# Robe, South Australia

Robe is a town and fishing port located in the Limestone Coast of South Australia. The town's distinctive combination of historical buildings, ocean, fishing fleets, lakes and dense bush attracts many tourists. Robe lies on the southern shore of Guichen Bay, just off the Princes Highway. At the 2021 census, Robe had a population of 1252. Robe is the main town in the District Council of Robe local government area. It is in the state electorate of MacKillop and the federal Division of Barker.

## History

Robe is situated on the ancestral lands of the Buandig and Ngarrindjeri people.
Europeans founded the town of Robe in 1846, ten years after the Province of South Australia was established, as a seaport, administrative centre and township.
Robe was named after the fourth Governor of South Australia, Major Frederick Robe, who chose the site as a port in 1845. The town was proclaimed as a port in 1847. It became South Australia's second-busiest international port, after Port Adelaide, in the 1850s. Robe's trade was drawn from a large hinterland that extended into western Victoria, and many roadside inns were built to cater for the bullock teamsters bringing down the wool, including the Bush Inn still standing on the outskirts of Robe. Exports included horses, sheep skins and wool. The Customs House has been listed on the South Australian Heritage Register since 1980. A stone obelisk was built on Cape Dombey in 1852 to help ships navigate safely into the bay. Even so, there have been a number of shipwrecks along the coast in the area. An automatic lighthouse was built on higher ground in 1973.
During the Victorian gold rushes about 1857, the Victorian government introduced a landing tax of £10 per person to deter Chinese immigrants – more than the cost of their voyage. To bypass the tax, more than 16,000 Chinese people landed at Robe to walk overland for 320 kilometres (200 miles) to the goldfields, mainly at Ballarat and Bendigo.
Robe's importance decreased with the building of railways in the 19th century to Kingston and Beachport, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) respectively to its north and south. It continues as a service centre for the surrounding rural areas and home to a fishing fleet: especially important in the local economy is the rocklobster fishery. AFL footballer Jordan Dawson who currently plays for and captain of the Adelaide Crows Football Club also came from Robe.

## Heritage listings

Robe has many heritage-listed places, including the following:
* Burr Street: Robe Cemetery
* Cape Dombey: Cape Dombey Obelisk
* 1A Hagen Street: Robe House
* 2 Hagen Street: The Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Chapel and Schoolroom
* 7 Karatta Road: Karatta House
* Main Road: Lakeside
* Main Road: Lakeside Stables and Coach House
* Main South Eastern Road: Richmond Park Homestead
* Millicent Road: Bush Inn
* 2 Mundy Terrace: Robe Post Office and Telegraph Station
* Nora Creina Road: The Hermitage
* Nora Creina Road: CSIRO Field Research Station
* Nora Creina Road: Dingley Dell (dwelling)
* Nora Creina Road: Bellevue Homestead
* Obelisk Road: Robe Gaol Ruins
* Royal Circus: Royal Circus and Slipwall
* 1 Royal Circus: Robe Customs House
* Smillie Street: Robe Institute
* Smillie Street: Criterion Hotel
* 8 Smillie Street: Robe Courthouse, Police Station, Old Cells and Stables
* 10 Smillie Street: Ormerod Cottages
* 24 Smillie Street: Bank of South Australia Building
* 26 Smillie Street: Campbell's Shop
* 32 Smillie Street: Davison's Shop and Residence
* 38 Smillie Street: Graymasts
* 4-8 Sturt Street: Moorakyne House
* 15 Sturt Street: Granny Banks' Cottage
* 1 Victoria Street: Caledonian Inn
* 5 Victoria Street: Wilson's Saddlery
* 18 Victoria Street: Attic House

### Climate

Robe has a warm-summer mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csb), with tepid, dry summers and mild, drizzly winters. Average maxima vary from 22.6 °C (72.7 °F) in February to 13.6 °C (56.5 °F) in July and average minima fluctuate between 13.7 °C (56.7 °F) in January and February and 8.2 °C (46.8 °F) in July. The mean average annual precipitation is 631.6 mm (24.87 in), spread between 153.4 precipitation days. The town has 56.0 clear days and 163.3 cloudy days per annum. Extreme temperatures have ranged from 39.6 °C (103.3 °F) on 14 February 1981 to −2.6 °C (27.3 °F) on 19 July 1982.
Climate data for Robe, elevation 3 m (9.8 ft), (1991–2020 normals and extremes, 1884–present) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 39.2 (102.6) | 39.6 (103.3) | 35.8 (96.4) | 31.7 (89.1) | 26.5 (79.7) | 20.4 (68.7) | 21.2 (70.2) | 22.8 (73.0) | 26.6 (79.9) | 33.3 (91.9) | 36.3 (97.3) | 37.1 (98.8) | 39.6 (103.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22.7 (72.9) | 22.7 (72.9) | 21.4 (70.5) | 19.3 (66.7) | 16.7 (62.1) | 14.5 (58.1) | 13.9 (57.0) | 14.7 (58.5) | 16.3 (61.3) | 18.4 (65.1) | 20.0 (68.0) | 21.4 (70.5) | 18.5 (65.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 14.3 (57.7) | 14.2 (57.6) | 13.0 (55.4) | 11.7 (53.1) | 10.5 (50.9) | 9.1 (48.4) | 8.6 (47.5) | 8.9 (48.0) | 9.7 (49.5) | 10.6 (51.1) | 11.9 (53.4) | 13.1 (55.6) | 11.3 (52.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 5.2 (41.4) | 5.1 (41.2) | 5.0 (41.0) | 2.2 (36.0) | 0.8 (33.4) | −0.1 (31.8) | −2.6 (27.3) | 0.2 (32.4) | 0.8 (33.4) | 2.1 (35.8) | 3.3 (37.9) | 3.9 (39.0) | −2.6 (27.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 18.6 (0.73) | 19.4 (0.76) | 28.5 (1.12) | 39.3 (1.55) | 66.5 (2.62) | 92.1 (3.63) | 99.5 (3.92) | 91.8 (3.61) | 63.2 (2.49) | 40.1 (1.58) | 34.1 (1.34) | 28.1 (1.11) | 622.0 (24.49) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 6.7 | 5.8 | 8.9 | 13.3 | 17.7 | 19.4 | 21.2 | 20.7 | 17.6 | 13.6 | 10.4 | 9.7 | 165.0 |
| Average afternoon relative humidity (%) | 63 | 65 | 66 | 68 | 75 | 77 | 77 | 73 | 70 | 67 | 64 | 64 | 69 |
| Average dew point °C (°F) | 13.0 (55.4) | 13.5 (56.3) | 12.7 (54.9) | 11.5 (52.7) | 10.9 (51.6) | 9.5 (49.1) | 8.8 (47.8) | 8.6 (47.5) | 9.2 (48.6) | 10.0 (50.0) | 11.0 (51.8) | 11.9 (53.4) | 10.9 (51.6) |
| Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology (humidity 1991–2010) ||||||||||||||
Climate data is also available for Robe Airport, located 4.6 kilometres (2.9 mi) SE of the town. The inland weather station has a greater diurnal and seasonal range, and experiences slightly less precipitation (but with greater frequency).
Climate data for Robe Airfield (37º10'48"S, 139º48'36"E, 3 m AMSL) (2003–2024 normals and extremes) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 42.1 (107.8) | 41.7 (107.1) | 38.4 (101.1) | 33.5 (92.3) | 29.1 (84.4) | 24.3 (75.7) | 19.8 (67.6) | 26.5 (79.7) | 28.0 (82.4) | 35.0 (95.0) | 38.0 (100.4) | 43.3 (109.9) | 43.3 (109.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 24.6 (76.3) | 24.2 (75.6) | 23.1 (73.6) | 20.5 (68.9) | 17.4 (63.3) | 15.2 (59.4) | 14.5 (58.1) | 15.3 (59.5) | 16.8 (62.2) | 18.8 (65.8) | 21.2 (70.2) | 22.9 (73.2) | 19.5 (67.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 13.0 (55.4) | 12.8 (55.0) | 11.4 (52.5) | 9.6 (49.3) | 8.6 (47.5) | 6.7 (44.1) | 6.7 (44.1) | 7.2 (45.0) | 8.0 (46.4) | 8.6 (47.5) | 10.5 (50.9) | 11.9 (53.4) | 9.6 (49.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 4.0 (39.2) | 2.7 (36.9) | 0.6 (33.1) | 0.4 (32.7) | −2.0 (28.4) | −3.5 (25.7) | −1.4 (29.5) | −2.0 (28.4) | −1.4 (29.5) | −1.0 (30.2) | 1.8 (35.2) | 1.0 (33.8) | −3.5 (25.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 19.8 (0.78) | 21.6 (0.85) | 23.5 (0.93) | 40.3 (1.59) | 66.0 (2.60) | 90.7 (3.57) | 97.0 (3.82) | 88.0 (3.46) | 53.7 (2.11) | 35.1 (1.38) | 32.7 (1.29) | 29.0 (1.14) | 599.5 (23.60) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.2 mm) | 5.8 | 5.3 | 8.5 | 13.3 | 18.3 | 19.7 | 21.8 | 21.3 | 16.8 | 13.2 | 9.8 | 8.8 | 162.6 |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology (2003-2024 normals and extremes) ||||||||||||||