| Currowan New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
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  Currowan Location in New South Wales | |||||||||||||||
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| Coordinates | 35°34′11.7″S150°03′31.1″E / 35.569917°S 150.058639°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 72 (SAL 2021) [1] | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 2536 | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation | 104 m (341 ft) | ||||||||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Eurobodalla Shire | ||||||||||||||
| Region | South Coast | ||||||||||||||
| County | St Vincent | ||||||||||||||
| Parish | Currowan | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Bega | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Eden-Monaro | ||||||||||||||
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Currowan is a locality in the Eurobodalla Shire, on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2016 census, it had a population of 53. [2]
Currowan is about 42 km south-east of Braidwood. [3] [4]
The locality can be considered as having three distinct parts. The western part of the locality, near where the Kings Highway runs close to Currowan Creek below Clyde Mountain, the largely forested and hilly central area, and the eastern part adjacent to the right bank of the Clyde River. Currowan Creek links the three parts of the locality.
Currowan lies on the traditional lands of Walbanga people, [5] a group of Yuin.
There was a planned village or township of the same name. Its site was on the right bank of the Clyde River estuary and the right bank of Currowan Creek, where the two waterways converge. This site of the village of Currowan was fixed in 1844 [6] and a village plan laid out, in that same year, by then colonial surveyor and later ill-fated explorer, Edmund Kennedy. The village site had been reserved by another colonial surveyor, James Larmer, in 1841. [7] The site was remote and, at the time, only accessible by water. As a result of the Crown Lands Act of 1884, Currowan was proclaimed a town on 20 March 1885. [8]
After completion of the Clyde Road in 1858, town allotments were put on sale in 1859, in both Nelligen and Currowan. [9] Closer to the river mouth, it was Nelligen that was chosen to become the terminus of the new road connection to the Southern Tablelands and the port town on the Clyde. [10] Although the Clyde follows a meandering course upstream of Nelligen, it was navigable to Currowan and the town had a stone wharf, plenty of flat land and a good water supply. However, the town of Currowan never prospered. [11] [12]
The absence of a road connection from the Braidwood district to Currowan remained an obstacle to its growth as a port, [13] [12] [14] and the floods of 1860 showed that the town's site was flood-prone. [15] Even so, Currowan remained a minor landing place that allowed easier access than Nelligen to gold mines in the district. [16] By 1859, there was a better road connecting Currowan to Nelligen and gold had been mined in the hills within four or five miles of Currowan. [17] The most significant period of quartz reef mining activity in the area seems to have begun in earnest around 1890. It was relatively short lived and on a small scale. The last mine to close, in 1915, was the Phoenix Mine, which was probably also the largest of the mines close to Currowan village. [18] [19] [20]
The town held a race meeting in 1901. [21] However, a visitor in the same year mentions seeing only the school, some farms and a sawmill. It seems the 'town', by then, was only the very smallest of settlements. [22]
Land was reserved in the town for a Public School in 1893. [23] Currowan had a 'provisional school' (Oct 1882 to May 1884), later a public school (May 1884 to May 1888) and finally a 'half-time school' (May 1888 to May 1907, and May 1910 to May 1916). [24] There was also a separate school in the western part of the locality at Currowan Creek. It was a 'house-to-house school' from November 1883 until December 1891. Later, it was a 'half-time school', called Clyde Mountain, from January 1892 until it closed in December 1893. [25] [26]
In 1920, a factory was established, by the Austral Starch Company Limited, to extract starch from the burrawong plant ( Macrozamia communis ). The factory was near the mouth of Currowan Creek. [27] [28] [29] A tramway running, along Mimosa Street, linked the factory to the town's wharf. [30] [8] The venture was unsuccessful and had closed by April 1923. [31] [32] [33] [34] There were two small gold mines west of the Currowan village operating from around 1934 to 1935. [35] [36]
Currowan became a locality, under the Geographical Names Act of 1966. [37] Little remains of the 'town' of Currowan today. Some of its street names and town allotments still appear on modern-day maps. The old town site is accessible via the River Road from Nelligen, [38]
On the opposite bank of Currowan Creek to the town site, [39] "about 60 acres" of land was set aside, in April 1893, as an Aboriginal reserve. [40] This became the Currowan Creek Aboriginal Reserve, which lasted until 1956. [41] [42] It was recorded as 50 acres in size. [39]
In June 1910, there were just three huts, with two adults and five children—three of school age—living there. The people living there had employment, at times, cutting sleepers and stripping wattle bark (for tanning), and three acres of land were under cultivation for maize and vegetables. [43]
The locality gave its name to one of the disastrous bushfires of the 2019-2020 Australian summer, the Currowan fire. It broke out at Currowan on 26 November 2019 and, over 74 days and after merging with other fires—some of which were caused by the main fire spreading beyond erstwhile containment lines—it burnt 499,621 hectares (1,234,590 acres), destroyed 312 homes, and damaged another 173. It took three human lives and also killed countless wild animals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. It has been observed that the Currowan fire was only really contained by reaching the coastline, which it did at multiple locations. The final extinguishing of the fire came only with torrential rain, on 8 February 2020. [44] [45] [46]
Moruya pronounced, is a town located on the far south coast of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Moruya River. The Princes Highway runs through the town that is about 305 km (190 mi) south of Sydney and 175 km (109 mi) from Canberra. At the 2021 census, Moruya had a population of 4,295. Its built up area had a population of 2,762. The town relies predominantly on agriculture, aquaculture, and tourism. Moruya is administered by the Eurobodalla Shire Council and the shire chambers are located in the town.
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.
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.
The Clyde River is an open intermediate tide-dominated drowned valley estuary or perennial river that flows into the Tasman Sea at Batemans Bay, located in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia.
Kings Highway is an interstate highway located within the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales, Australia. The highway connects Canberra with Batemans Bay on the South Coast. It is designated route B52.
Mongarlowe is a village in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia in Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. In former times, it was also known, in various contexts, as Little River, Monga, and Sergeants Point. The name, Mongarlowe, also applies to the surrounding area, for postal and statistical purposes.
Araluen is a small town near Braidwood in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, in Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council. It lies in the valley of Araluen Creek, that joins the Deua River at roughly the midpoint in its course. At the 2021 census, Araluen had a population of 209 people.
The Deua River, being the main perennial river of the Moruya River catchment, is located in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia.
Nerrigundah is a small village on the Eurobodalla Nature Coast in south eastern New South Wales. Situated at the head of the Tuross River Valley, it is nineteen kilometres inland from Bodalla. At the 2016 census, Nerrigundah had a population of 25.
Nelligen is a village on the Clyde River on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Kings Highway.
Jembaicumbene is a locality in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, located 8 km (5 miles) out along the Braidwood–Majors Creek Road. Once a thriving goldfield, it is now a peaceful valley on the way to Majors Creek. The mining village of the same name is now virtually a ghost town.
Colinton is a locality in the Snowy Monaro Region, New South Wales, Australia. At the 2016 census, it had a population of 127. There was once a village and railway station of the same name.
Larbert is a locality in the Queanbeyan-Palerang Region of the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales. It lies mostly north of the Kings Highway between Bungendore and Braidwood where it crosses the Shoalhaven River. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 34.
Merricumbene is a locality in the Eurobodalla Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It is located about 43 km south of Braidwood and 40 km northwest of Moruya in the valley of the Deua River. At the 2016 census, it had a population of 19.
Monga is a locality in the Queanbeyan-Palerang Region, Southern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the Kings Highway at the top of the Clyde Mountain, about 110 km east of Canberra and 22 km southeast of Braidwood. A large part of the locality forms part of the Monga National Park. At the 2016 census, it had a population of 14.
Tianjara is a locality in the City of Shoalhaven in New South Wales, Australia. It lies generally south of the Braidwood Road between Nowra and Nerriga. It is about 47 kilometres southwest of Nowra. Tianjara is fairly rugged sandstone country and largely consists of forest. Most of it lies within the Morton National Park or state forests.
The Wool Road was a historic road in New South Wales, Australia, that ran from Nerriga to what is now called Vincentia on Jervis Bay. It was constructed privately in 1841, using convict labour. Its purpose was to provide a shorter route to a seaport for wool grown at Braidwood and beyond. The historical significance of The Wool Road is that it was the first road, capable of being used by wheeled vehicles, linking the inland area around Braidwood to the South Coast. The road led to the foundation of the privately-owned port town of South Huskisson and the adjacent 'government townshIp' of Huskisson.
James Larmer was a government surveyor in the colony of New South Wales. Between 1830 and 1859, he surveyed land, roads and settlements in New South Wales. He was an Assistant Surveyor to the Surveyor-General, Sir Thomas Mitchell, from 1835 to 1855. In 1835, he was second in command of Mitchell's second expedition. He is also noteworthy for his recording of Aboriginal words from various parts of New South Wales.
The Corn Trail was an early bridle track linking the Southern Tablelands to the coastal valley of the Buckenbowra River, in New South Wales, Australia. It was restored and reopened as a walking track in 1988.
Captain William Oldrey (1787—1851) was an officer in the Royal Navy and later a colonial settler of New South Wales, Australia. He is particularly associated with the early days of Broulee, on the South Coast of New South Wales.
