Bermagui

History

A wharf was built in Horseshoe Bay in 1888 for the coastal trade. The port was serviced by the Illawarra Steam Navigation Company. A 1910 article, "Bermagui – In a Strange Sunset", published by Henry Lawson in The Bulletin describes a steamer journey from Bermagui to Sydney. Lawson was probably travelling with the Illawarra Steam Navigation Company. In 1880, the Government geologist Lamont Young and four others disappeared while on a boat trip from Bermagui. Their boat was found near Mystery Bay, which is about 15 kilometres north of Bermagui, midway between Bermagui and Narooma, near Tilba. The bay received its name because of the disappearance. Zane Grey, the well-known big-game fisherman of the 1930s and author of Westerns, was patron of the Bermagui Sport Fishing Association for 1936/37 and anchored his yacht, the "Avalon" in Horseshoe Bay. He returned briefly for a visit in 1939. He wrote of his experiences in the town. In 1943, the Japanese submarine I-21 sank the iron ore carrier SS Iron Knight off the coast of Bermagui. Local fisherman had tangled their nets on the wreck deep below the surface in 125 metres of water, but did not know the ship lay there until a team of divers confirmed its existence on 4 June 2006. On 29 July 2006 relatives and descendants of the ship's crew came to Bermagui for a memorial and commemorative service. A fishing harbour was built at Bermagui in 1959, the first in a new series by the Public Works Department.

Geography

It is said that offshore from Bermagui the edge of the "continental shelf is at its closest point to the mainland and hence there is good fishing. anglers were allowed to catch, or tag and release marlin, and tuna such as yellowfin, bluefin, and albacore, which are sought after "game fish". Gulaga National Park is about north of Bermagui.

Most-observed species

• koala

  Phascolarctos cinereus (Goldfuss, 1817) · Mammalia
  1,158
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  961
• Silver Gull

  Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826) · Aves
  892
• Little Wattlebird

  Anthochaera chrysoptera (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  747
• Masked Lapwing

  Vanellus miles (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  692
• Superb Fairywren

  Malurus cyaneus (Ellis, 1782) · Aves
  684
• Great Cormorant/European Shag

  Phalacrocorax carbo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  679
• Little Pied Cormorant

  Microcarbo melanoleucos (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  674

Most recent

• M 3 — 2007-03-06
  88 km ESE of Bermagui, Australia
• M 3 — 2003-12-01
  7 km ENE of Cooma, Australia