CALLALA BEACH

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.

Callala is thought to be derived from ‘Kallala’, an Aboriginal word for fish…or maybe it was named after Killala Bay on the east coast of Ireland that had been the home town of a convict by the name of Patrick Smith who had been assigned to work for Alexander and David Berry.

In June 1841 a Crown Auction of land in the area was held. William Hinchcliffe acquired 385 acres, Michael Hindmarsh 208 acres, William Sheaffe 200 acres and a Lieutenant Creak 200 acres. They were to divide the land into smaller allotments. The construction of The Wool Road would have provided an appeal to the area. Interestingly, a ship - the Falcon - transported prospective buyers to Jervis Bay for the auction.

Sir Henry Parkes acquired some land in the area in 1875 (he held it for any a short period), and the Callala township was laid out in 1912 on part of what had been his land.

From the mid-1950s the town gained popularity with holiday makers and simple holiday homes were constructed in it. It was not until 1964 that the township was connected to all basic electricity, water and telephone services.