Tathra wharf is situated on the far south coast of New South Wales. Tathra is a picturesque, beachside village not far east of Bega. Some years ago, my family chose to make it our annual holiday destination. My wife and I found it a wonderful place to spend quality time with our granddaughters who live inter-state. In 2019, having not been to Tathra for a few years, we decided to return on our own. The area, despite suffering a savage bushfire since our last visit, had lost none of its charm.
Continue reading “Tathra Wharf”Two Hawkesbury Memorials to First Contact at Windsor and Pitt Town
© Jim Low
Recently I made a return visit to two memorials along the Hawkesbury River (Deerubbin). Both commemorate the first contact between the Darug people of the area and an expeditionary party led by Governor Phillip. Phillip’s party was there to discover whether the waterways they had already named the Nepean and Hawkesbury were in fact the same river.
Continue reading “Two Hawkesbury Memorials to First Contact at Windsor and Pitt Town”BLUE TRAIL 24: RANGE AND CROKER’S FIRE TRAILS
Far South Blue Mountains National Park
From the Taralga to Wombeyan Caves Road, 2WDs or 4WDs can access a fascinating variety of landscapes. Near this trail junction, sunlight filters through the ribbon gums, reflecting into a Lilliputian world of spider webs, colourful fungi and pools.
For thousands of years the Gundungarra people inhabited areas of the southern Blue Mountains like this one. Important trading routes were described in legends that reinforced the geographical features by which generations of indigenous people navigated through densely vegetated bushland. The most significant surviving Gundungarra legend, the Gurangatch and Mirrigan story, describes a route from the Wollondilly River to Jenolan Caves and Duckmaloi Walls.
No doubt, stories about many other areas like this one were lost when the European invasion displaced the traditional Gundungarra lifestyle from the southern Blue Mountains. The Croker’s area is like an area north of Medlow Gap where part of the surviving legend is placed – Mirrigan creates a waterhole by forcing his snout upwards through the soil after tunnelling.
At atmosphere of peace exists here. But the abundance of termite mounds, the intricacy of the spider webs and the constant tumbling of dead or wind affected branches into the waterholes are testament to constant change.
© Don Morison
Massacre at Shaws Creek
© Jim Low
In May 1805 the Sydney Gazette reported on a recent conflict that occurred between armed settlers and Aboriginal people. The conflict was waged on the western side of the Nepean/Hawkesbury River, in the foothills of the Blue Mountains in late April. It was probably in the vicinity of Shaws Creek.
Less than two decades had passed since the first fleet of English ships had dropped anchor in the waters which these new arrivals named Port Jackson. Settlement had not as yet spread beyond the Blue Mountain barrier. Continue reading “Massacre at Shaws Creek”