Kiama's Wooden Terraces

Basalt mining was an important industry for Kiama for many years.

In the early 1880s, a new road was constructed from Bombo, up over the hill into Kiama, linking the town centre and its main street, Terralong Street, to a relocated jetty, main quarry site and a soon-to-be-opened railway station at Bombo. This road was to become known as Collins Street and became one of the town's main roads and its northern approach.

Soon thereafter, in 1887, a train line was constructed to Bombo. An extension into Kiama township was started the following year.

In 1867 William Geoghagen, one of the first captains of trading boats that visited Kiama, purchased land in this area. In the late 1870s and early 1880s he built this row of cottages to house quarry workers and their families.

For about 30 years, Geoghagen was also a member of the local Sons of Temperance movement, advocating moderation in the consumption of or abstinence from consuming liquor. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a Temperance Hall (later the Masonic Hall) was the first building he erected on this street.

Nos 24 – 40 Collins Street were built in stages during the 1880s. No. 24 (closest to Minnamurra Street) was originally an inn, and no. 26 was the inn-keeper's residence. Numbers 28-38 housed quarry workers, and no. 40 was originally a post office.

The Depression and World War II caused the decline and closure of most of the quarries around Kiama and by the 1960s this row of cottages had become neglected and had fallen into disrepair. Proposals to remove them were considered. However, in 1972, an investment firm commenced extensive renovations that restored the verandahs of the cottages and converted the buildings into the shops and cafes that predominantly cater today to the many tourists to the town.

These Collins Street terrace houses are now an historically-important reminder of the role that quarrying once played in the development of Kiama and, as an entity, provide a particularly attractive streetscape to the town.