Bermagui New South Wales | |
---|---|
![]() The Blue Pool at Bermagui | |
Coordinates | 36°25′S150°04′E / 36.417°S 150.067°E |
Population | 1,536 (2016 census) [1] |
Postcode(s) | 2546 |
Location | 34 km (21 mi) from Narooma [2] |
LGA(s) | Bega Valley Shire |
County | Dampier |
State electorate(s) | Bega |
Federal division(s) | Eden-Monaro |
Bermagui is a town on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, in the Bega Valley Shire. It lies on the shores of the southern end of Horseshoe Bay. [3] The name is derived from the Dyirringanj word, permageua, [4] possibly meaning "canoe with paddles". [5]
A wharf was built in Horseshoe Bay in 1888 for the coastal trade. The port was serviced by the Illawarra & South Coast Steam Navigation Company. [3]
A 1910 article, "Bermagui – In a Strange Sunset", published by Henry Lawson in The Bulletin describes a steamer journey from Bermagui to Sydney. Lawson was probably travelling with the Illawarra Steam Navigation Company.[ citation needed ]
In 1880, the Government geologist, Lamont Young, and four others disappeared while on a boat trip from Bermagui. Their boat was found near Mystery Bay, which is about 15 kilometres north of Bermagui, midway between Bermagui and Narooma, near Tilba. The bay received its name because of the disappearance.. [6]
Zane Grey, the well-known big-game fisherman of the 1930s and author of Westerns, was patron of the Bermagui Sport Fishing Association for 1936/37 and anchored his yacht, the "Avalon" in Horseshoe Bay. He returned briefly for a visit in 1939. He wrote of his experiences in the town.[ citation needed ]
In 1943, the Japanese submarine I-21 sank the iron ore carrier SS Iron Knight off the coast of Bermagui. Local fisherman had tangled their nets on the wreck deep below the surface in 125 metres of water, but did not know the ship lay there until a team of divers confirmed its existence on 4 June 2006. On 29 July 2006 relatives and descendants of the ship's crew came to Bermagui for a memorial and commemorative service. [7]
A fishing harbour was built at Bermagui in 1959, the first in a new series by the Public Works Department. [3]
In 2016, there were 1,536 people in Bermagui. 77.9% of people were born in Australia and 89.0% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 35.2%, Anglican 22.5% and Catholic 15.5%. [1]
It is said that 19 kilometres (12 mi) offshore from Bermagui the edge of the "continental shelf is at its closest point to the mainland and hence there is good fishing. [8] As of 2013 [update] anglers were allowed to catch, or tag and release marlin, and tuna such as yellowfin, bluefin, and albacore, which are sought after "game fish". [9] [ better source needed ]
Gulaga National Park is about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north of Bermagui. [10]
There is a fishing harbour. [3]
Bermagui is served by sealed road connections to Tathra (44 km south), Cobargo (20 km west) and the Princes Highway (15 km to the north) near Tilba.
Bermagui Public School is a primary school, which has taught local Aboriginal languages, the Dhurga and Djiringanj languages, and associated cultures since 2019. [11]
Bermagui has a local post, Bermagui Local Post, operating within the town.
Zane Grey filmed part of his shark film White Death (1936) and wrote the storyline for Rangler River (1936) while camped at Bermagui. His book of his game fishing adventures here An American Angler in Australia was published in 1937. He also worked on his epic Australian Western novel Wildness Trek while in Bermagui, which was not published until after his death in 1944.[ citation needed ]
During the 1940s and 1950s, detective writer Arthur Upfield lived in the town and made it the setting for one of his novels, The Mystery of Swordfish Reef. [12]
Dorothy Hewett (author and well known feminist and communist) wrote her gothic love story Neap Tide (1999) set in the fictional town of "Zane" while camped at Umbi Gumbi, Cuttagee to the south of Bermagui.[ citation needed ]
Outdoor scenes from the film The Man Who Sued God (2001) starring Billy Connolly were shot in Bermagui. There are scenes of the Bermagui Boat Harbour, the main street, and surrounding beaches. Many locals are in the movie, and the classic boat is a local charter fishing boat. Bermagui locals thoroughly enjoyed Billy Connolly's visit . [13]
In January 2005, the Leader of the Opposition, Mark Latham, and his family retreated here from the media, before his decision to resign as ALP leader and from Parliament, writing in The Latham Diaries that "God has given us Bermagui, let's enjoy it".
In 2010, Bermagui was mentioned in the fictional television series Rake as the location of Nicole Vargas' (Kate Box) holiday home. The home was built with embezzled funds from her employer, Cleaver Greene (Richard Roxburgh).
The historic wooden Wallaga Lake Bridge north of Bermagui was the setting for a scene in the 2014 film Unbroken .[ citation needed ]
Biamanga National Park is a protected area in New South Wales, Australia, 408 km (254 mi) south of Sydney and 40 km (25 mi) north of Bega. The park forms part of the Ulladulla to Merimbula Important Bird Area because of its importance for swift parrots.
Gulaga National Park is a national park on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Narooma. The park is dominated by Gulaga, also known as Mount Gulaga. The former Wallaga Lake National Park, Goura Nature Reserve, and Mount Dromedary Flora Reserve were combined to form this park in 2001. The park features the southernmost subtropical rainforest in New South Wales.
Batemans Bay is a town on the South Coast region of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Batemans Bay is administered by the Eurobodalla Shire council. The town is situated on the shores of an estuary formed where the Clyde River meets the southern Pacific Ocean.
Tathra is a seaside town on the Sapphire Coast found on the South Coast, New South Wales, Australia. As at the 2016 census, Tathra had a population of 1,675.
Eurobodalla Shire is a local government area located in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located in a largely mountainous coastal region and situated adjacent to the Tasman Sea, the Princes Highway and the Kings Highway.
Gerringong is a town located about ten minutes drive south of Kiama, and about twenty minutes north of Nowra in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia in the Municipality of Kiama. At the 2016 census, Gerringong had a population of 3,966. One theory says that the name derives from an Aboriginal word meaning "fearful place".
Barunguba / Montague Island is a continental island contained within the Montague Island Nature Reserve, a protected nature reserve that is located offshore from the South Coast region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The nearest town located onshore from the 81-hectare (200-acre) reserve and island is Narooma, situated approximately 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) to the northwest.
The Man Who Sued God is a 2001 Australian comedy film starring Billy Connolly and Judy Davis, and directed by Mark Joffe. The film was a financial success, debuting at number one at the Australian box office in the week of its launch.
Narooma is a town in the Australian state of New South Wales on the far south coast. The town is on the Princes Highway, which crosses the Wagonga Inlet to North Narooma. The heritage town of Central Tilba is nearby to the south.
Central Tilba and Tilba Tilba are two villages near the Princes Highway in Eurobodalla Shire, New South Wales, Australia. At the 2016 census, Central Tilba and surrounding areas had a population of 288.
The Illawarra Steam Navigation Company was a shipping company that serviced the south coast of New South Wales, Australia from 1858 to the early 1950s. It was formed through the amalgamation of the General Steam Navigation Company, the Kiama Steam Navigation Company and the Shoalhaven Steam Navigation Company, each of whom serviced parts of the south coast with their respective vessels. After merging, the new company held a near monopoly in regard to shipping on the south coast, and their fleet visited every significant port between Sydney and the border of Victoria. The company transported both passengers and a range of produce, including livestock, and hence it became known as the 'Pig and Whistle Line': it was said that ships would wait an hour for a pig but not a minute for a passenger.
Lamont H. Young (1851–1880) was an Australian assistant geological surveyor for the New South Wales Mines Department. He mysteriously disappeared while on field-work at Bermagui, New South Wales.
The Yuin nation, also spelt Djuwin, is a group of Australian Aboriginal peoples from the South Coast of New South Wales. All Yuin people share ancestors who spoke, as their first language, one or more of the Yuin language dialects. Sub-groupings of the Yuin people are made on the basis of language and other cultural features; groups include the Brinja or Brinja-Yuin, Wodi Wodi, Wandandian, Jerrinja,Budawang, Yuin-Monaro, Djiringanj, Walbunja, and more. They have a close association with the Thaua and Dharawal people.
Gulaga, dual-named as Mount Dromedary and also referred to as Mount Gulaga, is a mountain located in the south coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It rises above the village of Central Tilba and is within the Gulaga National Park. At its highest point, it measures 806 metres (2,644 ft) above sea level.
The South Coast refers to the narrow coastal belt from the Shoalhaven district in the north to the state border with Victoria in the south in the south-eastern part of the State of New South Wales, Australia. It is bordered to the west by the coastal escarpment of the Southern Tablelands, and is largely covered by a series of national parks, namely Jervis Bay National Park, Eurobodalla National Park, and Beowa National Park. To the east is the coastline of the Pacific Ocean, which is characterised by rolling farmlands, small towns and villages along a rocky coastline, interspersed by numerous beaches and lakes.
Cobargo is a village in the south-east area of the state of New South Wales in Australia in Bega Valley Shire. At the 2016 census, Cobargo had a population of 776 people. It is 386 km south of Sydney on the Princes Highway between Narooma and Bega. The town suffered heavy losses during the 2019 bushfires.
Mystery Bay is a small town on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. Mystery Bay is halfway between Central Tilba and Narooma, two kilometres off the Princes Highway on Mystery Bay Road. At the 2016 census, Mystery Bay had a population of 191. Mystery Bay features a camping area in the Eurobodalla National Park. This park is known for its recreational activities and various species of Bird. Montague Island is close to Mystery Bay and is known for its unusual quantities of Penguin called Eudyptula minor and fur seals. There is also an Infestation of a specific type of House mouse called Mus musculus which has needed eradication because of its damage on the ecosystem.
Wallaga Lake is an estuarine lake in Bega Valley Shire in New South Wales, Australia, the largest lake in southern NSW. It is located between Bermagui to the south and between Tilba Tilba to the north, situated beneath Mount Gulaga, in the traditional lands of the Yuin people. A large section of its foreshore and catchment are within the Gulaga National Park, since Wallaga Lake National Park, Goura Nature Reserve, and Mt Dromedary Flora Reserve were combined into the larger national park. There is an island in the lake known as Merriman's Island, Merriman Island or Umbarra.
The Dhurga language, also written Thurga, is an Australian Aboriginal language of New South Wales. It is a language of the Yuin people, specifically the Wandandian and Walbunja groups, but there have been no fluent speakers officially recorded for decades, so it has been functionally extinct for some time. Efforts have been made to revive the language since the 2010s.
Premier Transport Group is an Australian operator of bus and coach services in New South Wales and Queensland. Its origins can be traced back to December 1987 when John King purchased Nowra Coaches. It has since expanded through a number of acquisitions.