Encounter Bay

Among the special memories 
Implanted in my youth
Driving down the Fleurieu
With luggage strapped to the roof
Those were special memories                           
That remain until this day
When we went on holiday             
Down in Encounter Bay
  
Circa nineteen fifty
Now that was a different scene
Right there in the footsteps
Where Matthew Flinders had been
The old house still standing                     
Right until this day
Now a part of the history
That is Encounter Bay

Standing on the esplanade
Across a stretch of sand
Through the Norfolk Island pines
Overlooking Wright Island
Known as the ‘Bluff’, Rosetta Head           
A pleasant walk away                                  
Marking the Western end                       
Of our Encounter Bay

It was a place of solitude
No crowds there on that shore
Just local folk and fishermen                        
And a rustic country store
At the end of holiday            
We wished that we could stay                         
And knew we’d miss that solitude
That was Encounter Bay

No sign of telemedia                              )     
To help fill the time of night
So out there netting garfish
Drawn to our pressure light
Without electric power               
For the gadgets of today                        
Nature was our playground
Down in Encounter Bay

For we young explorers
The ‘Bluff’ was a treasure trove
And underneath it, at back              
Lay hidden, Petrel Cove
A picnic on Wright Island
A favourite way to spend a day
Right there in the heart of
Good old Encounter Bay

Of time and tide no stopping
The march of progress of today         
So much of our country charm
Has since been swept away
But there is still the scenic rim     
Waiting for you today                           
Take the very pleasant drive    
Well met Encounter Bay                  

Take the pleasant drive
Well met Encounter Bay                  
Take the pleasant drive
Well met Encounter Bay. 

Rodd Sherwin
to a composition by
Jeremy Wiliams