Margaret Street is now located, right through to Military Road, and from the Patawalonga westward to the beach. These pristine sand hills remained untouched by human hands until December 1952 when the first levelling and subdivisions began. A copy of that first subdivision is included [see PRG 1459/5] showing the location of our family home, which was not built until 1959. Margaret Street was then still a huge sand hill and was not levelled until years later. The canoe in the photo would be about opposite lot No.82 in the attached subdivision plan. Note that this entire subdivision sold for a total of 11,000 pounds ($22,000) in 1952.' [Information supplied by Doug Mackenzie].
View on the Patawalonga
Early morning view from the Patawalonga of the river bank, about where Stanley Street now meets the river frontage, 19 November 1948. 'The location of these trees can be clearly identified in photo PRG 1459/2/8. At high tide, as shown here, it was possible to thread the canoe through a very obscure, narrow channel and beach right under the shade of the trees. This was the location of the secret picnic site that Doug Mackenzie shared with his dog, as told in his story entitled "The Smelly Old Patawalonga. A Boy's Own Wonderland" [PRG 1459/3]. A large part of a later subdivision, bounded on the north by a newly created Anderson Avenue and Stanley Street to the south, was compulsorily acquired and held for years by the state government as provision for a new channel to the sea. This was to be immediately south of Anderson Avenue and is clearly shown on page 105 of Doug Mackenzie's book "Glenelg and the Patawalonga" [PRG 1459/1] as it appeared in the "The Advertiser" on 21 March 1950. When this plan was later scrapped the Government sold off the subdivision at a very nice profit indeed.' [Information supplied by Doug Mackenzie].
View of the Patawalonga
Early morning view of the Patawalonga from the bank, 19 November 1948. A church and some houses can be seen in the distance. 'This photo, looking south from the western bank, is not a good picture as the tide had ebbed considerably below the high water mark. The Church of England, in Torrens Square, is seen in the distance partly obscuring the spire of the Congregational Church on Jetty Road'. [Information supplied by Doug Mackenzie].
View of the Patawalonga
A man paddles a canoe on the Patawalonga, 19 November 1948. 'This photo was not used in any features as the tide had ebbed below the desired level exposing unsightly, seaweed covered flats. Don Paterson is in the canoe.' [Information supplied by Doug Mackenzie].
View of the Patawalonga
Two men with a canoe on the bank of the Patawalonga look across towards houses on the far bank. 'Like the previous picture this one was also not used due to the receding tide. Don Paterson and Doug Mackenzie (in white).' [Information supplied by Doug Mackenzie].
View of the Patawalonga
View of two men paddling a canoe on the Patawalonga, another man with a dog is standing on the flat with a dog, and houses can be seen on the far bank. 'Same as previous two pictures. Rejected due to receding tide.' [Information supplied by Doug Mackenzie].
View of the Patawalonga at Glenelg
View of a bridge across the Patawalonga with houses in the background. There are two rowing boats lying on the mud under the bridge. 'I have no knowledge of the date or origin of this photo, or even the precise location. I do, however, seem to remember the house on the far right as being on Anzac Highway but of this I am not absolutely certain.' [Information supplied by Doug Mackenzie].
Aerial view of the Patawalonga at Glenelg
Aerial view of the Patawalonga at Glenelg. Taken looking north, it shows the airport to the mouth. 'Again, I have no knowledge of the date or origin of this picture. However, it very clearly shows the course and extent of the stream at low tide and just how much greater were the boundaries of the lake before so much reclamation was carried out for buildings, lawns and car parks. How spectacular it all was at high tide is clearly seen in the earlier numbered photos.' [Information supplied by Doug Mackenzie].
Aerial view of the Patawalonga at Glenelg
Aerial view of the Patawalonga at Glenelg. Taken looking south, it shows the lagoon and mouth of the river. 'This photo clearly shows the channel of the stream at low tide. An area of the sand hills, opposite the island, has been levelled and subdivided but buildings are yet to appear. The sand and saltbush island in the foreground would be completely out of sight under water at high tide.' [Information supplied by Doug Mackenzie].
Aerial view of the Patawalonga at Glenelg
Aerial view of the Patawalonga at Glenelg. Taken looking south, it shows the river after the construction of the lock. 'At the same time as the lock was constructed a number of marinas were also installed between the lock and the King Street bridge. These are out of the picture in this photo. To save an extra marina being built, in the vicinity of the old bridge, the centre of the bridge was removed to form two marinas. These were not very satisfactory as they were consdierably higher than the purpose-built marina.' [Information supplied by Doug Mackenzie].
Aerial view of the Patawalonga at Glenelg
Aerial view of the Patawalonga at Glenelg. Taken looking south-west, it shows the river after the construction of the lock. See comments for PRG 1459/2/18, which is virtually the same view.
Panoramic view of the Patawalonga
Panoramic view of the lock across the mouth of the Patawalonga, the boat ramp and house in the distance. 'This is a composite photo, looking north from the seaward side. The site now occupied by Cygnet Court [in 2008] is clearly shown to the left of the barrage.' [Information supplied by Doug Mackenzie].
Outlet of the Torrens at West Beach
View of the outlet of the Torrens River at West Beach, July 1980.
Mouth of Sturt Creek
View of the mouth of Sturt Creek where it feeds into the Patawalonga. July 1980.