THE son of mining engineer “Snapper” Williams from West Wallsend, James “Bunger” Williams arrived in Nelson Bay in 1920.

Not keen to follow in his father’s footsteps and enter the coal mines, Bunger reckoned that it was to be a fisherman’s life for him.

James’s son Herb Williams, known as “Young Bunger”, did follow his father’s lead and linked up with Greek lobsterman Spiro Spathos and his boat “Mahoulas”.

Herb bought the 32 foot “Pandora”, built in 1906 of NZ kauri, which carried a sail as a back up for a Hercules Diesel later to be replaced by a German air-cooled Duetz.

The Pandora worked the waters north of the entrance to Port Stephens up around Broughton Island.

The reefs from Broughton towards Seal Rocks were alive with lobsters and snapper and it was north of the island that Spero and Young Bunger found the most famous of all lobster grounds – “The Well”.

Modern depth sounders will return an accurate picture of the shape of the bottom, the depth and temperature of the water and, in most cases, the presence of fish.

When an ideal fishing or lobstering ground is found, a GPS will lock in the coordinates so that the exact spot can be relocated with ease.

In Young Bunger’s days on the water it was a case of “sounding” with a long length of rope with a lead weight tied to the end.

For hour after hour, day after day the lead would be “bounced” off the ocean’s bottom.

The feel of the rope would determine whether the floor was sand, gravel, rocky reef or mud.

In some cases plasticene was set into the end of the lead weight so that a sample of the bottom could be collected. Once a reef was located a quick mental snap shot would be taken by lining up permanent fixtures on the mainland. Two or three landmarks, usually mountains and headlands, would be recorded in the mind so that the fishermen could return to the exact spot to set and pull their traps.

It was by this method of sounding that Spero drifted over and finally pinpointed The Well, a steep drop into deeper water that was literally full of lobsters.

The very first trap that was baited and sent to the oceans floor was brought to the surface jam packed full of lobsters – 36 dozen to be more precise.

There was not enough room for one more lobster to enter the trap.

The reef was so rich that lobsters would be hanging onto the rope and crawling on the outside of the traps, dropping off as the traps were hauled on board.

As mentioned Herb worked the trawler Pandora for prawns off the Stockton Bight.

When Herb retired from the sea he gave the Pandora away.

Sadly the 90 year old boat was neglected by the new owner and sunk at its moorings in 1996.

By John ‘Stinker’ CLARKE