South Coast NSW History Stories

John Grant was the first man to take a boat up the Bega River whilst investigating whether the river would be navigable to trading vessels. He later farmed at Tantawangalo and became the area's first post master...

Daniel Gowing was an innovative, pioneer farmer on the Jellat Jellat flats (to the east of Bega) and is regarded as 'The Father of Tathra'... (He is honoured with a Heritage NSW 'Blue Plaque' on Tathra Wharf.)

F.S. Goetz was once a well-known businessman in Bega - his name prominently displayed above several shopfronts in different locations around town...

John Gilmore was the Quarry Manager at the Moruya Granite Quarry from the time it was taken over by Dorman, Long and Company (who were building the Sydney Harbour Bridge) in late 1924 until it was closed in early 1932...

Dr Montague Evershed was, from 1873, the only doctor serving the South Coast area from Tilba to the Victorian border and west to Bombala...

The Davidson family was to become the most successful, most well-known whaling family on Twofold Bay...

Syms Covington was Pambula's postmaster, but his real claim to fame was he previously had been Charles Darwin's servant. Whilst at Pambula he sent specimens of local barnacles to Darwin...

NSW Premier, Sir Henry Parkes wrote of William Montague Clarence Campbell "I think this man is mad...", yet Parkes gave him a job in the tiny town of Eurobodalla, possibly following approaches from the Duke of Edinburgh...

Arguably, Benjamin Boyd was more responsible for the early development of the NSW South Coast than was any other pioneer. At that time, most other settlers were only interested in establishing their own businesses or farms in the area, whereas Boyd had a vision for developing the whole area, had plans and the capital required to establish a major town, and intentions to provide links between the South Coast, Sydney, Melbourne…and indeed the world. But, as the Australian Dictionary of Biography notes, ‘eventually Boyd’s grandiose ideas and his complicated and somewhat dubious financial transactions were his undoing. His schemes were wrecked by unfavourable public opinion, changing economic circumstances and management failure.’ To suggest that he was ‘a colourful character’ is perhaps an understatement!

In 1822 Governor Brisbane granted Alexander Berry and his business partner Edward Wollstonecraft 10,000 acres along the banks of the Shoalhaven River. This area was chosen because, as Berry wrote, 'Everybody was flocking to the Hunter River, Bathurst and other places…and all were elbowing one another. But we neither wished to elbow any one nor to be elbowed.'

Governor Brisbane also assigned 100 convicts to Berry and Wollstonecraft’s care, enabling them to build the first European settlement on the South Coast. This was the Coolangatta Estate which developed into what is now the town of Berry, named after Alexander and his brother David.

...but that's just part of Alexander Berry's interesting story!

H.J. Bate moved to his Mountain View farm in Tilba Tilba in 1869 and employed local Aboriginals to help clear his farm and then to work on the farm. Evidently ‘he gave them a big steak, bread and stew as pay…and they cleared all the property.’ This led to H.J being respected by the local Aboriginals, and he respected the local Aboriginals. Later H.J. was instrumental in having land (now the Wallaga Lake Koori Village) set aside at Wallaga Lake 'for the use of the Tilba Tilba tribe of aborigines'...

Walter Bruce ‘Curly’ Annabel was the Proprietor and Editor of the Bega District News from 1946 to 1969. He ‘operated his newspaper more as a public service than as a business. He pursued excellence well ahead of profit. He believed that personal popularity or pecuniary gain should always be second to public benefit. He believed the Rotary motto, ‘Service Above Self’ was a fundamental practical principle, not an airy ideal’...

Bombo is the gateway to Kiama. The Basalt Quarries there supplied blue metal that was used on the railways as they expanded across NSW.

A brief history of Kiama:

A brief history of Jamberoo:

Gerringong, a 'fearful place' or 'place of peril', is not only scenic. It has an interesting, colourful history...

Gerroa was originally called Crooked River. Its name changed when a post office opened in mid-1933. Shortly afterwards town blocks were created from farmland and the town developed as a popular destination for holiday makers and retirees.

Seven Mile Beach, just to the south of Gerroa, had previously been a popular horse, car and motorcycle racing area. In the 1920s and 1930s it was known as the Gerringong Speedway. Charles Kingsford Smith also departed from this beach in 1933 on the first commercial flight from Australia to New Zealand...

In June 1822 Alexander Berry and his business partner Edward Wollstonecraft obtained a grant of 10,000 acres and 100 convicts from the NSW Government. They settled on the northern shore of the Shoalhaven River (and to quote Berry) ‘at the foot of a hill called by the natives ‘Collungatta’. ‘Collungatta’ was the Aboriginal word for fine view.

Official European settlement of the NSW South Coast had begun...

In 1856 the Government decided to form a small township off the western boundary of the Berry Estate…The subdivision provided for forty 2½ acre blocks and 12 twenty-five acre blocks, the new township being named Broughton Village...

Berry was originally a private town, established by Alexander Berry around 1825 and originally called Broughton Creek. Its name was changed in 1889 to honour the pioneering Berry family. It remained in private hands until 1912...

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The original inhabitants of the area were the Dharawal people and the name ‘Cumbewarra’ or ‘Cambewarra’ is believed to be derived from their word meaning ‘mountain of fire’, possible reflecting the frequent cloud that shrouded Cambewarra Mountain. The village itself started life as 'Good Dog'...

The opening of the railway line from Kiama to Bomaderry in 1893 spurred Bomaderry’s growth, attracting several significant businesses...

Nowra became the principal town on the Shoalhaven River after floods in 1870 severely affected nearby Terrara which had been developing into a sizeable town...

Terara was the original site of 'Nowra' - until severe floods forced the residents and businesses to move slightly west to higher ground...

A young girl and her horse were killed near Nowra during World War II whena P40E Kittyhawk veered sharply from its take-off run and crashed through two fences.

The first farm south of the Shoalhaven was at Numbaa. Numbaa also housed the first Presbyterian church in the Nowra district and was the site of the district’s first post office...

Pyree was originally known as 'Swamp Paddock'. In 1830 convicts built a 3-storey grain mill at nearby Jindyandy...

Yalwal was a mining town that grew with the discovery of silver in the area in 1849 and gold in 1852...

Greenwell Point was developed and thrived as the principal port for the Coolangatta Estate and then for the wider Shoalhaven area. It was named after an Aboriginal doctor, ‘Greenwell’,...

Orient Point was to be the first suburb in a larger St Vincents City development...Roseby Park at Orient Point became a significant Aboriginal Reserve...and Crookhaven grew from initially being a popular camping area...

Culburra was intended to be a 'suburb' of St Vincent City with its distinctive circular layout influenced by the designs of Walter Burley Griffin. Culburra Beach became the location of the quintessentially Australian photograph ‘Sunbaker’ by Max Dupain. The man in the photograph was one of a group of friends visiting Culburra Beach on a surfing trip in 1937...

Currarong’s history is inextricably linked to that of the nearby sea. Fishing – both recreational and commercial – has long been a principal activity. Abrahams Bosom (offshore, north of the town) has provided shelter to ships. The SS Merimbula ran aground on Beecroft Head, north-east of the town, in 1928, ending passenger services to the South Coast that had previously been provided by the Illawarra and South Coast Steam Navigation Company. In 1899 the Point Perpendicular Lighthouse, at the southern end of Beecroft Peninsula, was built to replace the ineffective (because it had been built in the wrong location) Cape St George Lighthouse on the southern peninsula to Jervis Bay...

In 1812, Deputy Surveyor-General John Evans gave the name of Honeysuckle Beach to what is now Callala Beach. And the village, when it was first developed, was known as Jarvis Town. By 1841, however, the name ‘Callala’ was in general use...

Huskisson was originally planned to be the port for wool exports from the Southern Tablelands and the Goulburn Plains but developed as a shipbuilding and timber town before becoming a popular holiday and tourist area...with nearby land then becoming part of the Australian Capital Territory...

The name ‘St George’s Basin’ was chosen in June 1828 by surveyor Thomas Florance who presumably took it from nearby Cape St George (the southern peninsula to Jervis Bay) that was named by Captain Cook in 1770.

From 1841 small agricultural farms were being sold in the area, presumably because it became more accessible once The Wool Road from Nerriga to South Huskisson (now Vincentia) was constructed that year...

The village of Tomerong developed on the original Terara (which pre-dated Nowra) to Ulladulla road, at a road junction leading to Jervis Bay. Its first major building was (perhaps predictably) the Travellers Rest Hotel. However, in 1995 the town was bypassed when the Princes Highway was re-routed and upgraded...

Jervis Bay was sighted by Lieutenant James Cook aboard HMS Endeavour on 25th April 1770, and he named the southern headland Cape St George. The harbour was named "Jervis Bay" in August 1791 by Lieutenant Richard Bowen. He named it after Sir John Jervis who later became Admiral of the British fleet...

Jervis Bay is pronounced "JURvis", and here's why...

The first significant development at Sussex Inlet was a guest house called 'Christian's Minde'. In 1916, its owner and ten local men cleared a road (today Sussex Inlet Road) from Wandandian to Sussex Inlet. It opened up Sussex Inlet to development as a tourist and fishing resort...