Murray Williams
I am a fisherman, born and bred. My grandfather and father were both fishermen and handed down their knowledge of the local waters and fishing to me. In the early 1930’s Grandpa moved from Victoria to live in South Australia and found work laying the pavers in the main street of Port Adelaide. In about 1935 he came to Corny Point on a holiday where he met and fell in love with my grandmother, who was working for the local farmer across the road from where he was staying. When they married, they settled in Corny Point. During WWII Grandpa was based in Queensland, catching fish for the army hospital.
In high school, it was common for the local farmers’ sons to be allowed leave to help with the annual harvest. Although I wasn’t a farmer’s son, I was able to get permission to go fishing with Dad, who had a crook back and otherwise used to fish alone.
Dad was a cray fisher and recognised where he’d left a pot by sighting landmarks on the horizon. Nowadays, we’re able to fish with radar, GPS and a sounder to help spot reefs. Other changes I’ve noticed are in the gear. When I first started fishing, gear was very heavy and took up a lot of space. Now it’s much easier to work with and store.
Out fishing, every day is different. Depending on the season, I fish for squid, whiting, shark, nannygai, wrasse, snook and snapper and go out whenever the weather permits. My day normally starts just after daylight but sometimes I head out late afternoon and fish into the evening, using lights to see. I usually fish with a deckhand as, on the water, for safety reasons it’s always good to have a friend along.
Friends of mine have the fish truck run to Adelaide. If there is enough catch, they pick up from Corny Point and take the fish to sell in Adelaide at SAFCOL or interstate.
When you’re on the water, every day is a good day. Fishing gives me the freedom to choose my own destiny and how I live my life. Nowadays, there are more recreational boats on the water and with the recent Government buyback less fishers like me.
I’ve lived at Corny Point all my life and if there’s someone whose vehicle is bogged in the sand on the beach or a problem on the water, the locals call on me for help. Over the years, I’ve been called out to a lot of rescues at sea.
A few years ago I was heading out when I got a call from the coastguard in the area. A bloke on a boogie board had gotten into trouble and was being sucked out to sea on a rip. We went out and picked him up, dropping him off on another boat to take him back to shore. When we got to him, he was very glad to see us. He was lucky he didn’t end up lost at sea.