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3. MARKET for CRAYFISH.
History of the selling of crayfish.
By 1890 there were as many as 15 fishing boats operating in Lacepede Bay. They sold their catch in Adelaide and locally. After the long train journey a percentage of the fish would be worthless and the loss was the responsibility of the local men. The railways could not be persuaded to supply refrogeration because the supply of fish was too small to guarantee it would be profitable.
A Kingston Fishermen's Association was founded in 1912 and this was when the cooking and bottling of crayfish began. The main market for the product was Broken Hill, but this project did not last many years.
During the depression years of the 1930's a local man Tom Smith started carting fish by truck to Adelaide. Later he bought direct from fishermen so if there were any dead ones or a poor market it was his loss. Prices were low and he estimated if he got six pence (five cents) each for the cray fish he would make a reasonable profit. To cover the costs he would purchase fruit and vegetables and bring back for the family shop. He would pick up scale fish from the men who fished along the Coorong too, thus assisting them.
Significant headway was made with the formation of the South Australian Fishermen's Association (SAFCOL) in 1945. By this time there was better road transport, good roads and refrigeration. As a Co-operative they were able to secure contracts to send their surplus crayfish to the American market.
Before refrigeration boxes known as corfs were used to keep the crayfish alive until there were enough to send to market. The corfs came in various sizes between 150 and 500 kilograms. On completion of the days fishing the catch would be taken from the boat and put into the corfs which were anchored at their own moorings and added to each day.
A small trolley ran along a railway line on the jetty. This was used to cart bait and equipment out to the boats and carry the loads of crayfish back to the waiting transport. A crane was used to assist with lifting dinghies and the heavy objects out of the water.
Info courtesy Kingston branch of the National Trust.
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