NAROOMA

In 1880, gold was discovered near Narooma at Central Tilba and, for several years, a post office operated at Corunna (between Tilba and Narooma) which was called Noorooma.

The Narooma township on Wagonga Inlet was surveyed in 1883 and a year later a hand-powered punt was installed across the Inlet. This opened up road access from Narooma to Moruya and allowed a daily mail coach service to be established from Bega to Moruya via Narooma. Previously, almost all transport to Narooma had relied on sea connections.

Timber-getting simultaneously became a significant local industry, with sawmills operating in and near the town from the 1880s. An oyster industry was also established in the area in the early twentieth century.

In the early twentieth century Narooma developed as a tourist destination. A popular activity was to visit the light station (erected in 1881) and its residents on nearby Montague Island.

In 1929 a petrol-driven punt was moved from Batemans Bay to Narooma and construction commenced on Narooma’s Bascule Span Bridge. This was the Main Roads Board’s first major initiative aimed at developing the Princes Highway. The bridge opened in 1931.

From 1937 to 1940 a fish cannery operated in Narooma, processing tuna and salmon caught by a local fleet of fishing vessels.

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