A Sojourn in Kiama. Part One

-



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 Werri Beach. The scones, with jam and cream were delicious.

                                                              Werri Beach

Back on the road, we detoured via the Blowhole and then onto our hotel on Collins Street, opposite the Terraces, parked the car and  informed reception that we knew we were early but were going for a walk. Walking up Terralong Street, we found the leagues club, a Chinese restaurant and a supermarket, three places we needed. I booked a table for Valentine’s Day, at the Chinese restaurant and we then strolled back down the street. It was warm, okay hot, so gelato was required. We sat on a park bench and refreshed ourselves with HUGE cones and people watched. We wandered back to the hotel and our room was ready. Unpacked the car and went to the supermarket for some supplies. Then our exploring began.

Crossing the road we strolled towards the Blowhole, some 1.5 kilometres away. Not wanting to walk along the street we went into the park and towards Black Beach. This beach is 130 meters long and black because of the basalt sand. Not a good one to swim at. It has some interesting rock pools, home to many sea creatures.
                                                              Black Beach.

                                                                     Rock Pool.

Continuing our climb, up the hill we crossed over and walked on the southern side of the road, with views over Church Point, towards Kaleula Head. The swell was good and I hoped for some good shots of the Blowhole in action. The lighthouse, established in 1887, dominated the headland and for the Centenary of ANZAC, has a special commemoration on it.


It is interesting to note that while the lighthouse was established in 1887, the first pub was built in 1837, the Anglican Church in 1858, Post Office 1878 and the Police Station in 1884.
                                                 Looking south, Surf Beach can just be seen.
Looking into the hole.

"There she blows!"


 We strolled, (a stroll is slower than a walk) back towards out hotel and made plans for dinner at the leagues club. A great end to a relaxing day.

                                                    A Cormorant perched on a lightpole.

Bye for now,
Lilian.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lost in DNA Weekend Part 1. (my 600th post)

-
Image
Now the title of this post might have you scratching your head and wondering, 'what is she going on about?'  But if you belong to the Society of Australian Genealogists,  https://www.sag.org.au/   you will know what I'm talking about. Twice a year the Society has 'Lost In' weekends, covering a wide range of topics, some are face-to-face and some are webinars. Both are great. This past weekend was held at the Portside Conference Centre, Sydney, on Saturday and Sunday. Some of the group, early on Saturday morning. The room was filled, both days. The topic for the weekend was DNA and whilst we aren't NCIS Agents, looking for a killer, we are still trying to find that elusive ancestor, who is just out of our reach. Or so they thought! Saturday was a warm, humid day in Sydney, just the sort of day you want, when digging for ancestors. The Society had put together a varied program, so that novices and experts were covered. Martyn Killion was our chair and sta...
Read more

Transcription Agents.

-
Hi, As it is very wet both in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, genealogists just might spend their weekend doing research and ordering certificates. Below are the details of transcription agents, very useful people. Here in New South Wales (NSW), we have three transcription agents, Joy Murrin, Marilyn Rowan and Laurie Turtle. These wonderful people and save you money, when you want a certificate, to verify a birth, death or marriage. What, might you ask is a transcript? A transcript is an actual copy of a document, everything written on it. This is very helpful if you are looking for say a marriage and know they split-up. I have several transcripts of different marriages, where in the comments section is, decree absolute and a date, etc. or who gave permission, if the parties were under age. Joy Murrin , of Joy Murrin Family History Service, offers transcripts for NSW, Victoria, England and Wales, Scotland and New Zealand. http://www.joyinfamilyhistory.com/ Joy also off...
Read more

The Connection is Back!!!

-
 As a genealogist I can leave mysteries alone, a mention of something has me looking for information, to find out more and well with this 'connection,' I couldn't leave it alone. With my two previous posts,  Nicolls/Nicholls   and  Connection  I thought I had it sorted, well no. Looking at Christina Nicolls  and her age had me thinking that Richard Henry Daly,   couldn't be her son, could he? I did a search on Ancestry for Richard and found three different years of birth, 1920, 1924 and 1926.  Given that Christina was born in 1875 (10273/1875), she would have been 45, 49 or 51 years old when Richard was born.   While it was a push, she could have had Richard in 1920, but searching didn't give me any births of a Richard to a Christina in 1920, using the New South Wales, Birth Death and marriages site, (NSW BDM). I then got Christina's death certificate, (03867/1956) and with careful checking found all the children, listed, except Dai...
Read more