Shoalhaven
History Fair
26 - 27 June 2015
Friday & Saturday
Nowra School of Arts
Berry St Nowra
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Shoalhaven
History Fair
Shoalhaven
History Fair
26 - 27 June 2015
Friday & Saturday
Nowra School of Arts
Berry St Nowra
Shoalhaven
History Fair
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The
Shoalhaven on the New South Wales South Coast is still
one of the most beautiful and unspoilt parts of
Australia's coastline. From Berry to North Durras, the
ever-changing coastal landscape is a tapestry bathed in
shimmering light, rich in natural beauty and truly alive
with people of inspiration and character.
The Shoalhaven has over a 100 ocean, bay and lakeside
beaches, lush rolling pastures, craggy mountain haunts
and bush trails. Tourism is one of the Shoalhaven's main
industries.
Like most New South Wales wine regions, the Shoalhaven
Wine coast has a history of early wine cultivation, which
lapsed and is now being rejuvenated. Timber and its uses
are ingrained in the history of the Shoalhaven. For many
years, the thick forests yielded their red cedar for fine
furniture and fittings.
Shoalhaven takes in the coast, the fertile plains, the
rugged mountain escarpment and the panoramic views of the
eastern seaboard. Within the Shoalhaven there are over
300,000 hectares of National Parks and State Forests,
there are rivers, coastal lakes, estuaries and many miles
of navigable waterways.
Brief
Shoalhaven Timeline
1797:
Ship
wreck Sailors of the Sydney
Cove
travel up the cost with aid of the Aboriginal people. The
original word 'Shoals Haven' having been coined by
explorer George Bass.
1812:
Surveyor George Williams Evans travelled through the
Huskisson and St Georges Basin area and then heading
overland to west of Nowra during his exploration journey
of 1812, and Alexander Berry was another visitor in the
months before he settled at Coolangatta in 1822.
1821:
Nowra was first put into written form as 'Noo-woo-ro' by
Charles Throsby, but the accepted spelling soon became
'Nowra'.
1822:
The
Coolangatta Estate was established by Alexander Berry.
One of the first white men to climb Pigeon House was
explorer Hamilton Hume.
1828:
Surveyor Hoddle named Ulladulla (Boat harbour) because it
was thought to sound like the aboriginal name,
'Woolahderrah'. Whilst Surveyor, Thomas Florance named
Burrill Lake. Cedar getters were the first European
arrivals in the Milton Ulladulla area, and Rev. Thomas
Kendall settled on land to the north of Milton.
1830s:
Shoalhaven Heads was known as Jerry Bailey, although
the origin of the name is unknown it is said to be that
of a sailor who lost his life when his ship ran aground
whilst navigating the shallow river mouth.
Land was selected and farmed on Currambene Creek in the
early 1830s
1835:
Old Erowal Bay name comes from the property "Errowel"
granted to James Lamb
1840s:
Ship building began at Ulladulla harbour and took place
in the district for about a century, including a busy
time during World War II.
1840:
Present-day Huskisson was surveyed in late 1840, but was
not settled until 1868. South Huskisson was granted a
post office which opened in 1843, even though mail came
only once a week. The Ireland family were the first white
settlers at Burrill Lake
1842:
Post office was established at Ulladulla
1850s:
The first white settlement occurred at Wandandian when
the Walsh and Kerwick families took up land on the
Wandandian Creek, settlement was made at Jerrawangala
about 7-km further south, by Andrew McKenzie, John
Higgins and George Knight.
1850:
Presbyterian denominational school established at
Numbaa.
1852:
Although Nowra was declared a Government township in 1852
and some town lots were sold in 1855, Nowra was slow to
go ahead. It took the devastating flood of 1870 to give
impetus to Nowra in preference to Terara
1853:
First land sales of Nowra land.
1854:
A tannery established on the creek north of Ulladulla, it
functioned until it was destroyed in a 1931 bushfire.
1859:
The
first pier was built at Ulladulla in 1859, and it was
replaced by a stone pier six years later. In 1871 an iron
lighthouse was set in the end of the pier, and it was
moved to Warden Head in 1889. Transport by sea continued
until the end of World War II.
1860s:
From the 1860s, Huskisson was a favoured place for
shipping, and the shipbuilding industry started to
flourish, using local spotted gum for sailing vessels,
and pine for steamers. When George Dent arrived in 1861,
he brought sawyers and shipwrights, who built an array of
vessels. Other shipbuilders followed, with the mouth of
Currambene Creek being the centre of their
activities.
1860:
John Smith is credited with being the first settler in
the township and he set about populating it himself for
when Nowra boasted a population of about 40 in 1860, ten
of them were his children. Henry Moss who arrived in
1851, championed Nowra's cause. Being involved in all
moves for local government, he was a fitting choice in
1872 as the first Mayor of Nowra Municipal Council. John
Booth purchased 80 acres of land from the first settler
Joseph Whatman, and he subdivided the property into the
present township of Milton. George Knight provided the
first postal services from his home in Milton, and a post
office was built in 1880.
1861:
Ulladulla State School was built in 1861, the original
wooden structure being replaced in 1878 with a stone
building and a headmaster's residence which are still in
use today.
1862:
A cemetery established south of Ulladulla in 1862 was in
use until 1891, and some graves can still be seen from
the footpath beside the Princes Highway, opposite
Hollywood Avenue.
1868:
Bomaderry was first served by the Municipality of
Broughton Creek and Bomaderry, established in 1868. It
was amalgamated into the Berry Municipal Council in 1891,
and ultimately became part of the Shire (now City) of
Shoalhaven in 1948.
1874:
Shoalhaven
Agricultural Association established
1875:
Nowra General Cemetery was opened.
1877:
Milton State School opened in 1877, while St. Mary's
Catholic School functioned from 1912 until 1927, and
reopened in 1951.
1880s:
It was almost 1880 before a suitable wagon road connected
Nowra and Milton. This followed settlement moving from
the Shoalhaven flats to outer areas, and more people
pushed into the mountain valleys, searching for minerals
and timber. The 1880s saw Wandandian with homes on a
number of selections, and with coaches travelling the
main road south, the newly build Wandandian Hotel became
a stopping place.
1881:
Bridge
across Burrill Lake was built
1885:
A wide range of sports are played right across the
Shoalhaven over the years, and the English cricket XI
played at Nowra in 1885.
1887:
Nowra School of Arts formed in 1877, was responsible for
many of the early social activities, and when
the
hall was built in 1892,
it was used for local visiting entertainments.
1893:
Sandridge
Cemetery was established at Mollymook Beach
1903:
Burrill
Lake school which opened in 1898, closed in 1903
1910s:
The saw milling industry started in about 1910 around
Tomerong and Wandandian, and by the 1930s many local
people were involved, some with bullock teams and others
as sleeper cutters. While saw milling equipment has been
updated and work practices improved, control of bushland
has helped Wandandian keep its rural character.
1914
- 1918:
World War I.
1920s:
From
the 1920s, Hugh Percival Kean was behind several moves to
develop what is now Sanctuary Point. A few blocks of land
were sold, but none were built on, and it was to be 1951
before any significant progress was made. Moving with
this development was the Royal Park Country Club which
became the present St. Georges Basin Country Club in
1976.
1920:
The
north side of Burrill Lake, the Cooper Estate was
subdivided, and is today the township of Burrill
Lake.
1939
- 1945:
World War II
1940s:
In
the latter part of World War II, St. Georges Basin was
used by the RAAF for its No. 107 Squadron of flying
Kingfisher floatplanes, which had the role of providing
anti-submarine patrols over the coastal waters of
South-East Australia.
1947:
Burrill
Primary School in Woodstock Road south west of the lake,
operated from 1876 until 1934, and it was demolished in
1947.
1948:
Marlin Hotel Ulladulla opened, first Hotel built in NSW
after WWII. Seven local government areas amalgamated to
form the Shoalhaven Shire. Electricity came in Ulladulla
also in 1948.
1949:
The
St. Georges Basin school had opened in October 1949, with
provisional status until it became a public school in
July 1956. It was the first building in the area to have
electricity connected. Sanctuary Point Public School
opened in January 1976.
1952:
Vincentia
was once part of the town of Huskisson. The area was
originally known as "The Old Township" or "South
Huskisson". In 1952 it was renamed Vincentia (after the
battle of St Vincent) by developer Henry Halloran.
1969:
Geographical
Names Board decided that the area east of Wool Road and
as far north as Cock Crow Creek should be known as
Sanctuary Point, despite some suggestions that it should
be called Royal Park, the name of the original
development.
This is only a brief timeline for the Shoalhaven.
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