Lester Rumbelow spent all his time on The Coorong which inspired him to erect the hut in the 1930s - just four posts with some cladding on the walls, a corrugated roof and hessian rugs on a dirt floor. This 3.5 by 4 metre space, with a kerosene fridge, gas stove, table, chairs, bed and small rainwater tank as the only creature comforts, was Lester's home for his last 30 years. The hut was never meant to be anything but a shack. Lester had no requirements other than a break from the elements.

There his hospitality and friendly greetings were experienced by many fishermen and travellers from far and wide. His 'Coorong Rock buns' and 'cup o' tea' were a widely known treat.

Lesters grandson Garry inherited the hut through his aunt on Lester's death in 1992. When you consider Gary's heritage of a Rumbelow on his mother's side and his paternal grandfather also a lifetime fisherman - there wasn't much chance of any other career. Garry has fished the lakes and Coorong for the past 22 years. During the fishing season (spring and summer), Garry's young family in Meningie will only see him for a few hours a day.

Rumbelows Hut

• SA life, Volume 2, Number 2

• February 2005, p. 74-75

The beauty of The Coorong is unique, as is the wildlife. Another unique feature is the families who seek a livelihood from its waters and cherish its fragile existence. One such family is the Rumbelows, a family who has fished one area or another of the south coast for generations. Lester Rumbelow, who called himself the last of the Rumbelow fishers, left his legacy in the form of Rumbelows Hut.

Lesters grandson Garry inherited the hut through his aunt on Lester's death in 1992. When you consider Gary's heritage of a Rumbelow on his mother's side and his paternal grandfather also a lifetime fisherman - there wasn't much chance of any other career. Garry has fished the lakes and Coorong for the past 22 years. During the fishing season (spring and summer), Garry's young family in Meningie will only see him for a few hours a day.

Lester spent all his time on The Coorong which inspired him to erect the hut in the 1930s - just four posts with some cladding on the walls, a corrugated roof and hessian rugs on a dirt floor. This 3.5 by 4 metre space, with a kerosene fridge, gas stove, table, chairs, bed and small rainwater tank as the only creature comforts, was Lester's home for his last 30 years. The hut was never meant to be anything but a shack. Lester had no requirements other than a break from the elements.

Lester Rumbelow had an innate knowledge of and respect for the waters and ecosystem that nurtured his catch. It was a harsh existence. It was an era when men were made of steel and boats were made of wood," says Lester's grandson Garry Hera-Singh. 

Lester's day began at 4 am, seven days a week during the season, when he would row up to eight miles a day to set and later retrieve his nets before the pelicans got to his catch of mulloway, bream and mullet. 

Not much has changed for Garry who continues the tradition of static net fishing but has deferred to a boat with an outboard "I still rely on some of my grandfather's knowledge of when and where to fish. Always watching the seasons, nature's signs and the weather for important clues where the fish might be tonight," he says.

Prior to his death, Lester shared with his grandson many words of wisdom and much knowledge of The Coorong, particularly prior to the introduction of the barrages "Many of the changes in Lester's view were for the worse. Reducing the estuary by roughly 90 per cent of its original size had a profound impact on the bird and fish populations of the region." 

Garry continues the family's respect for the environment. "The aquatic ecosystem is the engine room that drives the abundance of birds and fish every year. A healthy ecosystem delivers a healthy and sustainable fishery. Unfortunately the over extraction of water from the Murray Darling Basin catchment has meant that only about 27 per cent of the natural flows make it to the Lower Lakes and Murray Moth area. Most of the birds and fish relied on the annual fresh water pulses for reproduction and growth rates

"In 1998 the Lakes and Coorong fishery produced the first environmental management plan for a commercial fishery in the world The plan identified several areas the fishers needed to address. The first was an independent audit of the fishery by the Marine Stewardship Council certification process which is sponsored by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The second was the need for specific monitoring." 

Such monitoring included not only bird numbers but visitors, pellation, unusual events or sightings and the like.

Around six years ago Garry began to count the migratory birds on a daily basis - Cape Barren Geese flying overhead and the rare Eastern Curlew, Stints, Sanderlings and Sandpipers on The Coorong sandbars. That information has been collated and is now used to confirm trends in conjunction with the National Parks and the annual Australian Migratory Bird counts. "Unfortunately the quantitative data confirms what the fisherman already know - The Coorong is going down the gurgler at an alarming rate." 

As his grandfathers before him, Garry understands the intricate needs of The Coorong "What the waterway needs is another 1956 flood to bring life back to the levels of its former glory"