Description

Pictorial History Bega Valley Shire is the first photographic book of the shire to be produced and has been achieved with the assistance of the Bega Valley Shire Council. Bega, Bemboka, Bermagui, Candelo, Cobargo, Eden, Merimbula and Pambula are all featured with smaller towns represented in the broad sweep of the shire’s history.
From the Aboriginal settlement came the early white exploration of the area and the development of the whaling industry, the export of wattlebark, wool, beef and cheese and the growth of a fishing industry. The gold rushes changed the face of the shire and population expanded as the area was serviced by the steamship trade. Roads, bridges and bridle tracks traversed the area and dairies sprang up as the land was cleared by sawmilling. In the last century the area has experienced the same fortunes as the rest of Australia but at the same time developed its own rural character made famous today by cheese production, whale watching and one of the most extraordinary coastlines in the country.