For her launch Fred loaded the boat onto a timber wagon pulled by eight bullocks for transportation to Milang. There he was assisted by his father Frank and the boat was slung from the wagon by crane into the lake off the Milang jetty.

But we weren’t going to South Australia for art, landscapes and wine, we were going to experience the 17th biennial South Australian Wooden Boat Festival held in Goolwa near the mouth of the Murray. I was looking forward to understanding a little bit about the particular craft of the area and how they relate the idiosyncratic geography of the region.