An interesting read available locally over the Christmas and New Year holidays is Extraordinary Histories by Peter Lacey. As the back of the book says, it can offer a guide to places where the South Coast’s history can still be seen.

The book encompasses the whole region together, from Kiama to Bega, and in particular shows how European settlement followed the easiest accessibility from the sea, and the importance of sea travel both for survival and economic growth of often very small settlements. 

It covers right down to the Black-Allen Line, the border between NSW and Victoria, finalised by surveyors Alexander Black and Alexander Allen between 1870 and 1872.

The book gives comprehensive coverage of all the prominent individuals, not always benign, who often dominated a whole area, from the saintly Thomas Mort, to the ruthless and probably criminal Benjamin Boyd, and the sometimes controversial dominance of the Berry brothers, Alexander and David, in Berry.

The book covers Kiama and Gerringong as part of this settlement process, and makes the claim that the Principal Keeper’s House near the Lighthouse was destroyed by vandals in the 1920s.

The final section is probably the most interesting, with little-known quirks of history, including the plan to make a new state in 1922 out of the Southern part of NSW called the Monaro State (which would have included Kiama). It is not well-known but in 1967, a referendum was held to turn the north of NSW into a new state called New England and was only narrowly defeated.  

The referendum was only held for NSW voters and was defeated 54 per cent to 45 per cent. 

The book doesn't, however, mention the scandal where Premier Henry Parkes had a secret plan to mine Jamberoo Mountain for coal (using leases he and the Governor owned!) and have a public railway built to Jervis Bay for export, a secret plan which delayed the Illawarra rail line for some years.

Peter Lacey is the founder of the South Coast History Society based in Bega, and the author lives in Quaama. He has also written ‘The Unreal History of World War I and the NSW South Coast’ which tells the untold war stories of the region, which surely would include the 28 Japanese and one German submarines operating off the south coast, including Kiama, and unconfirmed sightings of Japanese submariners seen near Kiama seeking water. 

Extraordinary Histories is available in The Bookshop on Terralong Street, Kiama.