Greg Twelftree, Chairperson, Port Victoria and Wauraltee 150th celebrations committee, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

Celebrate 150 years of Port Victoria and Wauraltee over the March long weekend, Friday 6th to Sunday 8th, with a jammed-packed program offering something for everyone.

Tall ships

We will welcome a flotilla of two Tall Ships and other sailing vessels from the Port Adelaide Sailing Club, the Cruising Yacht Club of SA and the Wallaroo Sailing Club at 3pm on Friday, March 6.

The Soren Larsen, part of the Marty and Lisa Woods’ Sydney Harbour Tall Ships fleet, will host lunch sails at 12.30pm on Saturday and Sunday, and dinner sails at 5.30pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Port Adelaide-based One and All will run lunch sails at 1.30pm on Saturday and Sunday, and a dinner sail at 6.30pm on Saturday.

Plans to install berthing poles beside the jetty have been delayed and will not be completed in time for the weekend; however, the works will proceed at a later date.

For all lunch and dinner sails, tender boats — including the Balgowan Fishing Charter vessel and Ken Davey’s The Regulator — will transport passengers from the boat ramp to the Tall Ships.

Participants are encouraged to arrive early at the boat ramp car park. Signage will be in place as you pass the Port Victoria Golf Club clubhouse.

Fun around the town

On Saturday and Sunday, the oval will be packed with food and coffee vans, plus plenty to see and do.

The Port Victoria Cricket Club and Maitland Apex Club will serve lamb, pork and gravy rolls from the new clubroom servery — and locals know Mumfy’s catering draws a crowd.

The bagged grain handling demonstration will take place on the eastern side of the oval.

Experienced farmers will bag barley from a bin into three-bushel jute bags and sew them with needles and twine.

Small and large elevators will operate, bag lumping will be demonstrated, and Keith Daniel’s vintage truck will carry a load of barley around the oval and town. BJ and PM Kneebone’s International truck will also be in use.

When the elevator motors fall silent, listen to Ron Kneebone and Bob Thompson share memories of life in Port Vic 75 years ago.

Near the northern goalposts, children can enjoy a large sandpit surrounded by straw bales, with a smaller area for toddlers, for which Clinton Sands has donated 25 tonnes of sand.

The YP Blacksmith and Lost Skills Association — formed by Doug Carruthers, Colly Butler and colleagues — will demonstrate rope making, whip plaiting and blacksmithing, with the forge in action. Local knife maker Dave Gray will have items for sale, and Lyndsay Liebelt will display restored horse-drawn vehicles.

Visitors can also take a gold coin ride with Ruth Millard and her Clydesdale, Will.

Live music will begin at 3pm on the south-eastern side of the oval on Saturday, with COO from 3pm to 6pm and Genetic Mutation from 6.30pm to 9pm.

The Maitland Auto and Preservation Society’s Show and Shine will start at around 10am on Saturday.

After a town parade, vehicles will park along Wilson Terrace between the oval and eastern Main Street.

Vintage engines will run on the corner beside Terry’s Garage, including a 10hp engine from the Port Victoria Flour Mill, presented by Steve Thomas and Bernard Cook.

Wallaroo model sailing ships will operate near the foreshore, while the Port Vincent Sailing Club regatta will fill the bay with colour on Saturday.

Other activities

Port Victoria Town Hall will host two movie nights, Friday for children and Sunday for adults.

The hall is open 10am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday, featuring stories from descendants of Cape Horners and celebrating maritime and agricultural history.

Entry to the Maritime Museum in the old cargo shed is $2. It offers photos, diaries and artefacts from Port Victoria’s past.

Wauraltee Hall, 12 kilometres away on the Minlaton road, will open from 10am to 1pm Sunday. Extensively restored over 15 years, it now includes a shed housing vintage machinery and artefacts, while local artworks will be displayed and for sale inside.

Licensed drone operator Jesse Hannemann of Eyreborne Cinematics will capture footage of the grand flotilla, alongside Ian Oswald-Jacobs of IOJ Aerial Photography, who brings 49 years’ experience.

Members of the SA Wooden Boat Association will also showcase historic craft on the water.

It promises to be a spectacular weekend.

The organising committee thanks sponsors and supporters, whose logos appear in the program and throughout the site.

Check it out, ask volunteers in limelight-green hi-vis for help, and soak up the atmosphere at the foreshore.

Look west to Wardang Island and imagine the bay filled with sailing vessels in bustling times past.

On behalf of the Port Victoria and Wauraltee 150th celebrations committee, welcome.

This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 17 February 2026.
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