Nowra is a city in the

South Coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...

region of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about

as the crow flies __NOTOC__ The expression ''as the crow flies'' is an idiom for the most direct path between two points, rather similar to "in a beeline". This meaning is attested from the early 19th century, and appeared in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver ...

). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated population of 22,584. Situated in the southern reaches of the

Sydney basin The Sydney Basin is an interim Australian bioregion and is both a structural entity and a depositional area, now preserved on the east coast of New South Wales, Australia and with some of its eastern side now subsided beneath the Tasman Sea ...

, Nowra is the

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair, a chair ...

and commercial centre of the

City of Shoalhaven The City of Shoalhaven is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the South Coast, New South Wales, south-eastern coastal region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is about south of Sydney. The Princes Highway passes thr ...

. The region around Nowra is a farming community with a thriving dairy industry and a significant amount of state-owned forest land. It is also an increasingly popular retirement and leisure area for people from

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

and Sydney. The naval air station HMAS ''Albatross'' is located about south-west of Nowra.

History

Prior to European arrival, the part of the Nowra region south of the Shoalhaven river was inhabited by the Wandi-Wandandian tribe of the

Yuin The Yuin nation, also spelt Djuwin, is a group of Australian Aboriginal peoples from the South Coast of New South Wales. All Yuin people share ancestors who spoke, as their first language, one or more of the Yuin language dialects. Sub-group ...

nation, while the region north of Shoalhaven was inhabited by the

Dharawal The Dharawal people, also spelt Tharawal and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Dharawal language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, ...

people. The name Nowra, originally written by Europeans as 'nou-woo-ro' (pronounced Nowa Nowa by the Indigenous Australians of the area), is an Aboriginal word for the black cockatoo.Travel: Nowra
, ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', 8 February 2004. Retrieved 26 April 2007. Circa 1824, ex-convict

Mary Reibey Mary Reibey née ''Haydock'' (12 May 177730 May 1855) was an English-born merchant, shipowner and trader who was transported to Australia as a convict. After gaining her freedom, she was viewed by her contemporaries as a community role model a ...

applied for a land grant in the Burrier area, on the southern side of the

Shoalhaven River The Shoalhaven River is a perennial river that rises from the Southern Tablelands and flows into an open mature wave dominated barrier estuary near Nowra on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Location and features The Shoalha ...

. The Nowra township was officially recognized in 1852. Less than ten years later, in 1861, a postal service was established. In 1861 the racehorse

Archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

, which was trained in Nowra by Etienne de Mestre, won the first

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melb ...

. Nowra was declared a town in 1885Nowra Police Station
". ''NSW Police Regions and History''. Retrieved 29 April 2008 and a city in 1979. Bundanon Homestead

A major landmark in the area is the house Bundanon, which renowned Australian artist

Arthur Boyd Arthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd (24 July 1920 – 24 April 1999) was a leading Australian painter of the middle to late 20th century. Boyd's work ranges from impressionist renderings of Australian landscape to starkly expressionist figuration, ...

and his wife Yvonne donated to the people of Australia in 1993 along with an adjoining property that had been previously owned by Boyd's brother-in-law, the equally famous Australian artist

Sidney Nolan Sir Sidney Robert Nolan (22 April 191728 November 1992) was one of Australia's leading artists of the 20th century. Working in a wide variety of mediums, his oeuvre is among the most diverse and prolific in all of modern art. He is best known ...

. Bundanon began as a single-storey weatherboard structure built around 1840. In 1866, a two-storey sandstone house, made of locally quarried stone, was built immediately in front of the original weatherboard house. The sandstone house features timber verandas and is now listed on the

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Herita ...

Heritage listings

Nowra has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Pleasant Way: Graham Lodge * 35 West Street: Meroogal

Geography

Along the north of Nowra is the

, which formerly hosted the Australian National wakeboarding championships and is a popular fishing location. The

Nowra Bridge The Nowra Bridge is a road bridge that carries the Princes Highway over the Shoalhaven River, at Nowra in the Shoalhaven Council local government area, on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The bridge joins the main area of Nowra to ...

connects it to

North Nowra North Nowra is a suburb of Nowra in the City of Shoalhaven in New South Wales, Australia. It lies northwest of Nowra. At the , it had a population of 5,794. There are four schools; a pre-school, a junior school, a special needs school and a sta ...

and

Bomaderry Bomaderry (locally known as "Bommo") is a town in the Shoalhaven council district area of New South Wales, Australia. At the , it had a population of 8,718 people. It is on the north shore of the Shoalhaven River, across the river from Nowra, ...

. The Shoalhaven River is a saltwater river, although it does not flow into the sea. The Shoalhaven River meets the sea through the

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface f ...

that joins the Shoalhaven and Crookhaven Rivers, which was dug by convicts under the direction of local entrepreneur and pioneer Alexander Berry. Cambewarra lookout

Climate

Nowra has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(''Cfa'') under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

. This makes it the southernmost city on the coastal strip to be within this climate zone. Interestingly, nearby coastal cities to the north, such as Wollongong and Kiama, are not in this zone and instead have an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ...

(''Cfb'') because their warmest month's average temperature do not reach the 22 °C threshold. Due to its position on the

leeward Windward () and leeward () are terms used to describe the direction of the wind. Windward is ''upwind'' from the point of reference, i.e. towards the direction from which the wind is coming; leeward is ''downwind'' from the point of reference ...

side of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

, Nowra experiences a

foehn effect A Foehn or Föhn (, , ), is a type of dry, relatively warm, downslope wind that occurs in the lee (downwind side) of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped most of i ...

, particularly in late winter and spring.

Demographics

According to the 2021 census, Nowra has a population of 22,584. This covers suburbs only south of the

. The population is slightly younger than the state and country as a whole, with an average age of 37 compared to 38 for both Australia and New South Wales. However, the population is bimodally distributed, with a larger percentage of children and the elderly than the state and national averages. 79.7% of the population were born in Australia and 82.1% speak only English at home, both above the state and national averages. Nowra has a lower level of tertiary education than typical for the state and nation. Only 15% of the population of Nowra hold a tertiary qualification, compared to 23.3% of Australia and 23.8% of New South Wales. The top five reported ancestries in Nowra at the 2021 census were Australian (40.9%), English (37.7%), Australian Aboriginal (10%), Irish (9.5%), and Scottish (8.3%). Most (63%) people had both parents born in Australia, higher than the state and national averages. The population of the suburb of Nowra (central Nowra) at the 2021 census was 9,956. The Australian Bureau of statistics also recognises a larger built-up area including suburbs north of the Shoalhaven, North Nowra-Bomaderry, which had a population of 16,098 at the 2021 census.

Economy

Nowra Town Hall was built in 1948 and is in the Central Business District. This district contains many services, including banks, health services and a library. Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre

Nowra has a growing tourist industry, especially in the summer months, when visitors (mostly from Sydney and Canberra) flock to the beaches to enjoy swimming, surfing, fishing, shopping, and relaxing in the restaurants and cafés. Nowra sits in the Shoalhaven region, where there are several vineyards producing award-winning wines.

Education

Nowra has three public high schools:

Nowra High School Nowra High School is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school, located in , in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1956, the school enrolled approximately 910 students in 2018, fro ...

, Shoalhaven High School and Bomaderry High School. There are also several non-government schools, all of which are religiously affiliated: * Nowra Christian School: a K-12 Christian-based school located in South Nowra * Nowra Anglican College: a K-12 Anglican college in Bomaderry * St John the Evangelist Catholic High School: a Catholic systemic high school on the outskirts of Nowra, affiliated with St Michael's Catholic Primary School in Nowra There are seven public primary schools in the Nowra area: 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 The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...

has a campus in Nowra, and there is a campus of TAFE NSW Illawarra Institute in Bomaderry.

Health

There are two hospitals in Nowra: the

Shoalhaven District Memorial Hospital The Shoalhaven District Memorial Hospital often shortened to Shoalhaven Hospital (abbreviated SDMH) is a public hospital serving the City of Shoalhaven in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the banks of the Shoalhaven River from the N ...

, which is a hub for

oncology Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

services, and Nowra Private Hospital.

Sports

The four major codes of football in Australia are all popular in the Nowra area.

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

is represented by the Shoalhaven Rugby Club, who play 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 Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

is played by three clubs from the Shoalhaven area, with the Nowra Albatross Vikings playing at West Street 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 Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

was traditionally 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 Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near w ...

. 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.

was an Australian

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse trained in the Nowra area who won the first and the second

s in 1861 and 1862. He won both Cups by a significant margin. Archer is one of only five horses to have won the Melbourne Cup on two or more occasions, and one of only four horses to have won two successive Cups.

Public transport

Nowra Coaches operates services from Nowra to

, Huskisson, Vincentia and

Jervis Bay Jervis Bay () is a oceanic bay and village on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, said to possess the whitest sand in the world. A area of land around the southern headland of the bay is a territory of the Commonwealth of Australia ...

. Shoal Bus operates services from Nowra to

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, rasp ...

Gerringong Gerringong () is a town located about ten minutes drive south of Kiama, and about twenty minutes north of Nowra in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia in the Municipality of Kiama. At the , Gerringong had a population of 3,966. O ...

and Sussex Inlet. Premier Motor Service operates express services along the

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former alignments of the hi ...

from

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

to Eden that call at Nowra. Nowra has no direct rail connection, but the Illawarra railway line terminates at nearby Bomaderry railway station with

NSW TrainLink NSW TrainLink is a train and coach operator in Australia, providing services throughout New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, along with limited interstate services into Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Queensland and South Austral ...

operating services to

Kiama Kiama () is a coastal town 120 kilometres south of Sydney in the Illawarra. One of the main tourist attractions is the Kiama Blowhole. Kiama features several popular surfing beaches and caravan parks, and numerous alfresco cafes and restaurants ...

and

.South Coast Line

Transport for NSW Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an agency of the New South Wales Government established on 1 November 2011, and is the leading transport and roads agency in New South Wales ...

Notable people

, artist *

Tony Branson Tony Branson (1946-2020) was an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s. A state and national representative five-eighth from Nowra in country New South Wales, Branson came to Sydney in 1968 to join the St G ...

, Australian rugby league international *

Deborah Cheetham Deborah Joy Cheetham (born 24 November 1964), is an Aboriginal Australian soprano, actor, composer and playwright. Early life and education Cheetham is a member of the Stolen Generations; she was taken from her mother when she was three weeks o ...

, Indigenous Australian opera singer. * Ian Davis, Australian cricket international *

Jeff Dowdell Jeffrey Dowdell (born 13 March 1987) is an Australian professional basketball player. Born in Cooma, New South Wales, he is a product of the Shoalhaven Tigers basketball program which has produced several NBL, WNBL, and NCAA players includi ...

, basketball (

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Convention Centre, known colloquially as "The S ...

) player *

Adam Federici Adam Jay Federici (born 31 January 1985) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Federici began his senior career at Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2003, but was only there briefly and soon switched to Torres. A ...

, football (soccer) player *

Christie Hayes Christie Lynne Hayes is an Australian actress and singer, known for her work on the television series ''Home and Away'' as Kirsty Phillips (née Sutherland) who she played from June 2000 to February 2005, and again from May 2008 to October 20 ...

, actress * Blake Horton, football (soccer) player * William Kamm, also known as 'Little Pebble', disgraced religious leader *

Nic Maddinson Nicolas James Maddinson (born 21 December 1991) is an Australian cricketer. He is a left-handed opening batter who has represented Australia in both Test matches and Twenty20 Internationals. Domestically he plays for the Victoria cricket team ...

, cricketer * Bruce McGuire, Australian rugby league international & NSW State of Origin player * Frank Moorhouse, writer * Michael O'Connor, dual international rugby league & union player *

Ashley Paske Matthew "Matt" Robinson (also Williams) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Ashley Paske. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 22 May 1989. Paske secured the role after ...

, actor. Appeared in ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

'' (1989–1991). * Karen Phillips, swimmer *

Rodney Rude Rodney Rude (born Rodney Malcolm Keft, 29 January 1943 in Nowra, New South Wales, Australia) is an Australian-born blue stand-up comedian, poet, writer, and musician. Rude is best known for his bawdy humour and has released 12 albums and five ...

, comedian * Arron Spiessberger-Parker, 1500m runner *

Jim Stanbury James Stanbury (25 February 1868 – 11 December 1945) was a world champion sculler. Stanbury was born on Mullet Island on the Hawkesbury River, New South Wales and was the successor of John McLean in the rowing championship of the world. ...

, World Professional Sculling Champion 1891–1896 and 1905–1906. * Rohan Taylor, national swimming coach * Corey Tutt, founder of DeadlyScience * Andrew Walker, dual international rugby league & union player

Attractions

* Shoalhaven Regional Gallery *

Fleet Air Arm Museum The Fleet Air Arm Museum is devoted to the history of British naval aviation. It has an extensive collection of military and civilian aircraft, aero engines, models of aircraft and Royal Navy ships (especially aircraft carriers), and paintin ...

References

External links

Shoalhaven City CouncilVISITNSW.com – Nowra
{{authority control City of Shoalhaven Towns in New South Wales Towns in the South Coast (New South Wales) Populated places established in 1852 1852 establishments in Australia