Robe swimming pontoon is back in the water after insurance scare

One of the state’s most popular swimming pontoons is back in the water after an insurance stand-off, delighting locals and visitors alike.

A swimming pontoon at one of South Australia’s most popular beachside destinations is back in the water after a collaboration between the local council, surf lifesaving club and a professional fisherman.

Robe pontoon returned to town’s Front Beach on Guichen Bay on Tuesday after extensive repairs, a concession from the council’s insurer and a newly acquired seabed licence.

The pontoon, which has been a feature of Robe summers for 52 years, and usually returns to the water from its winter hiatus every October. But a statewide insurance crackdown had threatened its future.

The council said in December the insurance requirements had pushed operational costs to unsustainable levels but their insurer relented to weekly inspections, which Robe Surf Lifesaving Club has agreed to undertake.

Visitors Lachlan Parker (left) and Oliver Knight (right) enjoy the Robe swimming pontoon, which is back in the water after insurance woes threatened to beach it for the first summer in 52 years. Picture: Supplied

Robe council chief executive Nat Traeger said local professional fisherman Jack Perkins agreed to tow the pontoon, which had undergone repairs to its ladder while it was out of the water, back to its anchor point.

Ms Traeger, who was in a nearby boat when the pontoon was returned, said she could hear and see the excitement of children on the shore.

“We couldn’t even get the thing secured before the kids were clamouring all over it,” she said.

“I just feel blessed to be able to be on the boat when we were deploying it, and seeing the kids and hearing their excitement.

Robe council chief executive Nat Traeger in front of the town's swimming pontoon, which returned to Front Beach on Tuesday. Picture: Supplied

“There was a couple of more gamer ones that got there while we were there, but as soon as we left on the boat, it was just massed over with kids. It was so cool.”

The council, which held a special meeting on Monday night to approve the pontoon’s return, had been previously unaware it required a Department of Infrastructure and Transport seabed licence to anchor the pontoon in the bay.