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Originally the word "Crayfish" is thought to be
from the old German word krebiz, meaning "edible crustacean,"
which became "crevice" in French and from there
was further changed when spoken in English and people began
to pronounce and spell the last part of this word as if it
were fish, thus becoming crayfish. There are two forms of
the word have come down to Modern English: crayfish and crawfish.
Crayfish or Lobster
For the last 150 or so years, fishermen have caught and consumers
have eaten Crayfish in Australia and there didn't seem to
be problem with the description (or the taste) however in
the last few years there has been a subtle change and now
in an increasing number restaurants we now have Southern Rock
Lobster on the Menu and the term Southern Rock Lobster is
being increasing used to describe crayfish, so what is the
difference and why the change.
According to Marine biologists there is no true lobster species
to be found in the Southern hemisphere and as the pictures
below clearly show, they are quite distinctly different looking
species. The Lobster (on the right) has large pincers on its
front pair of legs and also looks quite different to the Crayfish
and the reason why (Jasus edwardsii - it's scientific name)
was called "Crayfish" was because it looked nothing
like a Lobster.The term Crayfish has been used happily for
over a century and a half, until recent times when Japanese
and American tourists reached our shores and wandered into
restaurants and began asking for Lobster. So rather than explain
the difference, restaurateurs simple renamed the Crayfish
to Southern Rock Lobster.
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In the Northern hemisphere the term Crayfish usually refers
to a freshwater species of Crustacean which look very similar
to the Australian Yabbie (pictured below) and presumably there
is some sort of negative image to the term crayfish with some
tourist, however when you consider the vast majority of crayfish
is consumed by Australians then renaming a species to appease
a small minority seems to be a bit pointless - which we should
note is one characteristic of the great Australian cultural
cringe.
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One such example is
The Big Lobster (Pictured below) which is located in the South
Australian coastal town of Kingston. This tourist attraction
is Australia's largest Crayfish, but to satisfy tourists,
is called Larry the Lobster.
Larry stands 17 metres high, 15.2 metres long and is 13.7
metres wide, with weighs approximately 4 tonnes, and according
to local legend, the final size of the structure was the result
of an accident as the plans for the Big Lobster were provided
to the builder in feet, but he misread the measurements and
used metres instead, resulting in a three-fold increase in
size. Larry sits in front of one of regions most popular seafood
restaurants in Kingston
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and unfortunately
poor old Larry has something of identity crisis as he proudly
displays his "pincerless" crayfish body to passing
motorists, but inside the restaurant it is a different story
with pictures of lobsters everywhere, even the metal logos on
the wall are lobsters (with pincers) and not crayfish - in fact
it's enough to make a poor crayfish blush bright red with embarrassment.
The Big Lobster has recently changed hands and local restaurateur
Murray Pitt is now running the Big Lobster. Murray has a great
reputation within the industry and judging by his previous efforts,
will be serving fabulous fresh seafood to his patrons in Kingston.
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But there is hope for all those Crayfish lovers who feel
their favourite seafood is about to be taken over and re
named by unfeeling tourists. Yes there are still quite a
few restaurants who still serve good old "Aussie"
crayfish and amongst these is one of Warrnambool's prestige
seafood restaurant, "Breakers" who even proudly
display a sign board at the front of the restaurant announcing
that they specialise in Crayfish.
Breakers (pictured below) is located in Banyan st in Warrnambool
( just off the highway) and has the largest seafood menu
in Warrnambool
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Finally if you are a Japanese or American tourist and for
some reason you don't like the names of any of our local flora
and fauna and you would like to change them, then the best
way is to go into one of the local restaurants and tell them
what you want to change and they will gladly change anything,
and judging by their efforts so far, restaurateurs seem to
be best people for the job
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Interesting &
out of the way places to visit
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Two Mile Bay House
Two Mile Bay House is a fully self contained
house featuring two double bedrooms, bathroom with spa bath
and a fully equipped modern kitchen
The house is situated on a ridge overlooking the township
of Port Campbell with views of Two Mile Reef. Owner and
local film producer, Peter Kirkhouse has a long association
with surfing on the South West coast and welcomes anyone
with an interest in surfing, and would be happy to pass
on any local knowledge of the regions best surfing locations
- Peter can be contacted on (03) 5598 6557
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Lake
Pertobe
Mini Golf
open 7 days a week from 10 AM to 4 PM
close to the beach on Pertobe Road Warrnambool
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Warrnambool Information
Page
The first in a series of information pages covering the major
towns and cities in the region - for more information on planning
your summer holiday in Warrnambool - please click on the picture
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Available
on DVD
Locally produced Surfing Documentary,
available from local Visitor Information Centres and from
selected record and video stores
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