Marine Life Society of
South Australia Inc.
Newsletter
September 2007 No. 347
“understanding,
enjoying & caring for our oceans”
Next Meeting
This will be the September Meeting and it will be
held as usual at the Conservation Centre on the 19th September commencing at 8.00pm.
Our guest speaker is our Patron Scoresby
Shepherd who will be continuing the discussion on
Climate Change. His talk is titled: Climate change in Southern
Seas: from Greenhouse to Icehouse to Hothouse.
All are welcome.
CONTENTS
A Selections of
Questions Sent to MLSSA by Email (Philip Hall)
The Masonic Ceremonials For
The Commencement Of The Construction Of The First Glenelg Jetty In 1857(Steve
Reynolds)
British
Marine Life Study Society - MARINE LIFE NEWS
TALKS
On behalf of MLSSA since February I have given many talks on our
wonderful marine environment and the need to conserve it.
These have been given to:
Seaton Senior Citizens
At the Yankalilla LSD Festival
Henley Beach Sailing Club
To IMAREST at Engineer House North Adelaide
To children at a birthday party
I am also booked to speak to these groups:
Victor Harbor Probus
Brighton Church of Christ
At Resthaven, Westbourne Park
To a section of the DEH at Woodville (The group who care for our
Jetties)
A Selections of
Questions Sent to MLSSA by Email
1. A query,
Are weedy
seahorses common in upper Spencer Gulf ? Right at the
top, at Port Augusta ?? Saw some for the first time
this morning.
Mrs. J
Price
Reply by
Janine Baker
I would
guess that regardless of which syngnathid it is, it’s possible but not common
for them to be so far north. I would be keen to know more info about the siting
- i.e. dead or alive, what kind of habitat, depth, method of sighting etc. If
“weedy seahorses” refers to the weedy seadragon, there are isolated reports
from mid and northern Spencer Gulf, but not commonly, because they are found in
temperate waters and probably wouldn't do well in the sub-tropical waters of
NSG.
During
sampling of fish fauna in Spencer Gulf in the early 2000s, as part of a SARDI
research project, weedy seadragons were not recorded any further north than the
Moonta area, and leafies were not recorded at all in
upper Spencer Gulf sampling (B. McDonald, 2003, pers. comm.). The coincidence
is noteworthy, of the most northerly record of weedy seadragons from research
sampling and that from Dragon Search reports (i.e. both were Moonta Bay
area). However, there is an older record
of
1 weedy
and 3 leafies reportedly caught (live) in a trawl at 12m - 20m, at Douglas
Bank, upper Spencer Gulf, in November 1985. As the trawls were of short
duration (10-15m) and slow speed (4 knots), the reporter considered that the
seadragons came from the local area. No other records of seadragons from this
far north in Spencer Gulf waters were recorded during more than 10 years of the
Dragon Search program.
It is
possible that although the warm sub-tropical habitat of far northern Spencer
Gulf is unlikely to support permanent populations of either of these temperate
water species, fast flowing currents south of the area may have driven these
seadragons further north, into the Douglas Bank area. There are several reports
from the Franklin Harbour area, and the same person who reported the record
from northern Spencer Gulf trawl also stated that from Cowell southwards,
seadragons are commonly observed, usually in 4-18m water, behind
reefs/overhangs.
If the
query refers to a seahorse, Short-headed / Short-snouted Hippocampus breviceps
has been recorded in northern Spencer Gulf, at least as far up as Pt Pirie, as
might also occur further north, partially though “rafting” on floating
vegetation. The other Southern Potbelly
H. abdominalis (“H. Bleekeri”) has been recorded in trawl grounds in northern
and central Spencer Gulf, but I am not aware of records as far north as Pt
Augusta.
Seems
possible (particularly through rafting), but I don’t know of any major habitat
for seahorses up there. Southern Potbelly Seahorse is often found under
jetties, attached to kelp holdfasts. The young are pelagic and have been found
floating attached to bits of seagrass or algae, and in deeper water this
species is often associated with sponges, to which they attach themselves.
Potbelly has also been recorded from seagrass beds in Spencer Gulf. Short-snouted Seahorse is usually found in sheltered
shallow subtidal reefs, often in yellowish- to brown-coloured macroalgae
(particularly Cystophora and Sargassum, to which they attach themselves, or
swim amongst the fronds), at the edge of seagrass stands (e.g. Amphibolis
spp.). Usually shallower than 15m, but are sometimes seen on sponge reef in
deeper water.
H.
breviceps is occasionally found amongst seaweed floating at the
surface.
They are
also often associated with jetty habitats.
For all
four of these species (the 2 seahorses and the 2 seadragons), there are records
from northern Gulf St Vincent.
Reply by
Mrs. J Price
Thank you !
We saw them at
the Port Augusta wharf, right at the top of the gulf in the heart of town,
guess it was about 4m deep maximum, only in one spot where a bank of rocks from
the beach sloped down into deeper water. They were positively leafy
sea dragons, not weedy, 2 large males with long snouts, near the surface, and
looked to be about 15 cm long, one with one young, the other with two. I'm a
bit of a nature nut, and came home and looked them up straight away. There
could have been more, several other ‘twigs’ seemed to be moving against the
tide, so we think they may be established here. The young were venturing off a
little, then dashing back and wrapping themselves around
dad’s tail again, it was lovely to watch. We look most weeks, but haven’t seen
them since. If anyone ever wants to check, contact us and we'll take them to
the spot. We haven’t told anyone; don’t want idiots bothering them if they're
living here.
Josie Price.
2. I don’t
know whether this is worthwhile to report but I found a luderick washed up on
Port Willunga beach yesterday (25/4/07).
It was
definitely a luderick; I compared it with the description in “The Fishes of
Australia’s South Coast”. It was about 15 cm in length. I gather they are not
commonly seen in SA waters. If there is anyone who takes note of such
sightings, please pass the info on.
Paul
Carter
Reply by
Scoresby Shepherd
Re luderick,
they are common in SE Australia, but occasionally to rarely occur in the
gulfs. I have seen small schools in Investigator Strait (north coast of
KI). This year there have been strong SE winds, the
strongest for many years, which drive coastal currents from the SE, so my guess
is that some have been carried to the west and end up in the gulfs.
Scoresby
3. SA & NT Freemasons Historical Society
(See also next article
on Page 9)
I note that
Steve Reynolds wrote two articles about the Glenelg Jetty in the MLSSA
newsletters for June 2002 and July 2002.
Construction of
the first jetty at Glenelg commenced Saturday 29 August 1857 (see reports
in attached text file).
Do you know
whether any of the original cast-iron screw piles used in the jetty
construction remain in existence?
Kind regards
Richard Num
V-P & webmaster
Reply by Steve Reynolds
Hi Richard
Thanks for this
very useful information.
Regarding the
original cat-iron screw piles – these MAY be on display at the Bay Discovery
Centre, Town Hall, Moseley Sq, Glenelg. Contact details are:
ph. 8179 9500,
baydiscovery@holdfast.sa.gov.au
.
Marine
archaeologist Terry Drew had a lot to do with the excavation of the jetty site.
Phone Terry on 8295 1877. Hope that this helps.
Cheers
Steve
Many thanks Steve. The transcript from the
Register was scanned from Charles RJ Glover's book "A
History of First Fifty Years of Freemasonry in South Australia 1834-1884"
published 1915, pages 52-53. I have not had time to look up the
original Register newspaper in the Mortlock Library,
the speeches might have some interest also. It would be interesting to
see the ceremonial used - Glover gives no more details for this event, unlike
others in adjacent years.
Best regards
Richard
Hi Richard
Thanks for this
added information. I may write a bit of a follow up on it all. I would be
interested to hear how you get on with your search.
Cheers
Steve
4. Hello,
Yesterday, after
coming out of the water at Middleton, after an early
morning surf, I came across two very large vertebrae stacked on top of each
other. Both were about the size of two large footstools and could have easily
been used as one. There was also a lady there with her dog, who seemed very
interested in them.
She advised me
that her and her husband had dug them out of the sand and he was currently
racing home to get a wheel-barrow to take them home.
I urged her to
instead contact the museum (or) the Whale Centre, in the interest of
science/study etc.
But I think they
were more keen on just taking them home for their own.
After returning
home I emailed the Whale Centre and the Museum and advised them of the find.
They commented that they would most likely end up on eBay.
I am not sure
what the legal aspects of this are, however as a former diver and now a keen
surfer I have always been led to believe that these sort
of finds are best handed over to organisations who are most likely to use the
find for research and or possibly public display.
I will keep a
lookout for the individuals involved on my next surf at Middleton, as the
couple had a very recognisable dog etc.
Anyway, just
thought I would advise you of this find.
The location was
on Middleton Beach, about 200m from the Middleton Point car-park, heading
towards Goolwa.
Regards
Gary Plaice
Port Noarlunga
Reply by Philip Hall
Thank you for
your email Garry. It is a shame that some people are only interested in their
own advancement and not science and the community. Please keep in touch and
hopefully next time you will have a camera handy. A good snap may be an
incentive to do the right thing?
Philip
Copy of the email Gary
sent to the Whale Centre
I hope you don’t
mind, as I have sent an email to your local Newspaper RE the find of the whale
bones. Hopefully they can put something together and possibly flush out the two
individuals who took the bones. No doubt they'll tell friends etc, and if they
have any character they will hand them over. I have given the newspaper all my
details and am happy to speak with them on this. Also this would be fairly
topical as I believe you have your first Whales in at Victor for the year.
Victor Harbour has a lot to offer the rest of us South Australians in terms of
the whole whale experience and it would be great if the locals could understand
this and in future identify the need to report finds such as what we found on
Saturday morning, for the good of the local and wider community, not just their
personal collection!
Anyway, hoping the paper gets behind this and
these two individuals come forward.
Thanks again.
Gary Plaice
Hi Philip,
Just to advise
that someone has apparently contacted the council this afternoon and
reported the find of the bones. So hopefully they’ll get handed over.
Hopefully they can make it on display at some
point.
Thanks
Gary
Hi Gary,
I heard
something about this find from a caller to the ABC radio yesterday morning,
some time between 7am - 7:30am.
It was my
recollection the caller said they took these home, put them in their garden and
now don't know what to do with them! My thoughts at the time were similar
to yours - give them to the museum.
It also occurred
to me there may be several others nearby - possible worth a SCUBA dive?
For further
information regarding the call to the ABC, you might consider ringing
with the ABC.
Best regards,
Neville Skinner (Secretary MLSSA)
The Masonic Ceremonials For The Commencement Of The Construction Of The First
Glenelg Jetty In 1857
by Steve Reynolds
29th
August 2007 was the 150th anniversary of the commencement of the
building of Glenelg’s first jetty in 1857.
An article that
I wrote about the Glenelg jetty (“The Glenelg Jetty”) was published in our June
and July 2002 Newsletters (Nos.289-290). In the article, I said that “Glenelg’s
first jetty was built using cast-iron screwpiles” and “Construction of the
original jetty commenced in August 1857. His Excellency the Governor, Sir
Richard Graves MacDonnell, screwed in the first pile on Saturday 29th
August 1857 in a ceremony with full Masonic honours”. I have now received more
details about that ‘ceremony with full Masonic honours’ and the screwing in of
the first pile by Governor MacDonnell, thanks to an enquiry received from
Richard Num, Vice-President (and webmaster) of the SA & NT Freemasons
Historical Society. Richard sent an email to our Society to enquire if
we knew whether any of the original cast-iron screw piles used in the jetty
construction remain in existence? Richard’s email message came with some
details from the “Register” newspaper of 31st August 1857 plus some
details about the Masonic ceremonials for commencement of construction of the
Glenelg Jetty. Firstly, here are those details about the Masonic ceremonials
for commencement of construction of the Glenelg Jetty: -
“Masonic ceremonials for commencement of construction of the Glenelg Jetty,
29th August 1857.
A meeting of the
Provincial Grand Lodge of South Australia, English Constitution, was held
Saturday 29th August 1857, at the Pier Hotel, Glenelg. The Deputy Provincial Grand Master, Bro. John
Lazar, was in the Chair with a large number of Worshipful Masters, Officers and
Brethren in attendance.
After the Lodge
had been opened in due form the Brethren proceeded to assist His Excellency the
Governor-in-Chief (Bro. Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell) in screwing the first
pile of the jetty at Glenelg, and the minutes go on to state, “which, with the
aid of the Deputy Provincial Grand Master, was effected in due Masonic form.””
It seems then
that Brother John Lazar, the Deputy Provincial Grand Master (and Mayor of
Adelaide), assisted His Excellency the Governor, Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell,
to screw in the first pile.
Here then are
some details from the “Register” newspaper of 31st August 1857: -
“The hour fixed
for His Excellency's arrival was half-past two, some time previous to which Mr.
Lazar, Mayor of Adelaide (the Deputy Provincial Grand Master) reached the Pier
Hotel, accompanied by a large number of officers and members of Provincial
Grand Lodge and several Private Lodges. The secret rites, ceremonies, or orgies
(be they what they may), of the mysterious Craft were performed in a room
closely tiled and guarded (like the gate of Eden) by attendants with long
swords. Subsequently the Brethren issued forth clothed in scarfs
and aprons, adorned with jewels and medals, and bearing various kinds of
cabalistic devices. Some of them carried wands, others had silver vessels
containing corn, wine, and oil, and the Chaplain marched with measured pace,
preceded by an officer who bore an open Bible on a crimson velvet cushion,
while the whole were protected still by their grim satellites holding erect the
naked sword and dagger. The magnates of the Order approached the pile-screwing
apparatus, and the remainder of the Brethren ranged themselves on either side
awaiting the approach of the vice-regal cortege.
After a loyal
address had been presented to His Excellency, and he had replied, His
Excellency then walked forward to the Deputy Provincial Grand Master, and
proceeded, assisted by the Brothers of the Craft, to screw the pile into the
sand. This was performed by means of a windlass having two handles, one of
which was manned by His Excellency and the Deputy Provincial Grand Master, and
the other by the Commissioner of Public Works (Mr. Blyth) and the Past
Provincial Grand Master (Mr. Mildred).
The screwing, to
use an expression which is now becoming highly Parliamentary, was no “sham,” as
it occupied the illustrious, right worshipful, and honourable labourers for at
least 10 minutes, giving them rather harder work than they are accustomed to
performing with their hands. At length, in some Judaish jargon handed down from
the days of King Solomon of Israel, and Hiram, King of Tyre, the Prov. Grand
Master pronounced the pile firmly screwed in, and the entire corps -
gubernatorial, military, civic, and mystical - adjourned to lunch at the Pier
Hotel, the band all the while playing loudly the “Freemasons’ March”.” Then followed a column recording the speeches.
So it seems that
the Mr. Blyth, the Commissioner of Public Works, and Mr. Mildred, the Past
Provincial Grand Master, both assisted Brother John Lazar, the Deputy
Provincial Grand Master (and Mayor of Adelaide), and His Excellency the
Governor, Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell, to screw in the first pile.
(Richard Num
told me that the transcript from the Register was scanned from
Charles RJ Glover's book “A History of First Fifty Years of Freemasonry in
South Australia 1834-1884” published 1915, pages 52-53.)
My thanks go to
Richard Num, Vice-President (& webmaster) of the SA & NT Freemasons
Historical Society for providing me with the details about the Masonic
ceremonials for commencement of construction of the Glenelg Jetty and the
details from the “Register” newspaper of 31st August 1857.
I was able to tell Richard that I thought that the
original cat-iron screw piles MAY be on display at the Bay Discovery Centre at
Glenelg and that marine archaeologist Terry Drew had a lot to do with the
excavation of the jetty site.
British Marine Life Study
Society
MARINE
LIFE NEWS
Email:
glaucus@hotmail.com
(For full contact details
please use our Links page on the MLSSA website.)
Reports of marine wildlife from all around the
British Isles, with pollution incidents and conservation initiatives as they affect
the flora and fauna of the NE Atlantic Ocean.
In this
brilliant sequence of photographs, Nic
Davies (Splashdown
Direct.com), captures a European
Otter, Lutra lutra,
in the process of capturing a Snake
Pipefish, Entelurus aequoreus, on
the Isle
of Mull (map),
Argyll and Bute, Inner Hebrides,
SW Scotland.
14 May 2007
An extraordinary
report of an Oceanic Pufferfish, Lagocephalus lagocephalus,
discovered washed up dead on the shore by
Christopher and Morwenna Smart at Treyarnon
Bay, near Padstow, on the north coast of Cornwall was
published in the Western
Morning News. This referred to a Pufferfish washed up on 19 November 2006.
In the period 31
October 2005 to 8 December 2006 there were seven Oceanic Pufferfish recorded in Cornwall, compared to 17 in Cornwall
and about 40 in the whole of Britain and Ireland from about 1760 to 2004.
In this same 13 months there were three found stranded in Ireland and three
caught by French fishermen in Biscay.