Hurry Save The Murray!

Clayton Bay Community Celebrates the Jones Lookout

Saturday, September 19. What a glorious day for the launch of the Jones Lookout at Clayton Bay! The 150 strong crowd who had gathered on the wind swept cliff were ready to celebrate the many achievements of the remarkable Jones family and to take pride in their role in the completion of the first piece of public art in Clayton.

The ceremony began with a moving welcome to country by Ngarrindjeri elder Mrs Eileen McHughes delivered in Ngarrindjeri and then translated into English. Aunty Eileen’s message was one of the strength of standing together and that was exactly what the Clayton community was doing.

As Suzy Rex, project co-ordinator, thanked those who had made the Lookout possible, it was obvious that Clayton Bay is a community of great resourcefulness, tenacity and above all generosity. To be sure there was institutional support from the Alexandrina Council, the Regional Arts Fund of Country Arts SA, SA Water and the Clayton Bay Community Association, contributions from Councillors Rob Potter and Barry Featherston, and the Commodore of the Clayton Bay Boat Club, Andre Botha, but the energy and vision was that of local people.

The stones for the Lookout came from the now crumbling century old cheese and butter factory of the Yellands on Pt Sturt. The stone masonry of Mick Connolly and Craig Ashton is a tribute to their craftsmanship. The beautiful mosaic by artist Michael Tye captures the spirit of the place. Green Corps’ plantings and Travis Hestor landscaping complete the site.

Suzy Rex reminded us that in 1969 when Clayton Bay was subdivided, it was an over-grazed treeless area. The rich country that Eileen McHughes ancestors knew had been transformed. With “Clayton Bay Estate” came the water tower on the headland where the Lookout now stands. The old water tower, built by what was then the Engineering and Water Supply Department and later managed by the Alexandrina Council, came down on 29th April 2008.

As Suzy Rex said, “The water tower was for many over the years a ‘way point’ for those on the water and a ‘we’re here’ for those arriving by road, in short a known landmark. The very beautiful structure we now have in its place will, I hope, provide a similar sense of arrival for both residents and visitors.”

In officially launching the Lookout, Adrian Pederick, Member for Hammond, regaled the gathering with stories of the Jones who settled in 1961 in Old Clayton and set up shop at what is now the Fish Factory. Many at the launch had enjoyed Henry’s catch of the day at Yabby City, which opened as a Jones family business in 1972 and quickly developed an international reputation as THE place to eat. In 1986 came the Community Hall, another Jones family vision. They raised $42,000 to have it built and it opened debt free.

Henry was the first chief of the CFS and daughters, Christine, Susan and Julie were inaugural members. Henry is still on call and makes appearance at Christmas in truck. All three girls were educated locally and Gloria, amongst many other things, drove the school bus.

The list of Jones contributions is long and Adrian Pederick could only provide some highlights. Susan in her teens was President of Community Hall, young citizen of the year in 1987 and produced the first edition of the Clayton Chronicle. It is still going. Christine joined police force and now teaches at Milang Primary where she is known for her extra-ordinary work in saving the turtles. Julie, with her mother, created SAWIN, the South Australian Women’s Industry Network, which grew to a national organisation that was instrumental in the Fishing Industry adopting environmental management and that Gloria represented in Washington DC, USA, in 1998.

Henry, coached Milang Football team to premiership success, is and has been a member of numerous influential committees at local state and national level. His advocacy for the River, Lakes and Coorong is passionate and draws on an extraordinary depth of local knowledge. In 2008, Henry Jones was awarded the “Pride of Australia Media”. As Adrian Pederick said, “Henry is the stuff of legends, an all round true blue good fellow.”

In responding, Henry Jones added some stories of his own. “There were two families here when Gloria and I arrived in 1961: a man who lived in a cave with twenty cats and Bottle and his wife who lived in an old World War Two army ambulance with a white ferret. Not long after our arrival they left. Too many people.” “Gloria was the driving force,” Henry added. “She would make things happen and she was the centre of the community. People came to her with their joys and woes.”

As Mayor Kym McHugh reflected on the Lookout and associated stories, he admitted he had not been fully aware of the depth and breadth of the community involvement in the project and added that he hoped this would will not be the last piece of public art in Clayton Bay.

After Suzy Rex and Adrian Pederick had unveiled the plaque commemorating the occasion, all that was left was for Henry and Adrian to cut the “ribbon” with a fine pair of kitchen scissors. The crowd was then able to walk through the lookout, admire the mosaic, note the swamp hen footprints in the concrete edging, stroll around the perimetre, steady children as they balanced on the fine masonry, and lean on the stone wall while exchanging more stories of the growth of Clayton Bay.

The Clayton community certainly knew how to take advantage of this piece of public art and showed their appreciation for Suzy Rex who perseverance and community spirit ensured the Lookout would be completed and the ceremony would be memorable.

Then off to the Boat Club for cake and champagne and of course, more story telling. Henry had the last word: “Then there was Bottle. He’d ridden his bike into Milang and returned with a flagon of port and one of sherry. There he was, standing at 45 degrees into the wind. When I came back an hour later, he was still there.” Has Clayton Bay changed? Well it certainly has its share of characters.