Former Port Germein morgue and RSL sells sight unseen

The former Port Germein morgue and RSL at 32 High St has sold.

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An Adelaide buyer dead keen on an unconventional beachside weekender has snapped it up without even bothering to inspect inside.

The sale of the original Port Germein morgue, marketed as a studio that offered “something different’’, ended in a tussle between two Adelaide buyers seeking what could be argued is a rather ghoulish holiday getaway.

The successful buyer visited Port Germein on a recent weekend but, with no formal inspection arranged, could only peer through the tin shed’s windows and walk the property’s perimeter, Wardle Co Real Estate selling agent Sean Manfield said.

But that was enough to prompt him to successfully offer $157,000 for the former morgue – with a “back-up fella waiting with another offer’’ if there were any problems with the first, Mr Manfield said.

It was being sold as a studio because it couldn’t be considered a house in its current form.

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It is unclear what the buyer – who will step inside the building for the first time when he collects the keys next month – will do with the cellar, which was once used to store bodies of the recently deceased.

Mr Manfield said the building’s history, which was included in the online sales listing, was never discussed, with the sale occurring via text message and email.

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“It (the morgue) wasn’t ever mentioned,’’ he said.

“But it hasn’t been an issue for anybody (that inquired about the property).

“They found it quite quirky. It never gave anyone the creeps.’’

Little is known of the morgue’s history, other than it later served as the meeting quarters for the local RSL.

It’s basic with the building offering power, water and a cellar, where it is understood the deceased used to be stored.

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Property records list no date of when the corrugated iron building was constructed but it is understood the now-defunct Port Germein RSL sub-branch started in 1946.

Among those likely to have been taken to the morgue were Able Seaman Lars Rasmussen and ship carpenter Axel Harry Lindquist, who died off the Port Germein coastline in 1937.

Newspaper reports from the time stated the 21-year-olds were crew members of the Finnish barque Penang who were on a dinghy returning from a dance in the Spencer Gulf town when they capsized in rough seas.

Witnesses reported seeing a “shark about 15ft (4.5m) long suddenly rise out of the water’’ with the “fully clothed corpse’’ of Ab Rasmussen “in its mouth’’.

“The flesh of the left leg had been torn,’’ The Chronicle report stated, although it was unclear whether Ab Rasmussen drowned earlier or died from the shark attack.

Mr Lindquist’s body was later found washed ashore.

A large shed with basic shower and toilet facilities has recently been added to the site.

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Mr Manfield said council regulations prevented the building being a full-time residence and expected the buyer would park a caravan on the property and use it as a weekend getaway – much like several previous owners.

While the shed was not heritage-listed, he said locals would oppose its demolition, given the morgue’s mention on history plaques along the Port Germein foreshore.

“The last three owners dropped a caravan on (the property) and used the caravan as a bed and a shower and toilet and then the old RSL hall (morgue) was a lounge and TV room,’’ he said.

“It’s probably cherry ripe (perfect) for that.

“It’s an affordable weekend getaway and that’s what most people (inquiring) were looking for.’’

– by Lauren Ahwan