This jetty, not just any jetty.

This jetty reminded me of a similar one in south Australia; a small town called Port Germein. Port Germein never made the jump from small commercial port to small seaside tourist resort. On my last trip, Port Germein had a pub, a gas station and a street lined with closed businesses. It was dying; no cafes, no tourists, no money.

In both towns it was this lifeline – a port to the world – that gave them life. My walk back to the shore reminded me of this as I passed multiple brass plaques; thin metal memorials to locals who chose this spot as their final resting place. Being somewhat of a sentimental sort, I wrote a few down. They speak for themselves, however, may I guide you through them?

A father and son, side by side.

John "Tractor" Dear
1936-1998
Father of Jules Varga
"Happy days"

His son, Jules Varga died four years later, he was 47.
1959-2006
Life is a challenge. Meet it.
Life is love. Share it.
Life is a dream. Realize it.
Life is a game. Play it
In this bay your ashes stay.

Anne Plunkett
To have known you was to love you.

One plaque; Ken and Molly Spencer.
Ken was 60 when he passed, Molly outlived him by 26 years.
"Together again in the place they loved best"

James Stanly
1926-2006
"He said just toss him, so we did"
-his kids

Inky Wright
1930-2006
"A true gentleman at rest,
courageous and strong"

Herbert D. Gregson
A gentle man.
-wife Daphne

I could write all of them down - each one its own brand of pluck and poignancy. However, the one I will leave you with is Keith Collet, clearly one who had fished this jetty his whole life.

Fisherman’s Prayer
I pray that I may live to fish until my dying day
And when it comes to my last cast
I then most humbly pray
I land in the Lord’s great landing net
and peacefully go to sleep
and that in His mercy I be judged good enough to keep.

Busselton’s commitment to its jetty has in return given life to nearly 6 generations of this town. Sails, steam, coal, and now tourists are drawn to this jetty like the life that grows below it. The locals, always grateful, are as much a part of the jetty as the pilings that hold it above the sea.