Splashing about in boats - the tin canoe

Western Australians are good at making their own fun in, and near the water.  The fun can be simple and cheap or very complicated; just have a look at Australia II!

On the cheap side, kids used to make tin canoes for paddling around on rivers, dams and lakes. This is the story of how a bravery certificate was awarded in 1929 to a boy named Jim Dix.

It was a summer’s day in Fremantle. Twelve-year-old Jim went down to the sea with a friend, John Murton, and their homemade tin canoes - just like this one. They left the shore a few blocks south of the Esplanade Hotel at a place nicknamed Boronia Bay. This name was a joke because the beach stank of rotting seaweed.

After tiptoeing through the weed they headed for ‘the blue’ where the clear sandy bottom changes to the dark blue of deeper water. They were paddling across the bay when Jim heard a cry behind him. He turned around to see John thrashing in the water and his canoe was nowhere to be seen. Jim suddenly realised that his mate couldn’t swim, so he raced back and told John to hang on to the back of his canoe. But John panicked and tried to pull himself on board, and down went the second canoe. Jim was a strong swimmer and managed to calm his friend and tow him ashore.

John Murton was in hospital for a week but made a full recovery. Jim Dix received the Royal Humane Society of Australasia award. 

Exploring the Blue. 12-year-old Matthew Turner paddling this tin canoe, similar to Jim Dix’s, at South Beach, Fremantle (November 2002).
Credit: Joy Lefroy