Robe is a town and

fishing port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

located in the

Limestone Coast The Limestone Coast is a name used since the early twenty-first century for a South Australian government region located in the south east of South Australia which immediately adjoins the continental coastline and the Victorian border. The ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. The town's distinctive combination of historical buildings, ocean, fishing fleets, lakes and dense bush is widely appreciated. Robe lies on the southern shore of

Guichen Bay Guichen Bay, (French: Baie de Guichen) is a bay located on the south-east coast of the Australian state of South Australia about northwest of the regional city of Mount Gambier and about south-southeast of the state capital of Adelaide. It wa ...

, just off the Princes Highway. At the , Robe had a population of 998. Robe is the main town in the

District Council of Robe The District Council of Robe is a local government area located in the Limestone Coast area of South Australia. The main offices are in Robe, the town after which the council is named. The district relies on a mix of agriculture, fisheries and t ...

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

. It is in the state electorate of MacKillop and the

federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

Division of Barker The Division of Barker is an Australian Electoral Division in the south-east of South Australia. The division was established on 2 October 1903, when South Australia's original single multi-member division was split into seven single-member div ...

History

Aboriginal use

European use

Robe, one of the oldest towns in South Australia, was founded by the colonial government as a seaport, administrative centre and village just ten years after the Province of South Australia was established. Robe was named after the fourth Governor of South Australia, Major Frederick Robe, who chose the site as a port in 1845. The town was proclaimed as a port in 1847. It became South Australia's second-busiest (after Port Adelaide) international port in the 1850s. Robe's trade was drawn from a large hinterland that extended into western Victoria, and many roadside inns were built to cater for the bullock teamsters bringing down the wool, including the 'Bush Inn' still standing on the outskirts of Robe. Exports included horses and sheep skins and wool. The

Customs House A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...

has been listed on the

South Australian Heritage Register The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. ...

since 1980. A stone obelisk was built on Cape Dombey in 1852 to help ships navigate safely into the bay. Even so, there have been a number of shipwrecks along the coast in the area. An automatic

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

was built on higher ground in 1973. During the Victorian

gold rushes A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Ze ...

around 1857, over 16,000

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

people landed at Robe to travel overland to the goldfields, as

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

introduced a landing

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

of £10 per person (more than the cost of their voyage) to reduce the number of Chinese immigrants. The immigrants then walked the 200 miles (320 km) to

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

and

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

. Robe's importance decreased with the advent of

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

which did not come to the town. It became a local service centre for the surrounding rural areas. It is still home to a fleet of fishing boats. Especially important are the local

lobster Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs ...

Heritage listings

Robe has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Burr Street:

Robe Cemetery A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. Unlike garments described as capes or cloaks, robes usually have sleeves. The English word ''robe'' derives from Middle English ''robe'' ("garment"), borrowed from Old French ''robe'' ("booty, spoils" ...

* Cape Dombey: Cape Dombey Obelisk * 1A Hagen Street:

Robe House A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. Unlike garments described as capes or cloaks, robes usually have sleeves. The English word ''robe'' derives from Middle English ''robe'' ("garment"), borrowed from Old French ''robe'' ("booty, spoils" ...

* 2 Hagen Street: The Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Chapel and Schoolroom * 7 Karatta Road: Karatta House * Main Road: Lakeside * Main Road: Lakeside Stables and Coach House * Main South Eastern Road: Richmond Park Homestead * Millicent Road: Bush Inn * 2 Mundy Terrace: Robe Post Office and Telegraph Station * Nora Creina Road: The Hermitage * Nora Creina Road: CSIRO Field Research Station * Nora Creina Road: Dingley Dell (dwelling) * Nora Creina Road:

Bellevue Homestead Bellevue Homestead is a heritage-listed homestead currently located in Coominya, Somerset Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from to . It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. The Bellevue property was t ...

* Obelisk Road: Robe Gaol Ruins * Royal Circus: Royal Circus and Slipwall * 1 Royal Circus:

Robe Customs House A robe is a loose-fitting outer clothing, garment. Unlike garments described as capes or cloaks, robes usually have sleeves. The English language, English word ''robe'' derives from Middle English ''robe'' ("garment"), loanword, borrowed from ...

* Smillie Street: Robe Institute * Smillie Street: Criterion Hotel * 8 Smillie Street:

Robe Courthouse, Police Station, Old Cells and Stables A robe is a loose-fitting outer garment. Unlike garments described as capes or cloaks, robes usually have sleeves. The English word ''robe'' derives from Middle English ''robe'' ("garment"), borrowed from Old French ''robe'' ("booty, spoils ...

* 10 Smillie Street:

Ormerod Cottages Ormerod is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Anthony Ormerod (born 1979), Irish footballer *Brett Ormerod (born 1976), English footballer *Edward Latham Ormerod (1819–1873), English physician and amateur entomologist *Edward Or ...

* 24 Smillie Street: Bank of South Australia Building * 26 Smillie Street: Campbell's Shop * 32 Smillie Street: Davison's Shop and Residence * 38 Smillie Street: Graymasts * 4-8 Sturt Street: Moorakyne House * 15 Sturt Street: Granny Banks' Cottage * 1 Victoria Street: Caledonian Inn * 5 Victoria Street: Wilson's Saddlery * 18 Victoria Street:

Attic House An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...

Environment

Climate

Robe experiences a

warm-summer mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

( Köppen: ''Csb'', Trewartha: ''Csbl''), with warm, dry summers; mild, relatively dry springs and autumns; and mild winters with moderate precipitation.

References

External links

District Council of Robe
{{authority control Coastal towns in South Australia Limestone Coast Fishing communities in Australia