Lilian's Tree

Kiama, a costal town 120km from Sydney, home to famous Blowhole is the choice for this post. The black and white postcard, below is in my collection and shows the main street of Kiama, Terralong Street. Taken, looking EAST, towards the sea, sometime after 1897, when the Norfolk Island pines were planted, you can just see the railway bridge in the distance.    Fast forward to 2022 and this Google Street View shows the same street, from much the same spot. The pine trees are still there and in the distance, the railway line, obscured by a car and truck, still crosses the road.  The name Kiama comes from the Aboriginal word, kiarama,   meaning, "Place where the sea makes a noise,"  and if you have ever been at the blowhole, with an onshore breeze, yes the sea does make a noise.

We have just spent threes day staying at Kiama. Yes, we STAYED at Kiama, didn’t just look at the Blowhole and come back home, we explored. I had always used Kiama as the ‘comfort stop’, for the children on our trips further south. The thought of seeing if the Blowhole was blowing, a chance to get out of the car, maybe an ice-cream was enough to have them behave but the trip, back then was longer and this was a welcome break. Kiama, is on the South Coast of New South Wales, approximately a 90 minute drive, down the M1 from Sydney.     Settled in 1815 by early Cedar-getters, the first house was built in 1832. Kiama is derived form an Aboriginal word ‘kiarama,’ which means “place where the sea makes a noise.” Tuesday the 13 February saw us pack the car and start our journey. We sailed past the turnoff, around 90 minutes later and made for Gerringong, 10 kilometres south of Kiama and a stop for morning tea.   We chose the Sea Vista Café, with a great view of Werr...