CHAPTER 9/ 9

REMINDERS OF THE PAST

The number and variety of tangible relics connected with the steamship era on the NSW South Coast is understandable, given the company’s significance to the region over almost a century. This evidence of the firm, its vessels and activities provide a vital link with and insight into the past, lending character to communities and serving practical purposes for current and future generations.

These physical remnants include buildings and structures, archaeological sites, shipwrecks, and moveable relics held by museums, archives, libraries and private individuals. They illuminate the local history of the region and enable us to celebrate the achievements of both the company and the communities it served.

Some of the more obvious ones are the wharves and jetties and their remnants right along the coast at places such as Merimbula, Tathra, Bermagui, Moruya, Clyde River, Benandarah, Greenwall Point and Gerringong. Fat Tony’s Restaurant in Tathra and a house in Imlay Street, Eden, were both formerly ISCSN Co manager’s residences; and Belmore Basin at Wollongong and Robertson Basin at Kiama illustrate the extent of engineering work undertaken to ensure access for the coastal shipping fleet. Then there are the shipwrecks – including the Blackwall, Kameruka, Merimbula, Coolangatta, Monaro and John Penn - that still litter the coastline and ocean bed.

With outstanding social and cultural value, these extant remains are valuable illustrations of the growth, development and (in some cases) contraction of the towns, villages and settlements of the NSW South Coast.