Blessing the Fleet from Liz Harfull’s Almost an Island

Almost an Island: The story of Robe

Liz Harfull’s Almost an Island is full of fascinating information about Robe on the Limestone Coast. One of the great traditions of the area is the blessing of the fleet, which happens every spring. Liz explains:

Blessing the Fleet

Every spring, at the start of the rock lobster fishing season, people gather at the Robe marina for an important ceremony. The Blessing of the Fleet brings peace of mind to the fishers and their families who are involved in what remains a risky way to earn a living.

According to celebrant Jan Bermingham, the tradition started sometime in the 1950s under the influence of immigrants arriving in Australia from Italy and Greece. Blessing the fleet is a strong tradition in Mediterranean countries where it is held every season to ensure a safe and bountiful fishing season. When the custom was introduced in Adelaide, an Anglican priest serving on the Limestone Coast thought it worth doing at Robe too.

Fishers have a reputation for being superstitious and the ceremony has real meaning for the community. At one stage it was moved to the end of November, weeks after the season started, so it could be part of a village fair designed to draw tourists to the town. ‘The local fishermen had the Church of England priest down here on the morning the season opened to bless them as they went out to sea. They were not going to wait a whole month,’ says Jan.

‘Even though a lot of fisherman don’t grace the doors of a church they are very, very conscious of their God.’

The ceremony involves a brief service, which seeks God’s blessing and commemorates the lives of fishers lost at sea. Teenagers then dive into the harbour to retrieve a wooden cross.

As the daughter, sister and aunt of professional fishermen, Jan knows the worry many families experience. ‘When we lose a boat everybody feels it,’ she says.

‘They don’t like to show emotion but they are so bonded together, and they know it could have been one of them.’

Blessing the fleet, from Almost and Island

Decorated fishing boats gather for an early Blessing of the Fleet ceremony, c. 1950s. (Courtesy Met Riseley)

On the silver screen …

SA Tourism have been producing some great ads recently.

There has been a bit of disagreement over the most recent Adelaide ad (see on InDaily here). Amber Petty wasn’t much of a fan. But I think it’s killer, and it is nice to be reminded just how darn beautiful and alive this old state of ours is.

But it’s not all about the big production ads. Through the SA Tourism Through Local Eyes project, a whole bunch of wildly talented South Aussies have been making short films to show their view of the state.

It’s through this project that the most recent Limestone Coast ad has been made – and of course, if we’re going to talk beautiful areas of SA, we’re going to talk Limestone Coast.

The thing that has got all us Wakefieldians so excited, however, takes place at 1:42 exactly:

THAT’S OUR BOOK! ALMOST AN ISLAND HAS GONE AND GROWED UP AND BECOME A MOVIE STAR!

To see more of the innovative advertising SA Tourism have got going on (and you really should – they’ve got some beauties), have a look here.