Nowra, New South Wales

History

The Nowra region, south of Bomaderry Creek was inhabited by the Wodi-Wodi tribe of the Yuin nation while north of Bomaderry Creek was inhabited by the Dharawal Aboriginal people prior to European arrival. Around 1824, ex-convict Mary Reibey applied for a land grant in the Burrier area, on the southern side of the Shoalhaven River. The Nowra township was officially recognised in 1852. Less than ten years later, in 1861, a postal service was established. Also in that year, the racehorse 'Archer', trained in Nowra by Etienne de Mestre, won the first Melbourne Cup. By 1885, Nowra was declared a town.

A major landmark in the area is the house Bundanon, which began as a single-storey weatherboard structure built about 1840. In 1866, a two-storey sandstone house, made of locally quarried stone, was built immediately in front of the weatherboard house. The sandstone house features timber verandahs and is now listed on the Register of the National Estate.

Geography

Nowra is on the Shoalhaven River, which formerly hosted the Australian National wakeboarding championships, it is also a popular fishing location. The river divides Nowra from Bomaderry and North Nowra, and is bridged by the historic Nowra Bridge. The Shoalhaven river is a salt water river, although the river itself does not flow into the sea. The Shoalhaven River meets the sea through the canal that joins the Shoalhaven and Crookhaven Rivers, which was dug by convicts under direction of local entrepreneur and pioneer Alexander Berry.

It is also located near Berry, Jervis Bay, Kangaroo Valley, Culburra Beach, Greenwell Point, Huskisson, Shoalhaven Heads and Cambewarra.

Climate

With the warmest month's mean being just 22°C (71.6°F), Nowra has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) under the Köppen climate classification, making it the southernmost city on the coastal strip to be within this climate zone, albeit an isolated one — Nearby coastal cities to the north, such as Wollongong and Kiama, have an oceanic climate (Cfb) as their warmest month's mean doesn't reach the 22°C threshold.

Demographics

The population of Nowra - Bomaderry was 35,920 at 30 June 2015 having grown consistently since 2005 when the estimated population was 31,716.

According to the 2006 census, 87.9% of the population of Nowra was born in Australia, with North-West Europe being the most common birthplace of immigrants at 7.5% of the population. 6.1% of the total population are Indigenous Australians. There are 11,386 households in Nowra. There are a total of 8,248 families, with 2,838 containing two Adults with children under 15 and/or dependent students, and 1,163 being one parent families with children under 15 and/or dependent students.

Economy

The town has a modern primary school, a town hall (built 1948), a large retirement village and a tourist industry. Especially in the summer months, when visitors (mostly from Sydney and Canberra) flock to the beaches, to enjoy swimming, surfing, fishing and relaxing in the restaurants and cafés plus hunting for treasures in the shops and boutiques.

There are two vineyards producing award-winning wines, one with cellar-door sales.

Education

Nowra has three public high schools, Nowra High School, Shoalhaven High School and Bomaderry High School. There are also several non-government schools, which are all denominational; a K-12 Christian-based school located in South Nowra, Nowra Christian School; a K-12 Anglican college in Bomaderry, Nowra Anglican College; and a Catholic systemic high school, St John the Evangelist Catholic High School on the outskirts of Nowra.

The Catholic high school is linked to St Michael's Catholic Primary School located in Nowra. There are seven public primary schools in the Nowra area as well: East Nowra Public School, Nowra Public School, Bomaderry Public School, Illaroo Road Public School, North Nowra Public School, Nowra Hill Public School and Terara Public School. The University of Wollongong also has a campus in Nowra, and there is a campus of TAFE NSW Illawarra Institute located in Bomaderry.

Health

There are two hospitals in Nowra, the Shoalhaven District Memorial Hospital, a hub for Oncology services, and Nowra Private Hospital.

Sports

The four major codes of football in Australia are all popular in the Nowra area. Rugby union is represented by the Shoalhaven Rugby Club, the team plays out of Rugby Park in South Nowra. The club won the 2008 premiership in the Illawarra district competition, and has produced international and provincial players such as Andrew Walker and Alex Kanaar. Australian rules football is played by four clubs from the Shoalhaven area, with the Nowra Blues playing at West Street Oval, Albatross Demons at Tom Smith Oval, and the Bomaderry Tigers at Artie Smith Oval. Further south, the Bay and Basin Bombers play at the Leisure Centre at Vincentia. These four clubs are all members of the South Coast AFL, fielding junior and senior teams. Rugby League has traditionally been represented by the Nowra Warriors and Bomaderry Swamprats. However, at the end of 2007 these teams merged to form the Shoalhaven Jets Rugby League Football Club. The Shoalhaven Mariners were established in 2006 and represent the area in the sport of baseball. The team plays home matches out of Fred Finch Park in Berkeley, Wollongong. Baseball has a new venue at the South Nowra Soccer Complex. The Shoalhaven Tigers represent the area in the New South Wales State Basketball League and have won several championships from 1988 until 2007.

Archer was an Australian thoroughbred racehorse who won the first and the second Melbourne Cups in 1861 and 1862. He won both Cups easily, and is one of only five horses to win Melbourne Cup twice or more, and one of only four horses to win two successive Cups. Archer was trained in the Nowra area.

Notable people