Kiama, NSW – South Coast Regional Harbours

Good Kiama - A guide to one of NSW's best harbours

The charming seaside town of Kiama, NSW, about 120 kilometres south of Sydney (30 kilometres south of Wollongong), is well known for its famous Blowhole – a cavern-like fissure in the headland’s volcanic rocks that erupts with dramatic geysers when the winds and waves surge in from the east, as they often do.

From the mouth of the Minnamurra River, the coastline weaves south towards Kiama in a series of rugged rocky headlands interspersed with golden beaches, which are popular among the surfing community for their dynamic waves in the right conditions. The hinterland to the west of the town is dominated by lush green dairy pastures that roll up to the foothills of a fractured escarpment clad in dense forest.

HISTORY

The heavily indented coastline where Kiama faces the sea provided the ideal location for a harbour in the days of steam and sail, when the difficulties of overland transport to the town meant that the ocean was the only practicable link to the rest of Australia. Kiama Harbour was essential to the early growth and development of the region; all goods, equipment and people arrived and left by sea.

Cedar-getters were drawn to the area around 1815, cutting down the local forests and using Black Beach to load the timber onto ships bound for Sydney. By the 1820s Kiama was supplying nine-tenths of the Sydney cedar market and was Australia's largest exporter of red cedar to England.

As maritime activity increased during the 1830s, so too the town developed around the harbour and along its foreshore. Prosperity brought a local building boom in the 1840s that included a jetty in the cove and mooring chains connecting the rocks on either side of Black Beach. (Two of the original iron posts on the north-western side of the harbour are Kiama's oldest surviving historical relics.)

As the cedar trade declined, dairying began to flourish on the lush hinterland pastures and, by the 1850s Kiama was shipping milk products directly to England (so successful was the local dairy industry that Australia's first butter co-operative which opened at Kiama in 1884).

At around that time, the town's first blue metal quarry began operations. The 240 million-year-old basalt was crushed into gravel and taken to Black Beach by horse and dray where, before a proper wharf was constructed, it was floated by barge to ships waiting to carry it to Sydney for road construction and ballast for railways.

However, ships that stood in the little bay were prey to fierce south-easterly gales and high tides that pushed through the neck of the peninsula at Storm Bay, cutting off the eastern end of the town from Blowhole Point and creating dangerous conditions within the cove. Kiama was clearly in need of better harbour facilities and, in 1864, a petition was sent to the NSW Government seeking the construction of a shipping basin. Seven years later, work began on the new harbour but progress was slow because of difficulties in obtaining blasting powder, steel for drilling, a suitable dredge and pumps powerful enough to drain the works behind a coffer dam.

The rock excavated to create Robertson Basin was used to join Blowhole Point to the rest of Kiama, thereby protecting the harbour from the big seas that previously disrupted shipping. When the new harbour was opened in 1876, large steamers were able to enter the deeper basin and a flourishing sea trade followed. Such was the demand for blue metal during the 1880s 

that more quarries were opened and a special 'stone fleet' was transporting 400 tonnes of rock a day, with as many as six ships queueing in the roads to be loaded. Staithes were installed along the eastern end of the harbour to enable the gravel to be loaded directly into ships from rail trucks, and facilitate a faster turnaround of vessels through the port.

Due to the increase in shipping activity, and a number of shipwrecks along the coast, a lighthouse was constructed on Blowhole Point in 1887, which continues to shine for the benefit of coastal mariners today. Its fully automated, electrically-powered tungsten halogen lamp shines with an intensity of 28,000 candles from the top of a stylish 16-metre tower that can be seen from 27 kilometres out at sea. The lighthouse was listed with the National Trust of Australia in 1978.

With the establishment of a direct rail link to Sydney in the 1890s, combined with an improvement in the Princes Highway, Kiama became less dependent on sea transport to support its thriving economy and the port gradually lost much of its traffic, although blue metal boats continued to ply the sea until the last run was made in 1963. In their place a small but robust fishing fleet established itself, along with the town’s popularity as a holiday destination.

KIAMA HARBOUR TODAY

Nowadays, Kiama Harbour is a working harbour, with an active commercial fishing fleet, several deep sea fishing and whale watching charter operators, and regular traffic in recreational boats and pleasure craft.

There are no offshore hazards when approaching the harbour from any direction, but manoeuvring is tight within its confines. The cove is vulnerable to wind and seas from the north-east quarter and, except in the calmest conditions, the harbour is surge-prone and cannot be recommended as a haven from severe storms.

Robertson Basin accommodates about 30 moorings for recreational and commercial boats. A loop road runs along the perimeter of the Basin and incorporates a service corridor which contains the maritime infrastructure, such as mooring rings, ladders and electrical poles. At the eastern end of the basin there is a slipway and boat maintenance area and an adjoining surge ramp that ameliorates the effect of surge within the basin.

Eastern Quay is a large sealed area containing a helipad and adjoining car park behind a low breakwall exposed to the open ocean. Below the helipad are the Fisherman's Lockers and the Fish Market, which sells local seafood.

Western Quay contains the historic Cargo Building, now used as a cafe/takeaway food outlet, as well as an adjoining bitumen pier and unrestricted car parking area along the edge of Robertson Basin. On the opposite side of the quay is a wide launching ramp with an associated pontoon and a longer wooden jetty providing extending-stay moorings (contact Kiama Boat Owners Association for access). These latter facilities were constructed in 2013 under the NSW Government’s Better Boating Program, funded jointly by Roads and Maritime Services and Kiama Municipal Council. A grassed area adjacent to the Cargo Building and timber jetties incorporates picnic facilities and a Pelican Sculpture celebrating the resident flock.

On the grassy slope of Blowhole Point, surrounded by Norfolk Island pines and overlooking Robertson Basin, stands the former Pilot’s Cottage, which was the residence of the harbour pilots from 1881 to 1981. Constructed of local materials – basalt for the outer walls, ironbark for the floors and cedar for the fittings – the cottage was restored and renovated in the 1980s by the Kiama Historical Society. Today, it houses Kiama’s history museum, with exhibits that include an interesting collection of memorabilia about local author Charmian Clift and sections on George Bass and the local maritime and blue metal industries. Next to the Pilot’s Cottage is a café and the Kiama Visitor Information Centre.

The harbour provides a scenic backdrop to the main civic precinct on Terralong Street, and adjoins the Black Beach foreshore with a promenade that shadows the masonry sea-wall beneath a line of Canary Island date palms on the way to Pheasant Point. The area is a focal point of the town for residents and visitors alike, and is popular for a range of recreational activities and community events. It also contains a memorial to the blue metal freighter SS Bombo, which capsized and sank outside Port Kembla harbour in a gale after departing Kiama for Sydney on 24 February 1949; 12 of the 14 crew were lost.

DEVELOPMENT

The Kiama Harbour and Blowhole Point Headland Master Plan articulates the Council’s vision for the area, in relation to the conservation and protection of the heritage, cultural, environmental, recreational and scenic values of the precinct.

The South Coast Destination Management Plan, prepared by the South Coast Regional Tourism Organisation, sets the framework and strategic direction for the development and management of tourism and the broader visitor economy on the South Coast for the period 2013 to 2020. Among the projects identified for Kiama are an upgrade of the harbour foreshore area to ensure that the harbour has the marine infrastructure to support and capitalise on the activity generated from the Shell Cove Boat Harbour Marina Development, and upgrades the presentation and interpretation of the area to attract investment in quality eateries and seafood outlets.

At the same time, the State Government’s Regional Ports Strategy has identified a range of potential projects to be addressed in future planning. These include the installation of vessel sewage pump-out and waste oil collection and storage facilities; enhancement of breakwaters for increased protection against overtopping and damage in large storm events; expansion of car/trailer parking and wash down bays; installation of a breakwater or small groyne to protect the boat ramp; investigating the potential for additional moorings; and improved security around the boat harbour.

CONCLUSION

In many ways Kiama still maintains the charm of an historic seaside town with a small boat harbour. Large areas of the foreshore are available as parkland suitable for recreation and community activities that draw on the town’s maritime ambience. Despite its limited harbourside facilities and dubious shelter in rough conditions, Kiama is a picturesque location with much to offer the leisure-boating public. 

FACILITIES
Commercial fishing - unloading & berthing: Occasional
Charter vessels: Yes
Recreational & visitors berthing: Yes
Slipway & boat maintenance: Yes
Car park: Yes
Vessel sewage pumpout: No
Fuel - diesel: No
Waste oil collection & storage: No
Water & electricity: Yes
Boat launching ramp & car park: Yes
Public toilets: Yes
Fresh fish outlet: Yes
Retail food & beverage: Yes