You may have been lucky enough to see these pieces of history at the Goolwa end of the Coorong in South Australia, but only if you’ve been on an organised Coorong cruise or in your own boat.

These shacks, some of which are more than 100 years old, were originally built by fishermen to provide shelter and can be found at Barker’s Knoll around 1 kilometre east of the Murray Mouth.  

More shacks can be found as far south as Salt Creek and a number of shacks, like these on Younghusband Peninsula, can only be accessed by boat.

It’s only a short boat ride from either Goolwa or through the Mundoo Channel from Hindmarsh Island, to reach these shacks at the northern end of the 150 kilometre long Coorong, all of which are privately owned and sit on land leased from the Government. Not too bad when you consider that you can fish directly from the front of your shack or take a short walk over the dunes behind to the Southern Ocean side of the peninsula.

For a long time these shacks were tenured for life and couldn’t be sold but legislative changes have meant that they can now be sold with a few conditions.

Only a couple of years ago, two of these tightly held shacks were listed together for sale with a 30 year leasehold. Conditions for the purchaser included a sewage holding tank would have to be installed, a proper bathroom would probably be needed and solar power generation and storage could do with extension. Also because the Coorong is a national park, no dogs are allowed.

Some of the original shacks were constructed with corrugated iron, timber from old barges, driftwood and even flattened out 44 gallon drums. In the very early shacks the floors were often bare. The later built shacks had corrugated iron walls and roof and concrete floors or pine floor boards over a timber frame.

The shacks that were up for sale came with three bedrooms, kitchen/dining area, shedding, retaining wall and jetty, gravity fed rainwater tank, woodstove for cooking and a gas refrigerator. The properties were being sold as walk in walk out with all furniture included.  

When the shacks were for sale, the current owner had enjoyed them for more than 40 years, having previously bought them from a local fisherman.

As well as the fishing opportunities that would come from living here, where you can catch a number of species including mullet, mulloway, flathead, salmon trout and more, there are more than 240 bird species in the area to see. It’s a pelican breeding area so these big beautiful birds are prolific.

The natural environment nearby is stunning with some huge sand dunes (known as the Sahara) along the Coorong, an area which is a favourite for water skiers and family outings.

I’m glad there are still some areas where you can see examples of original old shacks and that they are still being enjoyed today.

Cheers

Glenys