Wander along the banks of Ross and Fig Tree creeks today… the decaying jetties and rotting pylons give little indication of the buzz of the 1920s and 30s when this was the hub of a thriving fishing industry.(…) Hard men, colourful characters.
Best not to ask too many questions about their past. Men such as Joe Carpentier, a French political prisoner from the penal colony at New Caledonia, who managed to steal a boat and somehow finished up at Ross Creek where he became a successful boat owner and fisherman.
If you want to know more about the characters and their vessels who frequented the creeks in the early days, the Capricorn Coast Historical Society has a booklet written by Norma Hempenstall and Fred Lawn that will give you some interesting information, along with photos by Steve Marshall. Brian Dorey wrote the foreword.
