What I See with Peter Fiorenza: Reminiscing about childhood Easters spent on the Abrolhos Islands

Easter time always brings back special memories for me. Of course, there are pleasant memories of good times spent with loved ones. But I reckon mine are unique. It’s a time of the year that I think about the Abrolhos Islands, and in particular, the Pelsaert or Southern Group. You see, when my brother and I were growing up, our father, Alf, skippered the island carrier boat, The Southern Lady. The wooden vessel was a beauty in her day and regarded as the prize of the fleet. In the late 1970s and most of the 1980s, the Southern Lady was responsible for providing supplies to the beautiful archipelago that was the Pelsaert group. It is the most southern of the series of rocky outcrops of reef about 70km off Geraldton. There is no doubt the Abrolhos is unique in many ways. For instance, it is the most southern form of reefs of its type, and its collection of birdlife, alone, is world renowned. Equally unique, is the fact that rock lobster are found in abundance in the area, due to the peculiar Leeuwin current. Hence my connection. Each year, during the Easter break and the school holidays, my brother and I would travel onboard and spend time with our dad. And these journeys were very special, indeed. Today, many of the fishers, family and friends spend some quality downtime on the islands, however, back then, Southern Group and Basile Island, in particular, would have rivalled a small town. Everyone was there, or so it seemed. Despite, the odd bouts of seasickness, the trip over was always magical. Leaving in darkness, the Southern Lady would welcome daylight, shortly before the coastal vista of Geraldton disappeared and the islands emerged over the horizon. And just as the corrugated iron huts started to take shape in the distance, a surprise was always in store. As the dark blue waves steadily became aqua and later green, several porpoises would present themselves at the bow of the boat. “The dolphins are here, the dolphins are here,” dad would yell from the wheelhouse. Dave and I would try and lean over the side, trying to touch the joyful creatures as they bounced in and out of the waves that broke across the boat’s bow. Once arriving at the destination, the Southern Lady would make a series of pitstops at the smaller islands before we moored and headed into Basile Island for the day and evening. As dad and his deckhand Larry off-loaded groceries, letters and other parcels, families would give dad gifts of chocolate and other confectionery that he always shared. Sometimes there was so much, including cakes and other goodies, we had to take it home. That arvo we would join the other kids on the main island for some adventurous fun before returning the next day to Geraldton — the Southern Lady laden with bags of crays. Peter Fiorenza returns to Radio MAMA airwaves with Sport Shed Saturday and Fiorenza on Sunday from April 14-15.