Beachport has officially been in party mode in recent weeks with the presence of a record 1000 shoppers at Saturday’s street market arguably being the high point of the festive season at the popular seaside locale.
The Beachport District Development Association again arranged the carnival-like shopping event while the ever-popular duck race at the Pool of Siloam was held in the afternoon by the Lions Club of Beachport and Rivoli Bay.
The success of the street market was a boost to the association which has had to regrettably cancel two other summertime events.
Due to COVID-19 concerns, the two fireworks displays from the jetty on New Year’s Eve could not proceed while a faulty projector means the association cannot screen movies at the South Coast Cinema until next month.
Association secretary Pam Stratford coordinated the street market in a closed Railway Terrace and she welcomed 42 stall-holders from as far away as Portland. “This year we decided to put all the stall-holders in the roadway rather than on the footpaths and this worked out well,” Ms Stratford said.
Tantanoola couple Bruce and Arvan Carthew have sold general goods at Beachport for over 25 years and had never before seen a crowd to rival Saturday’s.
On the other hand, it was only the third time Helen Joyce and Colin Davies had come from Millicent to sell their second-hand goods.
Ms Joyce said they were quite happy to hand over their $40 stallholders’ fee as it goes to the BDDA which is a not-for-profit community group.
“We got here with our vintage collectibles at 7.30am and did not pack up and leave until 1.30pm,” Mr Davies said. “There was strong demand for vinyl LP records, kitchenalia, glassware and jewellery.”
Many of the market goers passed through the doors of the Beachport National Trust Museum where they were greeted by its branch president Lorraine Williams.
“We have two new displays about the 1941 German mine explosion and pioneer Franz Bevilaqua as well as some historical items from the Beachport Bowling Club while the clubrooms are being renovated,” Ms Williams said.
“Wattle Range Council owns the museum building and they have just spent $30,000 on a new roof at the rear shed. “The work included additional skylights which allow the exhibits to be better seen.”
Millicent businessman Simon Lowe said he enjoyed soaking up the market atmosphere with his wife Mercia and their son Thomas and daughter Addison. “The family loves to holiday at Beachport,” Mr Lowe said. “The kids have Vacswim and there is plenty of fishing.”
Saturday marked yet another busy day of trading for Jarmo’s Automotive Services and its manager Bev Uotila.
She has frequently worked 11-hour days to cope with the demand from locals and out-of-town tourists.
Ms Uotila said the past nine months had been impacted by the COVID-19 virus. “I have found our customers to have been quite relaxed,” Ms Uotila said. “I think they are just happy to be on holiday.”
An unusual feature of market day was the presence of a sea mist which blanketed the town and Rivoli Bay for much of the morning.
Veteran professional fisherman Malcolm Parish said sea mists were only seen two or three times a year while he correctly predicted it would lift by lunchtime.
