CAMBEWARRA VILLAGE

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.

There were settlers in the area from at least the 1830s. A Charles Staples then owned a property called ‘Cumbewarra Farm’.

A reasonably substantial village (which may have originally been called ‘Good Dog’; Cambewarra Mountain is also described as ‘Good Dog Mountain’ on some early maps) developed which included tanneries, cheese and butter factories, and various shops.

Berry’s vast Coolangatta Estate extended as far west as Cambewarra Village, with Berry owning several town allotments in the south-eastern section of the town. These properties were auctioned off in 1892.

The route of the main highway south (the Princes Highway) and the railway to the east bypassed Cambewarra which, along with its proximity to Bomaderry and Nowra, ultimately led to the decline of local industries (the Cambewarra and Meroo Dairy Company, that had been established in 1899, closed in 1906) and a shrinking of the village.