Port Elliot Maritime Heritage Trail - Port Elliot
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This trail consists of five interpretive signs and a colour brochure that highlight Port Elliot's role as the first seaport for the River Murray trade.
Development of the river as a significant inland transport route involved bypassing the hazardous Murray Mouth and constructing a rail link (the first public railway in Australia) between Port Elliot on the coast and the Port of Goolwa on the Murray.
From 1851 to 1866 more than 500 vessels used the facilities of the seaport. Unfortunately the wrecking of seven vessels between 1853-1864 confirmed Horseshoe Bay's growing reputation as a ship-trap, resulting in Victor Harbor replacing Port Elliot as the coastal outlet for the Murray trade.
Four of the vessels wrecked within the bay (Harry, Josephine Loizeau, Lapwing and Flying Fish) are often exposed within the surf zone at Horseshoe Bay and continue to interest many visitors to the beach.
The Emu, Commodore and Athol sites are thought to lie outside Horseshoe Bay and are yet to be located.