Historical Australian Towns: Nowra, NSW: On The Banks of The Shoalhaven River

Nowra is located in the South Coast region of NSW, 160 kilometres south-southwest of Sydney.

Situated on the Shoalhaven River, the name Nowra comes from a local Aboriginal word meaning “black cockatoo”.

The Wandi-Wandandian People

Generally, a traditional life for Aboriginal people was as hunter/gatherers and fishers, with an intimate knowledge of the natural world.

The Wandandian Aboriginal Australian people of the South Coast of New South Wales have connections to the Yuin and Tharawal nations. Many lived in small groups, probably comprising extended families.

Recent research indicates that Nowra is within the boundary of the Wodi Wodi speakers of the Dharawal language.

FROM JERVIS BAY TO MOUNT DROMEDARY.

By Mr. Richaed Dawsey.

"For this vocabulary I am indebted, through Mr. Stewart Caswell, P.M. at Moruya, to Mr. Eichard Dawsey. The tribes of whose language a specimen is attached divide themselves into two classes, viz., Piindri or tree-climbers, and Kathoongal or fishermen. It is, I am informed, a tradition of theirs that the earth was once destroyed, some say by water and others by fire, and was subsequently re-peopled from the moon. They humourously call policeman tchingar = star-fish, as they say both seize and detain. These tribes still retain a few of their old customs, for they scar the person and knock out teeth. Every remarkable hill, waterhole, and rock, says Mr. Dawsey, has its native name. It will be noticed that sun, light, heat, day, and to-day are all translated by the word nowa, and probably correctly so."

The Australian race : its origin, languages, customs, place of landing in Australia and the routes by which it spread itself over the continent, by Curr, Edward Micklethwaite, 1820-1889

Read here

The Wandandian people of Nowra saw the the three stars of Canis Major (a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere) as Wunbula (Bat) and his two wives Murrumbool (Mrs Brown Snake) and Moodtha (Mrs Black Snake). The two wives, bored with following their husband around, try to bury him while he is hunting a wombat down its hole. He spears them, and all three are placed in the sky as the constellation Munowra.

Stone arrangements and ceremonial grounds exist at Quilty’s Plateau near Pigeon House Mountain ((88.4 km from Nowra).

This site type includes the grounds and remains of ceremonial activities, an example being the bunan, a male initiation ceremony (Mathews 1896). This ceremony included the construction of two earthen ring mounds separated by a pathway, along which carved trees and ground sculptures were constructed to instruct the initiates.

Portrait of an Aboriginal man from Shoalhaven, New South Wales, 1851, NLAUST

Caves or “rock shelters” were occupied where available. Bark shelter, or gunyahs, were often supported on sticks like a small tepee.

Foods included: roasted rhizome of the Bracken fern. Another was the seed of the Burrawang fern. These are poisonous and require prolonged soaking and roasting in the ashes before being consumed.

Skin cloaks or blankets were worn in colder months. Possum skin was preferred, and as many as 80 pelts may be used for one garment. These were sewn together using kangaroo leg sinew.

Nasal piercing with bone was frequently recorded.

1770

The Shoalhaven region was sighted by Captain Cook in April of 1770. Noticing the Aboriginal campfire he wrote that he observed "several smokes along shore before dark".

HMS Endeavour also known as HM Bark. Endeavour, was a British Royal Navy research vessel that Lieutenant James Cook commanded to Australia and New Zealand on his first voyage of discovery from 1768 to 1771

George Bass explored the coastline in 1797. He came up with the name "Shoalhaven" after crossing the shoals at the entrance of the river. In 1797. He continued upstream probably as far as the present Nowra.

1800s

Lieutenant Grant of the Lady Nelson met with Aboriginal people, with friendly relations, at Jervis Bay in March 1801.

In 1805, Lieutenant Kent and assistant surveyor-general James Meehan, mapped the coastline around Shoalhaven and also explored overland.

Governor Macquarie visited Jervis Bay in November 1811 and met with Aboriginal people.

Surveyor George William Evans and party set out in 1812 to find a land route between Jervis Bay and Sydney. They crossed near the present day Nowra in a bark canoe with Aboriginal guide, Bundle.

There were clashes between cedar getters and Aboriginal people in the Shoalhaven. The historical records report various attacks by Aboriginal groups on the cedar getters’ camps, and
reprisals.

On 3rd December 1814, a "Government Public Notice" was published which prohibited the Shoalhaven Cedar Trade.

Charles Throsby arrived in Jervis Bay in early April 1818 and encountered Aboriginal people in the region.

Aboriginal people assisted British explorers, suppling local knowledge and acting as guides.

1820s

The surveyor Throsby returned to the Shoalhaven area in 1821 and went to a place he called "Nou-woo-ro", now known as Nowra.

By 1822 Alexander Berry was the first documented settler in the region. He established "Coolangatta" farm near Nowra.

Berry wrote "Charcoal was my regular boatman" and in June 1822, Berry appointed the young Aboriginal man "mate" of his cutter Blanch.

Coolangatta estate was the location for blanket issue between 1833 and 1844 for Aboriginal people.

In 1824 Mary Riebey, a former convict applied for a land grant on the southern side of the Shoalhaven River. Mary Reiby's grandson James Thomson worked Burrier property from about 1846. The tribal leader Boongong Nibbitt and clan lived near the property. Thomson’s diaries record that Aboriginal people were paid cash, for threshing wheat.

Mary Reibey established The Bank of NSW and became an extremely wealthy woman.

Mary Reibey, baptised Molly Haydock, ca. 1835 - watercolour on ivory miniature

In 1826, a Scottish convict, William Graham after being emancipated, began acquiring land around the Shoalhaven River with his sons. The area was known as Greenhills.

1830s

Terara on the south bank of the Shoalhaven river, three kilometres east of Nowra, was the first settlement established in the area, on the south side of the Shoalhaven River.

Terara was surveyed about 1839 on the 1300 acres granted to French-born Jean Charles Prosper De Mestre. Around this time, the homestead Mill Bank House was probably built and a village began to develop.

Australian (Sydney, NSW : 1824 - 1848), Thursday 1 September 1825

1840s

In 1843, William Graham's early home at Greenhills was noted as the only residence in the vicinity of present-day Nowra. More info.

1850s

The first settlement was Terara in the 1850s on the southern side.

Nowra was also settled about this time but did not become the main centre until the floods at Terara in 1870.

In 1853, a farmer at Terara referred to a king of three tribes (probably clan groups) – Worrigee, Jervis Bay and Burrier (Organ 1990).

New South Wales Government Gazette (Sydney, NSW : 1832 - 1900), Tuesday 16 August 1853

In 1854, the first steam mill at Nowra was established on an area named Greenhill Point.
Terara developed into a commercial centre, with a wharf, known as Adams’ Wharf, along the river.

Terara was surveyed as a town in 1859, having a branch of the commercial bank, various general stores, 9 hotels, a School of Arts, iron foundry, flour mill, school, post and telegraph office, town hall and churches.

Aboriginal family group in the Shoalhaven area, New South Wales, ca. 1855, NLAUST

The only real means of communication between Sydney and Shoalhaven was by sea. Shipping would continue in importance for the next 100 years, as the rugged terrain made road and rail construction difficult.

However, rain and floods would change the town's future. Already, there were minor floods, and the river was rising.

"Up to the time the floods
had devastated the banks of the river and
the pretty and prosperous town of Terrara
before 1860 and 1870, there was actually no
goverment-founded township in the district.
A village reserve did exist where Nowra town
ship now stands, but no use had been made of
it, comparatively speaking. As early as 1856 a
few allotments had been sold; but with large
vested interests in the alreadv flourishing
private town, it was no small undertaking, no
pleasant or peaceful task to act one's self to
forwarding interests that were diverse to the
profits and prospects of the largest landholders
on the south side of the river, including even
the few public officials in the district. Nowra
was a waste of gum trees, the domain of the
wallaby and the dingo." (2.)

The first European house in Nowra is reported to have been built by John Smith in 1855. ("on the north-east corner of Junction and East Sts") here

1860s

In February 1860, there were storms and heavy rainfall and the town, built on a low-lying area near the Shoalhaven River, flooded, and 16 people drowned. Buildings, barns, stock and crops were swept away.

People began to move to higher ground.

Graham Lodge was built from 1860 to 1861 by stonemason Charles Moore and carpenter Willet Burry.

Between 1860 and 1861, the two-storey Graham Lodge was constructed as the second residence on the Greenhills estate, Nowra, NSW

84 Plunkett Street was built in 1861 as Nowra's first courthouse.

The original Nowra school building, consisted of two rooms, was constructed in 1862.

The Coolangatta paddle steamer was commissioned for the Shoalhaven River trade and completed in 3 months, and launched in June 1865. Read more

Crossing the strong currents of the Shoalhaven River, took place by ferry, before a bridge existed, .

1870s

Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Saturday 30 April 1870

Around 1870, Nowra became the main town of the area.

Nowra in the early 1870s, consisted of one store kept by a Mr Green and a hotel kept by Mr Tory, and previously by Mr Coulstone. There was also a blacksmith's shop. (1.)

On 30 December 1871, the Municipality of Nowra was proclaimed.

The Coolangatta paddle steamer was wrecked after a flood swept it from the Shoalhaven River on 27th February 1873.

By 1875 Nowra had a population of 120.

In 1875, St Andrew's Presbyterian Church was built at Nowra.

The Shoalhaven Telegraph was a weekly newspaper published in Nowra from 1879 until 1937.

1880s

The Shoalhaven Bridge opened in 1881, reducing the need for the ferry and steamer.

Nowra museum (Meroogal), at 35 West Street, Nowra, NSW, was designed by Kenneth Mackenzie and built in 1886 by Kenneth Mackenzie. c1887, Sydney Living Museums

The first show was held at Nowra in 1887.

Shoalhaven Telegraph (NSW : 1881 - 1937), Wednesday 4 September 1889

1890s

The railway connection from Bomaderry to Kiama was completed by 1893. This improved transport increased the population and enabled agricultural activities to develop.

Shoalhaven News and South Coast Districts Advertiser (NSW : 1891 - 1937), Saturday 3 January 1891

Junction Street, Nowra, NSW, looking East, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Saturday 13 February 1897

Nowra Courthouse (was opened in March of 1896), Nowra, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Saturday 13 February 1897

Mechanics Institute and School of Arts, Berry St Nowra, NSW, built 1892, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Saturday 13 February 1897

1900s

Nowra, NSW, Albion Hotel on the left and the Prince of Wales Hotel on right, 1903

Junction Street., Nowra, looking west, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 11 February 1903

Walsh's Buildings, Junction Street, Nowra, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 11 February 1903

F O Robinson's Prince of Wales Hotel, Nowra, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 11 February 1903

W. W. HARKINS'S DENTAL SURGERY, KINGHORN AND NORTH STREETS, Nowra, NSW, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 11 February 1903

Group of Aboriginal people from Roseby Park, near Nowra, NSW, Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), Tuesday 20 June 1905

Junction Street, Nowra, NSW, 1905-1910, SLNSW

Nowra, NSW. (c.1908) Junction Street. Empire Postcard; Josef Lebovic Gallery Collection - National Museum of Australia

Horse Judges and Stewards adding up the points in the Maiden Hunters' Contest. Nowra Show, NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 19 February 1908

Young Rural Camp at Nowra, NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 21 October 1908

Bomaderry Aboriginal Children's Home, located near Nowra, was established in 1908 by the United Aborigines Mission. According to Australian Aborigines Advocate, the home began with the placement of seven orphans of an Aboriginal mother (widow). here

Suspension bridge at Nowra, NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 10 February 1909

Bridge over tlie Shoalhaven River, between Bomaderry and Nowra, NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 10 February 1909

The Broughton Creek punt, in the Shoalhaven area, NSW, operated from the 1850s to 1936, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 10 February 1909

The lady stewards at the Nowra Show, NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 17 February 1909

THE 15-H.P. TALBOT CAR; R.A.C. RATING 20.1-H.P. Winner of the Motor Contest Sydney to Nowra and back.Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Wednesday 28 April 1909

Parade Junction Street Nowra, NSW, 1910, SLNSW

Nowra Wharf, NSW, no date, Donna Newton

On the Shoalhaven River — Nowra Showground During the Grand Parade, NSW, Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870 - 1919), Wednesday 21 February 1912

CHILDREN'S HOME, BOMADERRY, NEAR NOWRA, NSW, Australian Aborigines Advocate, No.149 (29 November 1913)

Children outside other cottage at Bomaderry, near Nowra, NSW, Australian Aborigines Advocate, No.149 (29 November 1913)

WWI

THE RECRUITS CROSSING THE NOWRA BRIDGE ON THEIR WAY TO SYDNEY. Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Wednesday 1 December 1915,

THE FIGHTING BROTHERS STOKES, OF NOWRA.1. Private Charles Stokes. 2. Private Thomas Stokes. 3. Private George Stokes. 4. Private R Stokes. 5. Private Frederick Stokes. SONS OF MR. AND MRS. R. L. STOKES, OF NOWRA. Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Tuesday 11 July 1916

The Soldiers' Home at Bomaderry, near Nowra, NSW, Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 10 July 1918,

1920s

Junction Street, Nowra, N.S.W. - 1921, Aussie~mobs

A weatherboard cottage, typical of many in the area, was built by Joseph Turner for his son in law, Thomas Werninck in 1922.

The Bridge hotel, Nowra, NSW, is on the corner of Bridge Road and North Street in Nowra (built 1887).Open Research

Cambewarra Pass. N.S.W, Australian Worker (Sydney, NSW : 1913 - 1950), Wednesday 17 July 1929

1930s

Kinghorn Street, Nowra, N.S.W. - circa 1930, Aussie Mobs

NOWRA. A grand aboriginal wedding at the Methodist Church, Nowra, created a lot of interest. The bride was Minnie, great-granddaughter of King Billy Timberry, of the Five Islands tribe, and the bridegroom was David Carpenter, of Wallaga Lake settlement The Rev. L. M. K. Mills, formerly of Bega, officiated. South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus (NSW : 1900 - 1954), Friday 3 January 1930 (Traditionally, Aboriginal societies did not have kings or chiefs in the sense used by English-speaking people)

ABORIGINAL PAINTINGS. AT SPAIN'S CREEK, NOWRA. Last week-end on the invitation of
Mr. Geo. Walker, our representative accepted an invitation to accompany that gentleman up Spain's Creek, at the rear of the showground, to inspect some pnintings on the rocks, which sloped in cave-like at the bottom of the cliffs immediately above the creek where thc fresh and saltwaters meet, west of what is known as Big Rock swimming baths. Nowra Leader (NSW : 1909 - 1939), Friday 26 February 1932

Aboriginal drawings. Shoalhavengullies, NSW, Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Saturday 16 January 1932

Nicholas Anthony Aroney (Anastasopoulos) came to Australia from Greece in 1914. Nowra Leader (NSW : 1909 - 1939), Friday 17 March 1933

Aboriginal Childrens' Home, Bomaderry near Nowra, NSW, Vol.4 No.14 (1 November 1933)

The Great Depression, Sun (Sydney, NSW : 1910 - 1954), Sunday 25 March 1934

Nowra Bridge Shoalhaven River, NSW (1938), This bridge was intended for a double track railway use but schemes for a South Coast Railway to Bega never eventuated. The Bridge has been used for 2-lane road traffic for over 120 years. At 1013 feet (309m) overall it was the largest bridge project in New South Wales prior to the 1889 Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge. It is unique because it is the only American pin-jointed Whipple truss in service in New SoutWaleswww.environment.nsw.gov.au

Junction Street looking east, Nowra, N.S.W. - 1930s, Aussie Mobs

South Coast Dairy Stock in Force at Nowra Show, Land (Sydney, NSW : 1911 - 1954), Friday 21 February 1936

A major upgrade of the highway from Nowra to Batemans Bay in 1937.

Nowra South Coast, NSW - 30 May 1937, Donna Newton

Second World War started on 1 September 1939 with Hitler's invasion of Poland.

Car Regiment in training at their camp on the South Coast. Three of the cars are shown amid picturesque surroundings near the Shoalhaven River at Nowra ( N. S.W. ) Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), Saturday 25 November 1939

1940s and WWII

Marriott Park was previously known as Hyam's Park after the first land owner, then as De Mestre Park. Later, it was named in honour of Thomas Marriott, who had lived opposite the park.

Drum and Drum Stock Rocks at Currarong Bay, Nowra, NSW, Dated: No date, Museums of History NSW - State Archives Collection

No. 6 Operational Training Unit (6 OTU), Royal Australian Air Force, was formed at RAAF Base Nowra on 5 June 1943, to provide DAP Beaufort aircrew with training in torpedo dropping procedures and tactics.

Miss Dulcie Edwards, of Armidale, Secretary ol the W.A.S.P.S., an auxiliary of the women's Land Army, is an expert tractor driver. Here she is shown at the wheel of a tractor during the recent mechanised farming field day at Nowra. Land (Sydney, NSW : 1911 - 1954), Wednesday 25 August 1943

British sailors on holiday at Nowra, NSW, 28 December 1944, photographed by Ivan Ives, State Library of New South Wales

Cpl Roy Howarth, Bondi, Sydney, and Sapper Mick Martin, of Nowra, N.S.W., cleaning a Polsten gun while the barges crossed the Coral Sea, Northern Miner (Charters Towers, Qld. : 1874 - 1954), Friday 7 September 1945

Hotel Nowra at Nowra, N.S.W. - 1940s, Aussie~mobs

THE ONLY TWO women in N.S.W. to run a fishing boatshed on their own are Grace McNab (left) and Margaret Bruce, who manage a shed with 1.7 boats at Nowra, NSW. They live in a modern flat attached to the shed. Both girls served with the A.W.A.S. for four years. Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), Thursday 6 June 1946

Railway Station - Nowra-Bomaderry, NSW, Dated: 12/11/1947, Museums of History NSW - State Archives Collection

Royal Australian Naval air station HMAS Albatross, situated at Nowra, was commissioned on 31 August 1948.

Nowra Town Hall was built in 1948.

Toodyay Herald (WA : 1912 - 1954), Thursday 2 June 1949

1950s

NEW galleries of aboriginal rock paintings have been discovered in a remote part of the South Coast. They are the first brought to light in that particular zone for many years, and appear to be the only examples of native rock art between Waterfall, near National Park, and the Shoalhaven district. Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Monday 13 November 1950

THE SOUTH COAST DAYLIGHT EXPRESS. A modern air-conditioned express is operating daily, excepting Sundays, on the South Coast of New South Wales. It provides a splendid opportunity for tourists to see the beautiful coastal scenery under exceptionally comfortable conditions. It leaves Sydney at 9.12 a.m., picks up passengers at Hurstville and Sutherland, and picks up and sets down passengers at Wollongong and at stations from Kiama to Nowra, where it arrives at 12.37 p.m. Vol. 16 No. 2 (1 February 1950)

South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus (NSW : 1900 - 1954), Monday 26 June 1950

By the 1950s, Nowra had the largest Aboriginal population on the south coast. Aboriginal families were camped in the showground, waiting for housing (Bell 1956).

Junction Street, Nowra, NSW, Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Wednesday 15 August 1951

South Coast Times and Wollongong Argus (NSW : 1900 - 1954), Monday 23 July 1951

In 1954 the demographer J.H. Bell listed five Aboriginal camps in the Shoalhaven area: Brown’s Flat, Worrigee, Bomaderry, South Nowra/Brown’s Hill.

CWA Younger Set. — Mesdames A. Dawson, D. Aldous, A. Booth, F. Campbell, M. Sheridan, E. Hitchcock, Nowra, NSW. Weekly Times (Melbourne, Vic. : 1869 - 1954), Wednesday 15 August 1951

Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), Monday 28 December 1953

1960s

Title: BUDD train at Nowra Station, Nowra NSW. Dated: 09/02/1962. Museums of History NSW - State Archives Collection

1970s

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) operated four Douglas Dakotas between 1949 and 1974. These sturdy, reliable aircraft were the military version of the famous civilian DC-3. Based at HMAS Albatross, the Naval Air Station at Nowra, NSW, they served variously in 723, 851, 724 and 725 Squadrons performing various tasks including fleet requirements, VIP and general transport, Search and Rescue work and as flying classrooms for aircrew training. They were finally replaced in 1973 by two HS748. tormentor4555

1980s

In the 1980s, a new bridge was opened alongside the truss bridge to reduce traffic congestion.

1990s

Bundanon, 20 minutes from Nowra, on the Shoalhaven River, was the home of the painter Arthur Boyd. and was established as a national Trust in 1993.

2000s

December 31, 2019, shows a horse trying to move away from nearby bushfires at a residential property near the town of Nowra, NSW, Bruce Detorres

Around Nowra

Graham Lodge, Nowra, NSW, was built from 1860 to 1861 by stonemason Charles Moore and carpenter Willet Burry. The owner, James Graham, was elected to the Nowra Shire council in 1859 and became the first Mayor in 1860

The original grantee William Graham, of Graham Lodge, Nowra, NSW, died at Greenhills in September 1852 and was buried in the family cemetery (Lyrebird Drive, Nowra)

MEROOGAL, now house museum at 35 West Street, Nowra, NSW, was built in 1886 by Robert Thorburn

Nowra Courthouse, NSW, opened in March of 1896

The Fire Nowra Station, NSW, was built in 1908 at a cost of £275 raised by public subscription

Nowra School of Arts, Berry Street, Nowra, NSW, built 1892

The Roxy Theatre, Nowra, NSW, opened in 1937

This store was built for John McArthur in 1893. It was bought by Woodhills which spent 55 years here, Norwa, NSW

Wonderful store fronts, Nowra, NSW

Shoalhaven Historical Society is housed in Nowra Museum, NSW, the former Nowra Lock-Up and Residence Police Station (built 1901)

Nowra, NSW. On the Shoalhaven River. Part of the CAtholic Complex in Nowra near the Catholic church, cemetery and school. This looks like the Presbytery. Built around 1880. denisbin

The Bridge Hotel, Nowra, NSW, built 1887 and closed 2021

84 Plunkett Street was built in 1861 as Nowra's first courthouse, NSW

Werninck Craft Cottage, 102 Plunkett St NOWRA NSW, built in 1922, by Joseph Turner for his son-in-law, Thomas Werninck

Nowra Showground Grandstand, NSW, finished January 1905, replacing one that had been located at the southern end of the showground

St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Nowra, NSW, built 1875

All Saints’ Anglican Church, Nowra, NSW, the foundation stone was laid on 22 August, 1899

St Michael's Catholic Church, Nowra, NSW, built 1877

Soldiers' Memorial , originally built to honour those who served in the First World War, Nowra, NSW, located at the entrance of the Nowra Showground. The gates were dedicated in 1931 and the architect was Cyril Blacket. The sculpture was dedicated in 1968 and the sculptor was O.L. Steen.