Nesting

The Skeleton Jetty, adjacent to Busselton Jetty in WA.

The "skelly" was constructed next to the Busselton Jetty in the early 1900s to carry rail freight to the jetty from the town so that it could be loaded onto ships. It survived Cyclone Alby in 1978 when a large part of the main jetty was destroyed. The authorities removed much of it for safety reasons. Thus there is not a lot of the "skelly" left. It is gently rotting but provides nesting for seabirds which can be observed as people walk along the jetty out to sea.

The jetty was eventually saved but then almost destroyed again in 1999 when it caught fire. That it still exists is a testament to the people of Busselton who refused to countenance its loss and who campaigned tirelessly for the funds to rebuild it as it is today: the longest timber-piled jetty in the Southern Hemisphere (1.841 km).

(Press Z for a bigger view, please.)