Family history across the seas

The topic for Week 29 in Amy Coffin’s and Geneablogger’s 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy and History series is: Water. Do you have any memories of the sea or another body of water? Did you live there or just visit? What did you do there? You can also describe a body of water by which you live or visit in the present day.

As a young girl I’d enjoyed Guide camps so when asked to go camping at the beach with the neighbours I was keen to give it a try, but Mr Cassmob’s camping experience was of Army cadet camps at Canungra in the middle of winter…not positive. However encouragement from our new friends meant that we took the plunge and went camping with them over the border of New South Wales at Hastings Point. Well, that was the start of a love affair with a beautiful place, not just for camping but for day drives and picnics. So many family memories were built up there. Even arriving exhausted from work we would soon unwind and truly relax.

I should describe Hastings Point’s geography a little. The Point is a high ridge line between two superb beaches with vistas in both directions. Below it is a marine park with huge rocks and many little nooks and crannies with shells and sea creatures. To the northern side of the hill a creek runs out to the sea and adjacent to this is a wide flat area that is the open camping area. It had no facilities other than open air cold showers down one end, water on tap and public toilets down near the road and nearby a little shop.

It was, and largely still is, a beautiful spot…you can see other images on my Summer post. We were never keen to camp there during peak season at Christmas or Easter and I can’t remember ever doing so. We loved it when we turned up and the camping ground was empty bar one or two other tents. Our favourite site was right near the water, overlooking the mouth of the river where it ran into the sea. Of course this was also the position which got the maximum wind from the ocean so many was the time when we needed tent adjustments in a storm. Not to mention that every one of our tent poles had an impressive bend in it!

Every time we’d visit Hastings the path of the river would have changed with tides or other unknown influences. One time the walk along the creek to the toilets would be wide open sand, the next time it would be pebble or rock-strewn. On one magical night as we walked along it, the fluorescence (I think) sparkled each time we stepped into the sand. It was like sparklers going off….gorgeous.

Another time the river was so shallow we explored little rock pools within it and in one found a myriad of sea creatures: shells, crabs, anenomes etc. It was totally enthralling.

Hastings was where we went to watch Halley’s Comet pass over in 1986..something I’ll never see again in my lifetime though our children might. The sky was so clear that the stars were always like a light-show so we could see the comet easily. Actually we got the best view of it one night ahead of the “advertised” optimal viewing and saw its movement across the sky.

On Anzac Day one year we were camped there when the Air Force, no doubt from Evans Heads, skimmed the ridge and flew very low over the rocks and water holes giving people something of a fright. As the jets continued on their way towards the Anzac Day ceremony at Tweed Heads or Coolangatta they had to flick a wing over any yacht masts so you see they were definitely flying “mach 2 with their hair on fire” at about 500ft or lower.

Apart from all the little rock pools to be explored for sea creatures (including baby octopus), there were usually a couple of much larger pools formed among the rocks which filled with each high tide. These were perfect for small children (and large adults!) to swim/loll in quite safely. The creek was better for swimming as the kids got bigger and as the flow could be quite fast was great for the boogie boards too. The creek’s only downside was the oyster shells on the rocks at low tide…cuts best avoided. When surfing was required we could swim across the creek to swim on the surf beach across the way. Our children were always fearless and looked set to swim for New  Zealand though the day we saw what initially seemed to be sharks brought them back in with great speed. Turned out to be dolphins but it gave us and them a bit of a start! Another heart-starter moment was coming within inches of a death adder in the nearby bush while in bare feet….luckily it was lazy from sleeping in the sun!

Although we now live quite close to the sea and it certainly looks beautiful, it holds less attraction because of the presence, or potential presence, of crocs and stingers which means you can only swim a few months of the year, if you’re game. I think we’ve been in the ocean only two or three times in over a decade…sticking to the pool is safer! Australia has more than its fair share of hazardous creatures but the Top End does it even better.