Rumbelow Boats
The Rambler in the Media

South Australia's oldest known colonial fishing boat

By Caroline Horn

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-06/rambler-sa-oldest-known-locally-built-colonial-fishing-boat/102177180

Thursday 6 April 2023

The oldest known colonial-built fishing boat in South Australia is "falling to pieces" at a disused dump, but there is still hope it can be saved. The Rambler was built in Birkenhead in 1878 with Margaret River jarrah, kauri and redgum in the design of a traditional English fishing boat known as a smack. It was used as a fishing boat, racing yacht, a mail boat, and even to collect ballots in early South Australian elections.

But for the past 20 years, the Rambler's resting place has been the Waitpinga Road dump in Victor Harbor, only a few kilometres from the waters of Encounter Bay, where it spent the first few decades of its working life.

It was moved to the now disused dump and donated to the National Trust of South Australia after the closure of a Port Adelaide boatyard. The trust's chief executive officer Darren Peacock says the 145-year-old boat could be saved and he plans to meet the Victor Harbor Council to discuss its future.

"A scratching post"

Over the decades, plans were put forward to cover and preserve the Rambler but it has slowly been falling to pieces over that time, mainly visited by cows who used it as a scratching post.

Over the past 12 months, Dr Wendy van Duivenvoorde and students from Flinders University's marine archaeology program have been permitted to visit and document the boat. The Rambler was partly clad with copper sheeting and Dr van Duivenvoorde and her team have been able to see how it was repaired and renewed over its working life.

"It's probably the earliest surviving fishing vessel in South Australia, and possibly even in Australia, that's Australian built," she said.

Dr van Duivenvoorde said there was also a lot of Indigenous "agency" in the ship, pointing out that the very early shipwrights depended heavily on Indigenous knowledge of local trees and their properties in the water, and for labour in the shipyards.

She said the Rambler was close to being unable to be saved.

"It's not doing so well," Dr van Duivenvoorde said. "The deterioration; it's going really fast now." She said if left as it was now, the Rambler would likely fall to pieces within five to 10 years.

'My great-great-grandfather died on board'

Donald (Don) Rumbelow, a descendant of Malen Rumbelow, the boat's original owner and skipper, said it was built in 1878 at Birkenhead by Peter Sharp.

"It was always one of those boats that the Rumbelows referred to," he said.

"My great-great-grandfather died on board. He pulled in a snapper and collapsed on the deck."

Mr Rumbelow said the boat was used for catching snapper, snook and crayfish but also for doing the early mail run between Victor Harbor and Kangaroo Island and had even been used to transport ballot boxes during elections.

After it was sold by the Rumbelows it changed hands many times and was still used in the 1980s before an American River resident purchased it with the intention of restoring it. From there it ended up at the now closed Port Adelaide boatyard.

Mr Rumbelow said he had spoken to members of council several times over the years to see if it could be put somewhere in the town as an attraction.

"There was talk of trying to get it fixed up good enough for display but that just didn't happen," he said. "I spoke to old boatbuilders at Goolwa about it but that would have been a heap of money."

A pricey mission

Mr Peacock said the trust had tried to persuade the Victor Harbor Council some years ago to look at relocating the Rambler.

"We would love to see it publicly on display and preserved but until there's hundreds of thousands of dollars that's off the table," he said.

"It would require significant government investment to make it presentable. We've had a huge number of people look and say, 'Wouldn't it be good.'"

Mr Peacock estimated preservation efforts could cost tens of thousands of dollars but a restoration would require into the hundreds of thousands. He said an appeal for the Rambler was still ongoing and donations could be made via the National Trust.

Victor Harbor Mayor Moira Jenkins was contacted for comment.

VICTOR HARBOR – On Friday, June 30, a number of community groups joined forces to rejuvenate an important part of the region’s fishing history when they met at the current resting site of the MV Rambler.

The National Trust South Australia has enthusiastically accepted custodianship of the MV Rambler from the Rumbelow Family and because of its historic value, absorbed the local preservation of the vessel as a project within their organisation as a Trust Conservation Project.

This custodianship means that Trust’s Adelaide Office will assist with a major promotion of a state-wide and national fundraising campaign on behalf of National Trust Victor Harbor and the Working Party. 

Fundraising plans and information will be supplied to the Adelaide office from the Working Party in Victor Harbor and ‘Save the Rambler’ will be a new project, publicised within the glossy state and national magazines of the Trust’s members.

The Trust will also manage the finances of the campaign in order that donations towards the fund can be made online or any other way are tax deductible and will allow invoices and payments to be made as required from the Victor Harbor Working Party.

Prior to the launch of the campaign, donations can also be made now to the National Trust in Victor Harbor any day between 1pm and 4pm. A new Working Party will be formed to manage the ‘Save the Rambler’ campaign in conjunction with the Trust and will be launched in Victor Harbor. The SA Maritime Museum has also sent a representative to view the vessel.

Those currently involved with the Working Party have, and will continue, to work with the National Trust, both in Victor Harbor and Adelaide.

City of Victor Harbor councillor Terry Andrews said the whole community is behind this project, because The Rambler is an important link to the Fleurieu’s fishing history, dating back to 1875.

“We have the National Trust, council, the Maritime Museum and Victor Harbor Men’s Shed backing this project,” Cr Andrews said.

Secretary of the Victor Harbor branch of the National Trust Richard Higgins said the project has historic significance. “The Rambler is a magnificent piece of the region’s history,” Mr Higgins said.  

Deputy chair of the Victor Harbor Men’s Shed Allan Edmondson-Stott visited the site where The Rambler is laying at Waitpinga and was blown away by the possibilities of the restoration. “It is mind blowing and it is a project our members will embrace. To get something like this back to regular order is exciting,” Mr Edmondson-Stott said.

Patricia Marsland is on the council’s Economic Development and Tourism committee and with Cr Andrews will be a key driver in the restoration of the vessel.

VICTOR HARBOR – The future of a unique sailing vessel is proposed to be saved by the National Trust of Victor Harbor with the support of the State National Trust. 

A visit on Thursday, May 18 from South Australian National Trust CEO Darren Peacock reinforced the support to salvage the Rambler, one of the oldest fishing vessels in the state.

The Rambler currently is wasting away in poor condition at the old dump site at Waitpinga.

“It needs to be preserved and there is so much we can do to restore such a historic piece of our history,” Mr Peacock said.

“These boats are so well constructed  that it should be possible to preserve and restore the timbers and bring it back to life.”

Before committing to a cost, Mr Peacock said the National Trust will require a professional assessment.

“During the last three years the National Trust has raised two million dollars for conservation of our heritage. The community can be so generous when it comes to restoring its heritage.”

Secretary of the Victor Harbor branch of the National Trust Richard Higgins said the Trust was about preserving  the city’s history, as the MV Rambler is an important link to the Fleurieu’s fishing history.

“To be involved with the Rambler will raise our profile in Victor Harbor, as it is an exciting project and a piece of history that has been forgotten. We are proud to have some input into bringing the boat back to life,” Mr Higgins said.

The Rambler was built around 1875 and in 1878 the first recorded owners were the Rumbelow family of Victor Harbor. She is known to have been the second boat in South Australia to have been granted a cray fishing licence and the oldest fishing vessel surviving in South Australia and possibly Australia. 

It is 42 feet long and for the past nine years has been exposed to the weather and in urgent need of preservation.

At the May council meeting City of Victor Harbor elected members voted for $2500 to be released to the National Trust for the Rambler project as soon as the Trust sets up a bank account showing matching funds and fundraising activities be advertised.

The funds are for the purchase of a rip resistant PVC tarpaulin to cover the boat. City of Victor Harbor councillor Terry Andrews has been a major supporter of the project and said the working party has the $2500.

“It needs to be done before the rain gets to the Rambler for another Winter,” Cr Andrews said.

The Rambler has even sparked the interest of the South Australian Maritime Museum with director Kevin Jones making a visit on Tuesday, May 23, with City of Victor Harbor mayor Graham Philp.

“It is all positive at this stage,” Mr Philp said.

The Victor Harbor branch of the National Trust is located at 1 Flinders Parade, opposite the causeway and houses Victor Harbor’s history from 1800 to the mid-1900s.  

ENCOUNTER BAY – Concept plans and the reviving and restoration of a boat owned by the Rumbelow family will be unveiled on Wednesday, October 5, at the Gospel Centre. 

The fishing boat The Rambler was built in 1875 and Malen Rumbelow took ownership of it in 1878.  The boat was used by the Rumbelow family for scale fishing and cray fishing.

Fifth generation of the Rumbelow family Kay Ewens and Don Rumbelow and seventh generation Malen Brown visited the site opposite Victor Harbor’s old rubbish dump to view the family’s historic boat.

“If the community wanted to take ownership of the boat for its historic significance we would be very happy, but would need to check with other members of the family,” Don said. “It needs a lot of work.”

The boat has not been in operation for a number of years, but is an important part of Victor Harbor’s history. 

A steering committee of Victor Vision 20/20 will hold their first public forum with guest speakers and power point presentations to develop more public art and cultural awareness in Victor Harbor. Spokesperson for the group councillor Terry Andrews said the region is in dire need for an art and cultural precinct to showcase its history.

“The Rambler boat has a lot of historical significance attached to it and this is the sort of thing we need to preserve. I am amazed and saddened that Victor Harbor council does not have an actual public arts policy,” Cr Andrews said.

“If this meeting is successful and enough people attend and want to have a public arts policy developed in Victor Harbor then I will be urging the council to develop one.”

Attending the forum will be Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources representative Chris Thomas and renown artist and sculptor Will Hendriks, who will speak on the vision for a Sculpture Park on Granite Island.

“I have asked council administration to prepare a report on how we can develop a public arts and cultural policy similar to many other councils in South Australia,” Cr Andrews said.

“I want to hear from anyone who has ideas and ask them to come along and join with us a vision that by 2020 we will have a vibrant public places arts and cultural centre including the town hall make over and the start of the Sculpture Park on Granite Island and the Rumbelow boat historical monument.”

The interactive public forum will be held on Wednesday, October 5, at 7pm at the Gospel Centre, George Main Road. The objectives of Victor Vision 20/20 are to assist in creating jobs and business opportunities in Victor Harbor via a cultural inheritance and educational facilities and in developing Victor Harbor as the number one tourist experience for South Australia.

Rescue operation gives new life to an old boat

• The Independent Weekly

• 29/05/2009

• HENDRIK GOUT

One of SA’s most famous historic boats has been airlifted to safety.

Built at Port Adelaide in 1875, the racing yacht was converted to a cray and fishing boat by the well-known South Coast Rumbelow family in 1904 and christened the Rambler.

The boat was sold by the Rumbelows and changed hands many times and was still used in the 1980s before a Kangaroo Island resident purchased it with the intention of restoring it. From there it ended up at the now closed Port Adelaide boatyard. Before work could finish on the wooden vessel, the Government ordered Searles’s closure and demolition to make way for a new apartment complex.

The Rambler was destined for the breakers yards until a major rescue effort enrolled Victor Harbor Mayor Mary-Lou Corcoran, who helped organise safe storage at Victor and Scott’s Transport yesterwho moved the boat from Searles to Victor without charge.

Port Adelaide’s heritage has now been bulldozed to oblivion, but a small part of our maritime history has miraculously been saved.