WONBOYN

Wonboyn is New South Wales’ most southerly village. It is situated on the shore of Wonboyn Lake, at the northern end of Nadgee Nature Reserve, and is essentially surrounded by bush.

The traditional inhabitants of the area were the Bidawal tribe of Aboriginals. They deserted the area at about the time European settlers - initially graziers, gatherers of wattle bark and fishermen – started arriving in the 1840s.

In the early 20th century, an oyster industry developed on Wonboyn Lake. Oyster spratt from the Lake was used to establish oyster farms on other South Coast estuaries. After Word War I several returned soldiers were given oyster leases here, free of rent for three years under the Soldier Settlement scheme. (We’d appreciate more information about these settlers.)

With the rise in ownership of motor vehicles and the development of roads, Wonboyn became a ‘tourist destination’, especially for fishermen and honeymooners. Wonboyn House, on the lake’s shore, was a major guesthouse that doubled as the area’s post office and telephone exchange. Several Norfolk Island Pines that had been intended to be planted at Green Cape ended up in the garden of Wonboyn House. Locals suggest that General Thomas Blamey resided at Wonboyn House whilst planning the New Guinea campaign during World War II (verification is sought).

In the early 1900s there was an expectation among locals that Twofold Bay would be chosen as the site of the nation’s capital city. This evidently led to some interest from speculators in land in Wonboyn.

From around the late 1920s to the 1980s, commercial fishing was undertaken (at times when the estuary was open to the sea) in Wonboyn Lake. Fishing crews would come from Lakes Entrance to work in the area, and in 1928 they constructed a salmon pen on the shores of Tea Tree Point to hold their catch. After the cannery was built in Eden in 1940 Wonboyn salmon were also taken to that processing plant.

Bushfires have had a regular significant impact on the town. The 2019-2020 bushfires severely impacted the town and surrounding area, as is evident from the amount of public infrastructure that has recently been constructed there.