My article titled Queries Received Concerning Jetties included the query “Do you have information on who built the jetties? I believe my ancestor John (Tait) may have been responsible for many of them, including Kangaroo Island, as that is where he met his wife.”
Our response included that a quick scan of Neville Collins’ book “The Jetties of South Australia – Past and Present” reveals that a J.TAIT was one of the builders of the Penneshaw jetty on KI. “The book says that the jetty was built by J.Tait and T.Durham. We would need to scan the whole book to find any reference to a John Tait.”
John Taylor Tait
(Photo courtesy of Ian Croft)
A further ‘enquiry’ that came through read, “I’m related to the Tait’s and have been working on their history as it relates to my grandfather. My grandfather Walter Croft worked on Jetty maintenance around the state during the 1930’s through to the early 1950’s. He was a nephew of both John and William Tait and Charles Tait was his half-brother. Each of these gentlemen had contracts to either build or repair major Jetty infrastructure around the state.”
We were able to pass those details on to the other relative of the Tait family.
According to https://archival.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/prg/PRG796_JTTait_serieslist.pdf , “John Taylor Tait was born in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, on 17 March 1852, second son of Peter Tait, carpenter and shipwright, and Margaret Inkster. He arrived in Geelong, Victoria, with his parents and brother James aboard the James T. Foord on 22 December 1852. ….. John Taylor Tait won tenders for construction of the BHP company’s jetty at False Bay in 1900, the Murat Bay screw pile jetty in 1902 and additions to Port Broughton jetty in 1903 before he moved briefly to Middle Park, Victoria, in 1903. …… Between 1903 and 1909 John Taylor Tait and his brother Will undertook a considerable number of works on Kangaroo Island including extensions to Hog Bay jetty, a new jetty at Kingscote and the St Alban’s lighthouse tower. The brothers raised the Point Lowly lighthouse in Spencer Gulf in 1909. ….. His last public works consisted of a wharf at Osborne in 1919, the Haycock jetty at Normanville in 1921 and finally the ferry point landing at Tailem Bend in 1924.”
Further information received from one of those relatives of John Tait included, “I spoke to a granddaughter of John a few years ago, at the time she was 96 and still going strong, she said that the family (because of their roots in the Orkneys) always considered themselves as Islanders. Islanders always have a different view of the world and jetties are very important to them.
“John was definitely involved as a foreman on the Port Germein Jetty. I thought he had part of the contract for the later extension. I’m not certain about that?
“Grant Mackey has published a complete list (fairly) of what the family had been working on during their lives. …..” (There is a book titled “John, William and Charles Tait: Pioneer Builders of Southern Australia” written by Grant Mackey, a distant cousin.)
And finally, “The History I’ve sent you is almost ready for a review but I’m working on my grandfather’s history at the moment, after a brother found a collection of old papers in the bottom of Pop’s toolbox. It even contained letters telling of family injuries during WWI. A goldmine! If you need anything else, please ask.”
We did receive a comprehensive history of the Tait family titled “The History of John Taylor Tait (17/3/1852 – 16/9/1937)”. It includes “John Taylor Tait’s Story” by Vivien Counsell (nee Tait).
That part includes “Work contracted out to John Taylor Tait in South Australia” and “some of the contracts held by John’s brother Will and nephew Charlie”.
According to Vivien Counsell, her grandfather decided in 1935 that he would like to spend the rest of his days on Kangaroo Island. “He had built a cottage on the esplanade at Kingscote many years before, …. Grandad’s daughter, Isabella Watson (Auntie Belle), kept house for him, …. In the winter of 1937, grandad developed pleurisy, Auntie Belle was concerned about him, and decided to charter a plane to take him back to the mainland. ….. Grandad was only back at Seaton for two or three weeks when his condition worsened and on 16th September 1937 in his 86th year he died. ….. There are almost 100 direct descendants of JOHN TAYLOR TAIT, …..”
(My thanks go to Ian Croft for his assistance with some of the above details, and the inspiration for writing this article.)