The Mouth of the Donnelly River    Nora Palmer, March 2005 

Round about 1922-1923 Manjimup had a Progress Association of which my Father, Don McKay, was President.  They raised money and bought two boats, which were left at the landing near Scotts block (two miles upstream from the present boat ramp).  One of these boats was named "The Annie" after my Mother. These boats were for anyone who wished to have a holiday at the Donnelly Mouth.  Of course they had to row the 10 miles, as no one had motors.  In about 1923-24, Don McKay and family in one boat, and Ike Doust and family in another, rowed down the river for a holiday.  They camped in a ti tree shelter which was available to all.  It was in a gully near where Chadwick’s hut is today. I remember it well, as I was 7yrs old at that time. I remember eating mouldy bread - that sticks in my memory. The men dug out the bar so we could get some fish in our net, but when they tried drying it over the open fire it caught alight.  There is a photo (but not a good one as cameras were basic then), in hut 11, but our family is easily recognisable.  I believe that the Dick family had a holiday even before us. They stayed two weeks, ran out of food and shot crows to eat.

During the Great Depression of the late 1920s, struggling local families turned to the lower Donnelly River as an important source of fish to feed their families, with many of the visits specifically to net Mullet and other fish for the table.

Local people used temporary camping spots near the river mouth, initially using canvas shelters, then later galvanised tin and sawmill waste offcuts to improve protection from the weather. These were gradually improved and basic shelters in the form of huts were constructed. Post the First World War, low wages, poor roads, unreliable vehicles, and poor communications determined that simple accommodation structures were all that could be afforded by those early users. River access was slow and difficult with old or home made timber clinker boats used, initially using oars, then later very early outboard motors were used to power them.

Lifetime lease granted to hut owners in 1977

In the early 1970’s a proposal was put forward to have the entire coastal area made into a national park. The hut owners approached the then National Parks and Gardens Board and offered to show them the area and illustrate the care that the hut owners had shown towards the environment there. This offer was accepted and Mr Frank Jenkins (the then Director) and his wife were guests of the committee. They were very impressed with the obvious pride and care being shown towards the surrounds of the huts, and the huts themselves, and a life time lease was granted in 1977 prior to the area being declared a national park. The National Parks and Gardens Board also set the fees to be paid annually.

As it used to be        Roy Ockwell  15 October 2001

It was sixty years ago (1941) when I had my first trip to the mouth of the Donnelly River. It certainly wasn’t as easy as it is today, but just as enjoyable, if not more so. One major difference was the absence of padlocks and theft. In those days we had to work Saturday mornings, which meant very short weekends, and with the absence of good transport, a trip had to be planned well in advance.

 The road to Nannup in those days was unsealed, narrow, and very rough. Farms along the way were mainly vacant or undeveloped, and of course no Karri Valley Resort. The old track into the river from the Nannup Road was very rough and stony and branched off further towards Nannup than the present landing turnoff. There was a natural parking area in open country a few chains back from the river with a swamp between. This meant you had to carry all your gear through the swamp on a path made of old sleepers and planks, to where the boats were moored. There were usually about three clinker boats there, mostly half submerged and had to be bailed and cleaned out before you could load them from the steep and slippery bank. Many of the boats were made by Lofty Wright, who worked at the Pemberton mill. 

A few of the old Pemberton residents using the river then were, - Jack Martyn (who built hut 21), Gilbert Brown (who was the first –and only?- one to sail a boat down the river, helped by oars of course), Cecil (Tup) Graham (father of  Bob), Aubrey Sheffield, Allen Dunnett (father of Wally),Bill Hammond, Mick Love (father of Jim)

George Smith, and the Goddard brothers (who built my hut – No 6).

There were only two “huts” there then – one was Jack Martyn’s and Phil Richards – (which was always full of rats) and the other was Tup Grahams (which stood downstream from Mike Chadwick's hut, where a sand dune now is. It was a crude affair with bush poles and WAGR tarpaulins, but had a 38 mm thick wooden floor).

My first trip to the Donnelly was when my father was asked by Bill Hammond if he would like to take a party to the Donnelly, but as he wasn’t interested said I could do it if I wanted. I was sixteen at the time and had just got my drivers license by putting up my age (so I thought I was you know who). When the arranged weekend arrived off I went off in a 1926 Rugby ute, picking up my mate Harry Moore on the way to town to pick up Bill Hammond at his place when he knocked off work at lunchtime. When Bill arrived we loaded his gear on then chased around for the rest of the party – Phil Richards and Vic Kelly.

We had to cadge and borrow in those days as poverty was not far away, so each member had a purpose for being invited along. Bill had borrowed a 2 HP Evinrude outboard motor from Dave Thompson the butcher, Phil Richards had to come because he had a share in one of the huts that we were to use. (Incidently, it is still there now and owned by Don Sivyer and Faye Wells). Tup Graham’s “hut” was the only other, a crude affair built mostly from W.A.G.R. tarpaulins and was sited further round (downstream)  from Chadwick’s present hut. Vic Kelly our other passenger had borrowed a net and had permission to use Allen Dunnett’s boat. After arriving at the river we humped all the gear through the swamp to the boat, bailed it out, fitted the motor and loaded the gear.

We pushed off with Captain Bill trying to start the motor but no go; “you boys row until she starts”  says Bill and well down past today’s landing it finally started, and with a cloud of smoke we were “off” at about 2 knots! We eventually reached the Broadwater and it was decided to set the net with instructions from Phil and Bill who had been gargling their throats on the way down with ‘Boyanup Local Plonk’. When we reached the hut it was too late to go to the beach so we got the tilley lamp going, boiled the billy, listened to the ‘bulldust’, then hit the bunk. (In those days there were no water tanks so we used to dig a hole next to the river bank, put a karri fruit case in the hole, then in the morning it would be full of clear drinking water. Any perishables were kept in a round flyproof safe made of flat zinc sheet with small holes stamped in it). At day break we would head up to the net, and clear it of mullet. (Only 5 metres of net was needed for all the fish you wanted). We would then head back to camp for beans and toast before heading to the beach.

There were no rods then, only hand lines of cord or gut, and sinkers (mostly old spark plugs or elevator chain links). Vic Kelly was the only successful angler and if you knew Phil and Bill you would not wonder why. About ten o’clock we had to head back to the hut, have a snack and head for home to arrive in Pemberton late in the afternoon. Today it is a very different story, with everything we need and more time to go with it.

I do not recall the new road to the ramp being surveyed, but have been on many busy bees to improve it. Bert Edwards provided his tip truck (he used to contract to the Main Roads Dept), and we used an axe and shovel and for sure no chain saws. Not many would remember a small bridge we built to stop getting bogged, as it is now built up with shale. With the Forest Department upgrade of the road and regular maintenance it means the river is more accessible and attractive and along with improved boats and motors its popularity grew. I remember one regular user named Ivan Tuck saying someone is going to come to grief down here with these new high powered motors (they were about 8HP !).

Harry Moore and I later made our own boat, using jarrah (from an old mantelpiece) and blackbutt for the ribs. The ribs were cut out with a handsaw, and smoothed off with a rasp. We covered it with flat galvanised tin (riveted and soldered) that we found at an old farmhouse (it was originally owned by people called Cottingham, but they walked off their block). We carted this boat to the river on the top of my old Buick ute (I cut the top off  a car to make it into a ute). The front of the boat was supported with a fence post across the ute’s windscreen, and the back resting on the rear of the ute!

After my wife and I shifted to Shannon River in about 1948 I didn’t have the opportunity to visit the Donnelly as often as I would have liked. However, when we later moved back to Pemberton, Howard Green, who had taken over Goddards hut, offered it to me. I took it, and spent quite a bit of time fixing it up, especially to keep the flies out, then for many years we were regular visitors. We had some great times there, although the beach fishing wasn’t all that good.

The only major change from those days is that we now lock everything up. Back then. even your vehicle was not locked (because it couldn’t be locked anyway) but nothing was ever missing. To me the river and its environs were much the same now as it was then and still as enjoyable. I hope it stays that way.  

P.S.  Bill Hammond was a colourful character, he later lost his eyesight, and with his guide dog was part of Pemberton for many years. His daughter Mrs Colin Parker still lives here in Pemberton.