COOLANGATTA

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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.

The initial grant on the north side of the river rapidly expanded to the south through purchases of grants given to other settlers. By 1863 their property had expanded to more than 40,000 acres (16,000 ha).

A self-supporting village was rapidly established at Coolangatta. A combination of convict (which Berry referred to as 'Government Men') and free labour was used to drain the swamps, grow tobacco, potatoes, maize, barley and wheat and rear pigs and cattle, with the latter providing milk, cheese and hides. The Estate also bred thoroughbred horses that were exported to India.

Mills and workshops were established with tradesmen engaged in cask-making, building refabrication, leather treatment and, later, the production of condensed milk and gelatine. Shipbuilding was also commenced at an early point, with the first vessel being launched in 1824.

In order to provide shipping access to the Estate, Alexander Berry had Hamilton Hume and three convict labourers cut a 209-yard canal linking the Shoalhaven River to the Crookhaven River. It was completed in just twelve days and was the first canal constructed in Australia.

Five years after arriving at Coolangatta, Berry married Wollstonecraft’s sister Elizabeth.

Edward Wollstonecraft died in 1832, so Berry subsequently invited his three brothers John, William and David and two sisters to come from Scotland to live at the settlement.

Convict transportation to New South Wales ended in 1840, and with it so did the labour provided by Berry’s ‘Government Men’. Berry’s experience of tenant-farming in Scotland led, in the 1850s, to his introducing an arrangement called ‘clearing leases’ with new settlers. Under this scheme, tenants were given five years rent-free to clear and fence an area assigned to them, before they then became usual rent-paying tenants. This arrangement effectively enabled Berry to develop the Coolangatta Estate and for the township of Broughton Creek (now Berry) to be established.

By 1868 the population of Coolangatta Estate had reached 300 and the area surrounding the Estate was declared a municipality, much to Alexander Berry's disgust. So, he then refused to pay rates on his Coolangatta Estate to the new Shoalhaven Municipality, arguing that his property should not form part of the local government area. Subsequent actions in the NSW Supreme Court and to the Privy Council backed Berry’s stance.

In 1873 Alexander Berry died and the Estate passed to his younger brother David. David Berry nurtured the development of Broughton Creek village. He set aside land for an agricultural showground, and gave land on the four corners of the town to the Church of England, Presbyterian, Wesleyan and Roman Catholic churches.

David died in 1889 at the age of 94. The following year Broughton Creek village was renamed Berry in honour of Alexander and David's contribution to the region.

Upon David's death, the Coolangatta Estate passed to his cousin, Sir John Hay.

Many improvements to the Coolangatta Estate were undertaken during John’s management and additional land was developed. This resulted, in 1900, in the removal of the last Aboriginal people who had been living at the northern foot of Coolangatta Mountain and their relocation to a newly-established Roseby Park Aboriginal Reserve at Orient Point on the southern side of the Crookhaven River. Health problems in the Coolangatta Aboriginal camp are recorded as the official reason given for their removal.

In 1900, the Coolangatta Estate became a government stud farm and school. Paddocks were then stocked with a broad range of cattle breeds with the aim of improving knowledge of dairy breeds and butter making.

Sir John died in 1909 and the Estate passed to his half-brother Alexander. Alexander is considered to have been a diligent and hard-working owner. He helped establish the Butter Factory in Berry and introduced pasteurisation to the area.

Alexander Hay died in 1941 and his son, Alexander Berry Hay, inherited the property. However, under the ownership of Berry Hay, the Estate was not maintained and for the next decade it severely suffered from neglect. In 1946, the Coolangatta homestead caught fire and was destroyed. Then, in 1947, Berry Hay’s second wife sold much of the property to a local farmer, Colin Bishop.

In 1971, in the face of significant advice to the contrary, Colin Bishop began major work to restore the old convict-built buildings at Coolangatta. The original historic village, surrounded by vineyards, is now a major South Coast tourist destination.

The Coolangatta Estate has always been of great interest to the press. This, for example, is portion of an article that appeared in The Australasian in December 1900:

_THE CANNING FACTORY

_There are many things to interest a visitor to Coolangatta. One of the leading features on the place is the factory for canning milk and cream. Both condensed and concentrated milks are manufactured here, the present output being about 1000 gallons per week.

_The factory, or 'condensery' as it is called, is a large two-storied building of the latest design, and fully equipped with all the most modern machinery for turning out either concentrated or condensed milk in the most perfect shape and condition. _

Mr.John Fell, the manager of this department, acquired his knowledge of the business in Sweden and America, and the milks prepared at Coolangatta are superior to the imported article. The machinery for making the tins is very complete, and cans of all sizes, varying from a half pint to a gallon, are turned out with the precision of clockwork. The processes of concentrating and condensing are a trade secret, of course, but Mr. Fell does not object to any visitor making an inspection of the plant or viewing the different operations to be gone through. It appears to be a highly scientific process from beginning to end, and the milks are prepared under the most perfect hygienic conditions.

Scrupulous regard is paid to the quality of the milk from which the concentrated and condensed milks are canned, and all the animals from which the milk is drawn have been tuberculin tested and guaranteed in perfect health.

_The demand for the Coolangatta brand is greater than the supply, and with a view to meeting the growing trade, Dr. Hay has recently erected another 'condensery' at Bomaderry, some six miles distant, close by the railway terminus. This factory will commence operations within a few days. Large orders are received from Sydney, and the steamship companies take a great quantity of the concentrated milk every week, while much of it also goes to South Africa and all over the Pacific Islands.__ _

(One of Alexander Berry's schooners, the Coolangatta, was driven ashore by strong winds and was wrecked on the coast of southern Queensland in August 1846. When a township was established nearby in 1883, it took the name of Berry’s ship.)

Image: Coolangatta Estate, 1896