Minlation and Koolywurtie 😊

After deciding to stay an extra night in Port Vincent, we headed inland to Minlaton, first settled in 1870 by wheat farmers, today it is known as the 'Barley Capital of the World'. It is only a small town, with a couple of cafes, grocery stores, and a handmade chocolate shop. We have been passing a number of 'pink lakes' and 'pinker lakes' the past few days - lovely to see, but I read somewhere it is algae. Still pretty. However, the main reason for going to Minlation was to see the Harry Butler memorial. Henry John (Harry) Butler was born in Yorketown Hospital in 1889. He grew up on a farm in Koolywurtie, and had a love for mechanics. This led to Harry's love of flying and he enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps in England. In 1919 he flew a M.1C monoplane known as the 'Red Devil'. He was the first man to fly across the Gulf St Vincent to Yorke Peninsula. The story of his life, and a re-built 'Red Devil' is on display.

Across the road is an Australian animal refuge, and we saw a number of emus in there.

The roads on the peninsula are straight, some are gravel, but very well maintained. We headed to the coast and had lunch at Bluff Beach, another beautiful lunch spot.

On the way back to the caravan park we detoured to see 'Big Barney the Bear'. What a fun thing to find beside the road. The bear is advertising hay bales for sale.

We wanted to visit the old village of Koolywurtie, where Harry Butler lived, but not much of the town is left. Koolywurtie means 'where rocks meet the sea'. Farmers in the area wanted a port to transport their crops, so Port Rickaby was developed. The village of Koolywurtie was gazetted in March 1877, and a blacksmiths shop was established. There is no evidence of it today. By 1880 the farmers wanted a school in the area, and by 1882 a temporary school was opened in the residence of Edward Crozier. In 1895 the Koolywurtie Public School was opened on land owned by James Brown. Harry Butler went to school here. It closed in 1942, and can still be seen in what is left of the town. The now Uniting Church also remains. There are plaques to tell of the heritage-listed buildings and sites, and they can be easily seen from the road.