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Mosquito Fleet Vol 2 DVD
$29.95 GST
DVD 60 mins
This is the second in the series by producer Rodney Clarke, whose first DVD featured other rare footage of the SA trading ketches that worked out of Port Adelaide in 1950s. It is an hour long, and features on board and shore based colour footage and stills of the last two ketches, Falie and Nelcebee, to trade to Kingscote and American River, taken between 1975 and 1982.
There is also some archival film and stills of ketches generally. The Kangaroo Island Trade was the very last trade to feature the ketches, which had been trading in SA since the mid 1800’s.
“It was the second last trade in Australia that worked cargo under sail, next to the two similar vessels in Tasmania.
“I took this on a small 8mm Kodak Movie camera, with the thought in my mind that sometime soon, it would be all over, and no-one would have recorded it.
“It is unique, and shows a life that has gone forever. It is not intended to be a history of the ketches, merely a snapshot of my time in them.”
The ketches carried everything from livestock to super phosphate to cars, most of which was unloaded at American River.
“Half the houses in American River would be made with material brought over on the ketches,”
