Gerringong, New South Wales

Gerringong is a town about 10 minutes south of Kiama on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. One theory says that the name derives from an Aboriginal word meaning "Fearful". Supposedly great fear was caused to tribes there by the sight of Captain Cook's ship in full sail. There are other theories as to the meaning of the name.

Time Line

• 1814 Cedar cutters were first recorded as having visited and logged in the Gerringong area. Gradually, as the land was cleared, dairy farming became the predominant industry, and remains so to this day.
• 1824 Governor Brisbane instructs that 600 acres (2.4 km²) be reserved for a town at the present Gerringong township.
• 1827 Michael Hindmarsh and his family secured a land grant of 640 acres (2.6 km²). He became the first settler to live and work on a grant in the Gerringong area.
• 1829 Gerringong is gazetted as a postal town.
• 1851 "Alne Bank" homestead was built for the Hindmarshes. It is still in the family today and is open for inspection on rare occasions.
• 1854 A town plan for Gerringong is approved, and on January 17, 1854, the Governor of NSW proclaims the site the "Village of Gerringong".
• 1872 Devastation as a fire razes much of Gerringong business area together with homes and the C of E church.
• 1893 The South Coast railway line is extended to Gerringong, signalling a start of the end of shipping.
• 1913 Telephone comes to Gerringong.
• 1928 Electricity comes to Gerringong.
• 1933 Sir Charles Kingsford Smith undertook his historic flight from Seven Mile Beach to New Zealand. A memorial stone at Gerroa marks the event.
• 1954 Gerringong Municipal District amalgamated with Kiama Municipal Council.
• 1971 Town water supply connected, signalling an end to tanks attached to each house. This is highly controversial now that NSW is in deep drought (2005) and water from the dam catchment areas is in scarce supply. Land along the coastal fringe tends to receive higher rainfall than the interior water catchment areas, which are often in rainshadow.
• 2002 Town sewerage system connected.

Major Industries

• Dairy farming
• Tourism
• Retail Trade
• Farming including vineyards

Geography

The boundaries of the Gerringong District range from Mount Pleasant and Omega in the north, to Rose Valley, Willow Vale and Foxground in the west, and to Broughton Village, Toolijooa, Harley Hill, Gerroa and Seven Mile Beach in the south. In the centre of the area lies the town of Gerringong itself, and the nearby area of Werri Beach.

Gerringong is known as "Where the Mountains Meet the Sea". A spur of Saddleback Mountain reaches down to Mt Pleasant to the north of Gerringong township, ending the spectacular Illawarra escarpment, which starts north of Wollongong.

The Princes Highway bypasses Gerringong township on its western edge, with two exits, one at Fern St and another at Belinda Street, 2km further south.

Gerringong and Werri Beach used to be two separate localities, but now there is no definitive boundary.

The area is famous for its picturesque coastline, incorporating rugged sea cliffs, pristine golden beaches surrounded by rolling hills and countryside, which stays velvety green year-round.

Werri Lagoon, which (sometimes) empties to the sea at the northern end of Werri Beach, used to naturally exit near the Gerringong Surf Club at the south end... until human intervention occurred in the 1960s. Bridges Road used to be access to a bridge which provided access to Werri Beach. More often that not nowadays, the lagoon is isolated from the sea by a sandspit which has to be opened by mechanical means to allow it to drain after high rainfall or lengthy periods of closure, which results in stagnation and pollution.

When extra high tides occur, the water still washes over Pacific Avenue at the south end, right where the lagoon used to empty in the ocean.

Gerringong's Boatharbour, was extensively used for shipping timber and dairy produce in the 19th century. At one time a lengthy jetty existed, but it was destroyed in fierce storms in 1891. It was never rebuilt.

Gerringong's geology is basically basalt, laid down in the Permian era.

Climate

Gerringong has temperate maritime climate. Warm to hot summers and cool wet winters. Temperatures average out at around 25°C max & 18°C min in February to 16°C max & 8°C min in July.

Sea temperatures vary from an average of 23.5°C in February to 17.7°C in August.

Political

Local Government: Gerringong is part of the Kiama Municipal Council area, Mayor Sandra McCarthy is a resident of Gerringong.

State Government: Gerringong area residents are represented by the Member of NSW Parliament for Kiama, currently Matt Brown.

Federal Government: Gerringong area is represented by the Federal Member for Gilmore, currently Joanna Gash.

Gerringong residents also vote for members of the Upper Houses of both State and Federal Parliaments, but those members represent the whole state of NSW, not specific individual areas.

General

The Gerringong & District Historical Society runs the Heritage Museum, containing lots of fascinating items, scale models of buildings, a photographic record of motor racing on Seven Mile Beach in the 1920s, and a display on the local dairying industry.

The Society has a facility to do genealogy computer searches of a full database of Pioneer Family descendants, and also Birth, Death and Marriage records relating to the Gerringong area.

Today the population of the area is around 4,000 people and growing. Many are retirees from Sydney & Canberra, others enjoy the seaside lifestyle but commute to work in Wollongong or Nowra and even Sydney.

The town has a modern primary school, a town hall (built 1948), a large retirement village and a thriving tourist industry. Especially in the summer months, when visitors (mostly from Sydney and Canberra) flock to the pristine beaches, to enjoy swimming, surfing, fishing and relaxing in the restaurants and cafés plus hunting for treasures in the shops and boutiques.

There are two vineyards producing award-winning wines, one with cellar-door sales.

It is served by a CityRail diesel train, connecting with electric trains to Sydney at Kiama.

Local bus companies connect Gerringong to Kiama and Nowra on a daily basis, and interstate buses connect it with Sydney and Melbourne and all stops in between.

External links

• Gerringong-Gerroa Community Web Site - lots of information, history, maps, photo galleries, tide chart, news, bus and train timetables, movies plus an extensive business directory with accommodation, restaurants etc.