Illawarra House, Tathra

‘Illawarra House’, 15 – 17 Bega Street, Tathra

This attractive, late Victorian style residence exemplifies the development of Tathra township following the construction of a wharf on Tathra Headland in the 1860s. Coastal shipping was then able to call into Tathra and provide an easier and faster shipping service from the fertile Bega Valley to Sydney and other markets.

‘Illawarra House’ was erected on 1½ acres of land owned by Thomas Spence who also owned a tannery in Bega. It was completed in 1906, at a time when Tathra had fewer than 80 residents, but in a period when Tathra township was developing. The town’s Post Office had opened in 1880 and a telegraph line from Bega to Tathra was put through in 1897.

In 1913 ‘Illawarra House’ was leased to the IIlawarra Steam Navigation Company as a residence for Mr Spence, the company's local shipping agent. The sheamship company continued to lease the building until 1952. It was then sold to a Sydney family. In the late 1970s was converted into a restaurant when the closed-in front verandah was probably added.

The associated brick stables at the rear (currently being refurbished and repurposed) are assumed to have also been built c 1906 to house the carriage and the tack for a horse that provided transport in the days before the advent of motor vehicles.