So we decide to leave Halls Gap & head back to the coast. An attempt at some sunshine, Halls Gap is cloudy today & a preference to drive along the coast for the final part of our road trip as opposed to driving back to Adelaide inland. It is a good decision; the drive gets warmer & sunnier the closer we get to the coast. Beachport is definitely worth a revisit, a lovely small coastal town with gorgeous beaches & turquoise seas. After a brief stop we drive onto Robe. We will stay here tonight. Another lovely location, wonderful setting & beautiful beaches & more importantly, SUN!
On one of Robe’s beaches we meet Adam Kennett, a lonely figure, staring out to sea. His tale is evidence, if needed, that life can sometimes be so cruel. His tale begins at 18, he starts work as a sheep shearer & before his first day his parents gift him a John Day “Akubra” hat. John Day are the Rolls Royce of hats & Adam is very proud of his. A John Day hat will easily last a man his lifetime & probably his sons lifetime as well. He tells us from this day forth he kept that hat on his head only removing it for haircuts, to scratch his head & for sleeping, even for sleeping only moving it from the top of his head to cover his face. Life is good for Adam, he works & becomes a top sheep shearer, he fishes (his other love before his wife came along) & he wears his hat, day & night. Locals refer to him as Adam The Hat. He marries at 22 years of age & his new wife, after 7 years of marriage, has never seen Adam without his hat on & they have 6 children.
Then at age 29 his life changes. Adam goes fishing at his favourite location, Robe west beach. A strong wind whips his beloved hat off his head into the sea. He breaks both of his fishing rods trying to recover his hat, in vain. The hat is taken out to sea & from that day till now, 27 months 18 days, Adam gives vigil every day at the same beach in the desperate hope that the hat will be returned by the sea & his life will continue. For Adam the hat is all that is good about his life, he is obsessed by the hat & its loss. Adam lost his job sheep shearing as the wool industry takes a massive down turn although he denies that his continued absence had anything to do with it. Adams young wife leaves him, he believes because she could not stand his appearance without his hat denying that his hat loss depression had anything to do with it.
All that Adam has is hope, hope that the sea will return his hat, locals now call him Adam Beach, & hope that the hats return will also return his fortunes. Poor Adam, the hat is just a hat & it’s gone, he has handed responsibility for his life over to the hat, not realising that it is he that controls his life not a lost hat.
We leave Adam staring out to sea, tired eyes scanning a distant horizon with desperate hope & the rock koalas gently mocking him from the cliffs above.
Love & hatless hugs,
Jeff & Janet.
