Port Elliot pontoon in Horseshoe Bay future to be decided by Alexandrina council

Locals at one of South Australia’s most popular beaches are urging their council to return an iconic beachside pontoon to the water.

The future of a much-loved pontoon on one of South Australia’s most popular beaches will be decided Monday night amid a desperate plea from community members to put the attraction back in the water.

Alexandrina Council members will discuss if the council should return a pontoon to Horseshoe Bay in Port Elliot, two months after a storm dislodged it from its moorings.

A council report says it would need to spend $186,131 to return the pontoon to the water and ensure it is inspected daily and maintained for 12 months.

Councillors tonight will be asked to vote on three options – removing the pontoon from service, returning it to the water for year-round use or returning it to the water for six months of the year.

Locals, Oliver Turner, 6, Riley Gray, 8, Khai Tinwell, 9, and Mason Turner, 7, in Port Elliot, where the Horseshoe Bay pontoon has been removed. Picture: Matt Loxton

The pontoon has become a well-used attraction for locals and tourists alike since it was purchased and installed by the Port Elliot Surf Life Saving Club 11 years ago.

The structure sat 120 metres off shore until a storm in September dislodged it from its moorings and it washed onto the beach.

Chris Michelmore, 68, is one of a group of passionate Port Elliot locals calling for the pontoon to be returned to the water as soon as possible.

“The pontoon is a special meeting place to talk, laugh, cry and solve problems for all,” Ms Michelmore said.

The pontoon has become a well-used attraction for locals and tourists alike. Picture: Supplied

“I use it every day – we swim out there every morning. It’s used all the time, every day. From 6.30am through to when it’s dark at night.”

She said the pontoon was especially popular in summer, among both locals and tourists, and had become a key part of both the life saving club’s nippers program and school holiday VacSwim lessons.

A group of local women in or nearing their 80s also swam to, and jumped from, the pontoon every morning.

The pontoon, about 120m from the beach, was also an important safety feature for people trying to swim to a group of rocks called The Sisters, about 430m from the shoreline.

She has a simple message for councillors meeting tonight: “Bring our pontoon back. Stop wasting money on other stuff. People use it all the time.”

Port Elliot Town and Foreshore Improvement Committee member Belinda Sullivan said she was staggered at the suggested bill of $186,131 to keep the pontoon in service and questioned the need for daily inspections.

“The pontoon is a recreational tool but it is also a safety tool,” Ms Sullivan said.

“In summertime, it really helps dissipate people from the jetty, and it gives kids something to do to use their energy constructively to swim out to or to jump off.”

Debate over the Port Elliot pontoon comes days after the future of another Fleurieu Peninsula pontoon was secured following a community fundraising drive.

Yankalilla District Council has agreed to return the Normanville pontoon to the water this summer after locals raised nearly $20,000 to pay for the reinstatement after it was out of action last summer.