His faithful native guide, Wylie, has his name
perpetuated in the beach and headland we
had just left, and Rossiter Bay takes its name
from the captain of the ship, Mississippi, who by
sheer luck was anchored in the bay when Eyre
and Wylie staggered along this long stretch of
sand. It was one of the most fortunate meetings
in Australian exploration history and the two
tattered and worn explorers stayed on board for
12 days repairing body and soul and equipment
before continuing the gruelling trek to Albany,
another 500km west.
We had it a lot easier but even so a few soft
sections along the beaches saw us using a snatch
strap and the Maxtrax to keep us all mobile
and reaching our camp site for the evening at
Membinup Beach - a shire maintained camping
spot outside of the nearby national parks.
Next day we passed through Cape Arid
National Park, which has a plethora of places
to visit, sandy beach drives and some pleasant
camping areas. Sadly, the old Overland
Telegraph Track through the park to Port
Malcolm is generally closed so the other option
is via Fisheries Track, which leads
through the adjoining Nuytsland NR to
Israelite Bay.
Eyre had passed this spot on his e
trek from east to west but didn't nam
the bay. That was left to the Dempste
brothers, white pioneers of the
district, who in their travels in 1863,
noticed that the area around the ba
seemed to be the boundary betwee
Aboriginal tribes who did and did n
practice circumcision. Think the bib
the Israelites and you get the connThe overland telegrap
The bay then became the important site of its
historic telegraph station that operated there
from 1877 to 1927 and helped link Perth, via the
Overland Telegraph Line (OTL), with the eastern
states. The current building dates from 1896,
while nearby is ‘Glencoe’, a small stone cottage
built in 1883. Built around the same time as the
grand new telegraph station was a timber jetty
to help load the increasing volume of wool thatome
eren
o
ble
ection!c
e
rn
t
e,
!Spectacular Lucky Baywas being produced from the sheep properties
in and around the bay. Two small cemeteries
not far away also date from those pioneer times
and can be easily visited. These days Israelite
Bay and the surrounding coast is best known for
its great fishing while it also attracts keen four
wheelers and campers wanting to get away from
it all.
Next morning we bypassed the first section
of beach directly north of Israelite Bay becauseADVENTURESREAT
NBight