Nowra, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Nowra is a city in the South Coast
region of New South Wales
, Australia. Located 125 kilometres (77.7 mi) SSW and approximately 160 kilometres (99.4 mi) by road south of the state capital of Sydney, it has an estimated population together with its twin-town of Bomaderry
of 34,479. It is also the seat
and commercial centre of the City of Shoalhaven. Geologically, the city is situated in the southern reaches of the Sydney basin
.
The region around Nowra is a farming community, sustaining a thriving dairy industry and a number of State forests, but is also increasingly a retirement and leisure area for Canberra
and Sydney. The naval air station HMAS Albatross
is located about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south-west of Nowra. The name Nowra, originally written by Europeans as 'nou-woo-ro' , is the Aboriginal word for black cockatoo.
Aboriginal people prior to European arrival. Around 1824, ex-convict Mary Reibey
applied for a land grant in the Burrier area, on the southern side of the Shoalhaven River
. The Nowra township was officially recognised in 1852. Less than ten years later, in 1861, a postal service was established. Also in that year, the racehorse 'Archer
', trained in Nowra by Etienne de Mestre, won the first Melbourne Cup
. By 1885, Nowra was declared a town.
A major landmark in the area is the house Bundanon, which started as a single-storey weatherboard structure built circa 1840. In 1866, a two-storey sandstone house, made of locally quarried stone, was built immediately in front of the weatherboard house. The sandstone house features timber verandahs and is now listed on the Register of the National Estate
.
Nowra is on the Shoalhaven River
, which formerly hosted the Australian National wakeboarding championships, it is also a popular fishing location. The river divides Nowra from Bomaderry and North Nowra, and is bridged by the historic Nowra Bridge
. The Shoalhaven river is a salt water river, although it itself does not flow into the sea. The Shoalhaven River meets the sea through the canal that joins the Shoalhaven and Crookhaven Rivers, which was dug by convicts under direction of local entrepreneur and pioneer Alexander Berry
.
It is also located nearby Berry
, Jervis Bay, Kangaroo Valley
, Culburra Beach
, Greenwell Point
, Huskisson
, Shoalhaven Heads and Cambewarra.
Nowra's mean minimum annual temperature is 8.5 °C; its mean maximum annual temperature 25.2 °C. It records a mean annual rainfall of 1256.3mm.
There are 11,386 households in Nowra. There are a total of 8,248 families, with 2,838 containing two Adults with children under 15 and/or dependent students, and 1,163 being One parent families with children under 15 and/or dependent students. There are more females than males.
, Shoalhaven High School and Bomaderry High School. There are also several non-government schools, which are all denominational; a K-12 Anglican college in Bomaderry, Nowra Anglican College; a Catholic systemic high school, St John the Evangelist Catholic High School; and a K-12 Christian college on the southern outskirts of Nowra, Nowra Christian School.
The Catholic high school is linked to St Michael's Catholic Primary School located in Nowra. There are seven public primary schools in the Nowra area as well: East Nowra Public School, Nowra Public School, Bomaderry Public School, Illaroo Road Public School, North Nowra Public School, Nowra Hill Public School and Terara Public School. The University of Wollongong also has a campus in Nowra, and there is a campus of TAFE NSW Illawarra Institute located in Bomaderry.
is represented by the Shoalhaven Rugby Club, the team plays out of Rugby Park in South Nowra. The team recently won the 2008 premiership in the Illawarra district competition, and has produced international and provincial players such as Andrew Walker and Alex Kanaar.
Australian rules football
is played by four clubs from the Shoalhaven area, with the Nowra Blues playing at West Street Oval, Albatross Demons at Tom Smith Oval, and the Bomaderry Tigers at Artie Smith Oval. Further south, the Bay and Basin Bombers play at the Leisure Centre at Vincentia. These four clubs are all members of the South Coast AFL
, fielding junior and senior teams.
Football (soccer) is the most popular of the football codes. Several different leagues run throughout the year.
Rugby League
has traditionally been represented by the Nowra Warriors
and Bomaderry Swamprats. However, at the end of 2007 these teams merged to form the Shoalhaven Jets
Rugby League Football Club. The area looks forward to seeing improved results from this team.
The Shoalhaven Mariners
were established in 2006 and represent the area in the sport of baseball. The team is currently forced to play home matches out of Fred Finch Park in Berkeley
, Wollongong due to a lack of suitable fields in the Shoalhaven. Constructions is currently underway for a baseball specific venue at the South Nowra Soccer Complex.
Hockey
is popular, particularly among junior players, but a lack of quality fields, particularly a synthetic pitch curtails the sport's growth.
The Nowra area has traditionally performed well in basketball. The Shoalhaven Tigers
represent the area in the New South Wales State Basketball League
and have won several championships from 1988 until 2007.
Archer
was an Australian thoroughbred
racehorse who won the first and the second Melbourne Cup
s in 1861 and 1862. He won both Cups easily, and is one of only five horses to win Melbourne Cup twice or more, and one of only four horses to win two successive Cups. Archer was trained in the Nowra area.
South Coast, New South Wales
The South Coast refers to the narrow coastal belt from Sydney in the north to the border with Victoria in the south in the south-eastern part of the State of New South Wales, Australia. It is bordered to the west by the coastal escarpment of the Southern Tablelands, which is largely covered by a...
region of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia. Located 125 kilometres (77.7 mi) SSW and approximately 160 kilometres (99.4 mi) by road south of the state capital of Sydney, it has an estimated population together with its twin-town of Bomaderry
Bomaderry, New South Wales
Bomaderry is a town in the Shoalhaven council district area of New South Wales, Australia. In 2006, it had a population of 6,601 people. It is on the north shore of the Shoalhaven River, across the river from Nowra, the major town of the Shoalhaven,of which Bomaderry is locally regarded as being...
of 34,479. It is also the seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
and commercial centre of the City of Shoalhaven. Geologically, the city is situated in the southern reaches of the Sydney basin
Sydney Basin
The Sydney Basin is a sedimentary basin on the east coast of New South Wales, Australia consisting of Permian and Triassic sedimentary rocks...
.
The region around Nowra is a farming community, sustaining a thriving dairy industry and a number of State forests, but is also increasingly a retirement and leisure area for Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
and Sydney. The naval air station HMAS Albatross
HMAS Albatross (air station)
HMAS Albatross, also known as Naval Air Station Nowra , is an airfield operated by the Royal Australian Navy , in support of the RAN's aviation branch, the Fleet Air Arm...
is located about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south-west of Nowra. The name Nowra, originally written by Europeans as 'nou-woo-ro' , is the Aboriginal word for black cockatoo.
History
The Nowra region, south of Bomaderry Creek was inhabited by the Wodi-Wodi tribe of the Yuin nation while north of Bomaderry Creek was inhabited by the DharawalTharawal people
The Tharawal people were the Aboriginal inhabitants of southern Sydney and the Illawarra region in 1788, when the first European colonists arrived. The Tharawal people lived in the areas from south side of Botany Bay, around Port Hacking to north of the Shoalhaven River and inland to Campbelltown...
Aboriginal people prior to European arrival. Around 1824, ex-convict Mary Reibey
Mary Reibey
Mary Reibey was an Englishwoman who was transported to Australia as a convict but went on to become a successful businesswoman in Sydney.-Early life:...
applied for a land grant in the Burrier area, on the southern side of the Shoalhaven River
Shoalhaven River
The Shoalhaven River is a river rising from the Southern Tablelands and flowing into the ocean near Nowra on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia.- History :...
. The Nowra township was officially recognised in 1852. Less than ten years later, in 1861, a postal service was established. Also in that year, the racehorse 'Archer
Archer (horse)
Archer was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who won the first and the second Melbourne Cups in 1861 and 1862. He won both Cups easily, and is one of only five horses to win the Melbourne Cup twice or more; he is one of only four horses to win two successive Cups.-Breeding:Archer was sired by...
', trained in Nowra by Etienne de Mestre, won the first Melbourne Cup
Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...
. By 1885, Nowra was declared a town.
A major landmark in the area is the house Bundanon, which started as a single-storey weatherboard structure built circa 1840. In 1866, a two-storey sandstone house, made of locally quarried stone, was built immediately in front of the weatherboard house. The sandstone house features timber verandahs and is now listed on the Register of the National Estate
Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate is a listing of natural and cultural heritage places in Australia. The listing was initially compiled between 1976 and 2003 by the Australian Heritage Commission. The register is now maintained by the Australian Heritage Council...
.
Geography and climate
Shoalhaven River
The Shoalhaven River is a river rising from the Southern Tablelands and flowing into the ocean near Nowra on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia.- History :...
, which formerly hosted the Australian National wakeboarding championships, it is also a popular fishing location. The river divides Nowra from Bomaderry and North Nowra, and is bridged by the historic Nowra Bridge
Nowra Bridge
The Nowra Bridge joins the main area of Nowra to North Nowra and Bomaderry. It carries the Princes Highway over the Shoalhaven River and was originally intended to carry a double railway track. The railway, however, was never extended past Bomaderry station where trains still terminate today...
. The Shoalhaven river is a salt water river, although it itself does not flow into the sea. The Shoalhaven River meets the sea through the canal that joins the Shoalhaven and Crookhaven Rivers, which was dug by convicts under direction of local entrepreneur and pioneer Alexander Berry
Alexander Berry
Alexander Berry was a Scottish-born surgeon, merchant and explorer who in 1822 was given a land grant of 10,000 acres and 100 convicts to establish the first European settlement on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia.This settlement became known as the Coolangatta Estate and later...
.
It is also located nearby Berry
Berry, New South Wales
Berry is a small Australian town in the Shoalhaven region of the NSW South Coast in the state of New South Wales, located south of the state capital, Sydney. The indigenous people of the area were the Wodi Wodi people. In the 1810s, George William Evans, Government Surveyor, reported on the Berry...
, Jervis Bay, Kangaroo Valley
Kangaroo Valley, New South Wales
Kangaroo Valley is a valley along the Kangaroo River in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia, located west of the seaside in the City of Shoalhaven...
, Culburra Beach
Culburra Beach, New South Wales
Culburra Beach, commonly referred to as Culburra, is in the Shoalhaven region of New South Wales, Australia. It is 18 km east-southeast of Nowra on the South Coast...
, Greenwell Point
Greenwell Point, New South Wales
Greenwell Point is in the Shoalhaven region of New South Wales, Australia. It is about 13 km east of Nowra on the South Coast. At the 2006 Census of Population and Housing, the town had a population of 1,276....
, Huskisson
Huskisson, New South Wales
Huskisson is a town in New South Wales, Australia in the City of Shoalhaven, on the shores of Jervis Bay. It is 24 km south-east of Nowra.Situated alongside Currambene Creek which serves also as an anchorage and fishing port...
, Shoalhaven Heads and Cambewarra.
Nowra's mean minimum annual temperature is 8.5 °C; its mean maximum annual temperature 25.2 °C. It records a mean annual rainfall of 1256.3mm.
Demographics
According to the 2006 census, 87.9% of the population of Nowra was born in Australia, with North-West Europe being the most common birthplace of immigrants at 7.5% of the population. 6.1% of the total population are Indigenous Australians.There are 11,386 households in Nowra. There are a total of 8,248 families, with 2,838 containing two Adults with children under 15 and/or dependent students, and 1,163 being One parent families with children under 15 and/or dependent students. There are more females than males.
Education
Nowra has three public high schools, Nowra High SchoolNowra High School
Nowra High School is a co-educational public high school, providing education for students in grades 7-12. It has been located on Moss St in Nowra, New South Wales, Australia since 1956. There are around 1,100 students and about 70 staff...
, Shoalhaven High School and Bomaderry High School. There are also several non-government schools, which are all denominational; a K-12 Anglican college in Bomaderry, Nowra Anglican College; a Catholic systemic high school, St John the Evangelist Catholic High School; and a K-12 Christian college on the southern outskirts of Nowra, Nowra Christian School.
The Catholic high school is linked to St Michael's Catholic Primary School located in Nowra. There are seven public primary schools in the Nowra area as well: East Nowra Public School, Nowra Public School, Bomaderry Public School, Illaroo Road Public School, North Nowra Public School, Nowra Hill Public School and Terara Public School. The University of Wollongong also has a campus in Nowra, and there is a campus of TAFE NSW Illawarra Institute located in Bomaderry.
Sports
The four major codes of football in Australia are all popular in the Nowra area. Rugby unionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
is represented by the Shoalhaven Rugby Club, the team plays out of Rugby Park in South Nowra. The team recently won the 2008 premiership in the Illawarra district competition, and has produced international and provincial players such as Andrew Walker and Alex Kanaar.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
is played by four clubs from the Shoalhaven area, with the Nowra Blues playing at West Street Oval, Albatross Demons at Tom Smith Oval, and the Bomaderry Tigers at Artie Smith Oval. Further south, the Bay and Basin Bombers play at the Leisure Centre at Vincentia. These four clubs are all members of the South Coast AFL
South Coast Australian Football League
The South Coast Australian Football League is an Australian rules football competition in the Shoalhaven and Illawarra regions of New South Wales.-History:The original South Coast AFL was formed in 1969, comprising Albatross, Creswell, Nowra and Wollongong...
, fielding junior and senior teams.
Football (soccer) is the most popular of the football codes. Several different leagues run throughout the year.
Rugby League
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
has traditionally been represented by the Nowra Warriors
Nowra Warriors
The Nowra Warriors are an Australian rugby league football team based in Nowra, a coastal town of the South Coast region. The club is a part of Country Rugby League and previously competed in the South Coast first grade competition since its inception in 1914 until they merged with Bomaderry in...
and Bomaderry Swamprats. However, at the end of 2007 these teams merged to form the Shoalhaven Jets
Shoalhaven Jets
The Shoalhaven Jets are an Australian rugby league football team based in Nowra, a coastal town of the South Coast region. The club is a part of Country Rugby League and previously competed in the South Coast first grade competition since 2008 when struggling clubs Nowra Warriors and Bomaderry...
Rugby League Football Club. The area looks forward to seeing improved results from this team.
The Shoalhaven Mariners
Shoalhaven Mariners
The Shoalhaven Mariners Baseball Association , also known as the Shoalhaven Mariners is a baseball club based in the northern Shoalhaven and is one of the smallest clubs in Australian baseball...
were established in 2006 and represent the area in the sport of baseball. The team is currently forced to play home matches out of Fred Finch Park in Berkeley
Berkeley, New South Wales
Berkeley is a suburb of Wollongong, New South Wales. The suburb is located in Wollongong's southern suburbs, on the northern shore of Lake Illawarra....
, Wollongong due to a lack of suitable fields in the Shoalhaven. Constructions is currently underway for a baseball specific venue at the South Nowra Soccer Complex.
Hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
is popular, particularly among junior players, but a lack of quality fields, particularly a synthetic pitch curtails the sport's growth.
The Nowra area has traditionally performed well in basketball. The Shoalhaven Tigers
Shoalhaven Tigers
The Shoalhaven Tigers are a local basketball association based on the New South Wales south coast. Teams currently compete in the New South Wales State Basketball League, Southern Junior Leagues, NSW Country Championships and Barrengarry Conference. Despite being a small association in numbers,...
represent the area in the New South Wales State Basketball League
New South Wales State Basketball League
The New South Wales State Basketball League is a semi-professional basketball league run by Basketball NSW. It is the third tier level of basketball in New South Wales behind the NBL, WNBL and ABA...
and have won several championships from 1988 until 2007.
Archer
Archer (horse)
Archer was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who won the first and the second Melbourne Cups in 1861 and 1862. He won both Cups easily, and is one of only five horses to win the Melbourne Cup twice or more; he is one of only four horses to win two successive Cups.-Breeding:Archer was sired by...
was an Australian thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse who won the first and the second Melbourne Cup
Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...
s in 1861 and 1862. He won both Cups easily, and is one of only five horses to win Melbourne Cup twice or more, and one of only four horses to win two successive Cups. Archer was trained in the Nowra area.
Notable people
- Arthur BoydArthur BoydArthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd, AC, OBE was one of the leading Australian painters of the late 20th Century. A member of the prominent Boyd artistic dynasty in Australia, his relatives included painters, sculptors, architects or other arts professionals. His sister Mary Boyd married John Perceval,...
, artist - Ben DowdellBen DowdellBen Dowdell is an Australian Rules Footballer who currently plays for the Adelaide Crows in the AFL. He was a former US College basketballer who was a member of the 2007 Australian U/19 Men's team that finished 5th at the 2007 World Championships recording just one loss in the tournament. He is...
, basketball player - Jeff DowdellJeff DowdellJeffery Dowdell is an Australian basketball player currently playing for the Cairns Taipans in the NBL...
, basketball player - Adam FedericiAdam FedericiAdam Jay Federici is an Australian football player who plays as a goalkeeper for Football League Championship club Reading and has featured for the Australian national team.-Club career:...
, football (soccer) player - William KammWilliam KammWilliam Kamm also known as The Little Pebble or the antipope Peter II the Roman is the leader of a religious group called the Order of St. Charbel, which claims however to be part of the Roman Catholic Church and due to be approved by the hierarchy...
, aka 'Little Pebble', disgraced religious leader - Frank MoorhouseFrank MoorhouseFrank Moorhouse is an acclaimed Australian writer with a growing international reputation. He has won major Australian national prizes for the short story, the novel, the essay, and for script writing....
, writer - Michael O'Connor, dual international rugby league & union player
- Ashley PaskeAshley PaskeAshley Paske and educated at Figtree High School is an actor, best known for his role in the television series Neighbours...
, actor. Appeared in NeighboursNeighboursNeighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
(1989–1991). - Karen PhillipsKaren PhillipsKaren Anne Phillips , known after marriage as Karen Anne Higgison, was an Australian butterfly and individual medley swimmer of the 1980s, who won the silver medal in the 200 m butterfly at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics....
, swimmer - Rodney RudeRodney RudeRodney Rude is an Australian 'blue' stand-up comedian, poet and writer. He is infamous for his bawdy humour. He has released 12 albums and 5 videos throughout his long career, all of which are distributed by EMI Music Australia. To date, Rodney has sold well in excess of 3 million CDs videos and...
, comedian - Rohan TaylorRohan TaylorRohan Taylor is the performance coach of the Nunawading Swimming Club swimming club based in Melbourne, Australia. Some of his current swimmers include Sarah Katsoulis, Shayne Reese and Leisel Jones. He has previously coached the Shoalhaven Academy, Saddleback Valley Aquatics, Laguna Hills High...
, national swimming coach - Andrew Walker, dual international rugby league & union player