Eden

History

The local Aboriginal people who lived in the region prior to the arrival of Europeans were the Thaua, or Thawa, people of the Yuin nation. Whaling ships had been operating in the area in 1791. George Bass first took shelter in Twofold Bay on the return leg of a voyage to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) in February 1798, having noted the bay on the southward leg of this same voyage in December 1797. They also made first contact with the local Thawa Aboriginal people on this occasion. The Australian botanist, Allan Cunningham, landed at Snug Cove in December 1817 so that he could collect botanical specimens from the district. The graziers from the Monaro district inland from Twofold Bay were seeking a better way to transport their cattle to Hobart, Tasmania. It was decided to establish cattle-handling facilities and an accompanying township on an appropriate site on Twofold Bay. Thus, in 1834, the Home Government authorised the captain of HMS Alligator to seek an appropriate site for a settlement on Twofold Bay. Early in 1835 the Governor of New South Wales, Governor Richard Bourke, visited Twofold Bay and the site of the proposed new settlement on board HMS Hyacinth. Eventually the area for the proposed town, to be called Eden, was surveyed in 1842 by Mr Thomas Townsend, the Government Surveyor. The main street, Imlay Street, was named after the Imlay brothers who were early pioneers to the district. Other streets were named after Lieutenant Flinders, George Bass, Queen Victoria and her consort, Prince Albert. A wharf was built out into a cove, now named Cattle Bay, from a site on the western edge of Eden, where cattle could be grazed prior to their being loaded onto the ships. Cattle were also grazed on Lookout Point until 1853, then this land was subdivided for…

Most-observed species

• Masked Lapwing

  Vanellus miles (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  1,077
• Silver Gull

  Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826) · Aves
  1,033
• Superb Fairywren

  Malurus cyaneus (Ellis, 1782) · Aves
  986
• Welcome Swallow

  Hirundo neoxena Gould, 1842 · Aves
  920
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  786
• Great Crested Tern

  Thalasseus bergii (M.H.K.Lichtenstein, 1823) · Aves
  721
• Red Wattlebird

  Anthochaera carunculata (Shaw, 1790) · Aves
  714
• Little Pied Cormorant

  Microcarbo melanoleucos (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  675