BEMBOKA

The first farming squatters arrived in the Bemboka area around 1829 and the first purchases of land by selectors were made in 1862.

The area became a rich dairying area. By the late 1890s there were six known butter and cheese factories in the area. The last of these, the Bemboka Co-operative Factory remained in business at the eastern end of town until 1980.

The surrounding area was originally known as Benbooka, from an Aboriginal word thought to mean ‘high peak’. The pioneering Imlay brothers named their property in the area ‘Old Bemboka’, and it is believed the town’s name was derived from this.

Bemboka is the amalgamation of three towns – Brown Mountain (where the first school was established in 1871), Colombo (which was surveyed in 1876, but re-gazetted as Bemboka in 1894) and a private subdivision named Lyttleton that was incorporated into Bemboka in 1923.

Originally the township was relatively isolated. However, because it was situated half-way between Bega and Cooma, it became an important stopping-point after 1899 when a bridle trail down Brown Mountain was upgraded to take vehicular traffic. N.H. Hobbs Store then became a widely-known landmark in the town, catering to the needs of passing motorists.

The Mumbulla Shire Council had its administrative offices in Bemboka from 1906 until it became part of Bega Valley Shire in 1981. And the town had its own newspaper, the 'Bemboka Advocate', from 1904 to 1911.

The town is significant today because almost all of its old buildings are of timber construction.

(A more comprehensive history of Bemboka will supersede the above - hopefully in the not-too-distant future!)