Broulee is a town on the south coast of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

between

Batemans Bay Batemans Bay is a town in the South Coast region of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Batemans Bay is administered by the Eurobodalla Shire council. The town is situated on the shores of an estuary formed where the Clyde River meets the ...

and

Moruya Moruya ( ) is a town located on the South Coast (New South Wales), far south coast of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Moruya River. The Princes Highway runs through the town that is about south of Sydney and from Canberra. At the , ...

. At the , the town had a population of 1,717. Just off the beach is Broulee Island, currently joined to the mainland, but in past years the connecting spit has been covered by water, at times a very deep navigable channel with a strong current. The first harbour in the area south of Batemans Bay was established at Broulee behind what is now known as the island. Although settlement had already commenced on the shores of the nearby

Moruya River The Moruya River is an open and trained mature wave dominated barrier estuary or tidal river is located in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. In its upper freshwater reaches, the river is known as the Deua River. Course and ...

, it was not easily navigable due to a sandbar at its mouth.

History

The Broulee area was surveyed and gazetted in 1837, a town plan made by

James Larmer James Larmer (b. 1808 or 1809 – d. 1886) was a government surveyor in the colony of New South Wales. Between 1830 and 1859, he surveyed land, roads and settlements in New South Wales. He was an Assistant Surveyor to the Surveyor-General, Thomas ...

in 1839, and land sales commenced in 1840. At that time a post office was opened with mail being delivered each week over the mountains from Braidwood. Henry Clarke took up farming in the Broulee area in the 1840s after emigrating from Ireland. The first court in the district was established also in 1840 and in 1841 Broulee was made the centre of a police district which covered the area from

Jervis Bay Jervis Bay () is a oceanic bay and village in the Jervis Bay Territory and on the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. A area of land around the southern headland of the bay, known as the Jervis Bay Terri ...

Eden, New South Wales Eden is a coastal town in the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is south of the States and territories of Australia, state capital Sydney and is the most southerly town in New South Wales, ...

. In 1841 a flood washed away the sandbar at the mouth of the Moruya River. Land up the river was for sale from 1848 and the Moruya town site surveyed in 1850 and the town gazetted in 1851. That year gold was discovered at Araluen inland from Moruya and near Braidwood. The road from Moruya to Araluen became the preferred route and the functions that had been at Broulee shifted to the growing town of Moruya. In 1859 the court, including the building, was relocated to Moruya. The building of the Erin-go-Bragh Hotel was also shifted from Broulee Island to Campbell St, Moruya. The inn building was first used as a store and later became the storekeeper's home. The building was demolished in 1978 as part of the development of the new

Eurobodalla Shire Eurobodalla Shire is a Local government in Australia, local government area located in the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire is located in a largely mountainous coastal region and situated ...

offices. Footings of the inn building can still be seen on the island to this day. Broulee harbour was lost in 1873 as removal of vegetation for an access road on the land spit eroded the spit and isolated what is now known as Broulee Island. In the last decades of the twentieth century, the spit or

tombolo A tombolo is a sandy or shingle isthmus. It is a deposition landform by which an island becomes attached to the mainland by a narrow piece of land such as a spit or bar. Once attached, the island is then known as a tied island. The word ''t ...

has reformed.

Landmarks and townships

There is a lighthouse on

Burrewarra Point Burrewarra Point is to the north of Broulee, New South Wales, Broulee and 25 kilometres south of Batemans Bay, New South Wales, Batemans Bay on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. An active lighthouse, Burrewarra Point Light, is ...

to the north of Broulee. The southern beach has a Surf Lifesaving Club with facilities including toilets, accessed from a road below the headland. There is also a boat launching ramp here, but weather conditions need to be right. There is no police station, the closest being Moruya. The Rural Fire Service has a volunteer station. There are a number of schools in the area, the largest being St Peters Anglican college catering for years Kindergarten to Year 12.

Tourist attractions

From 1972 the island has been managed as the Broulee Island Nature Reserve. There is a modern caravan park with on-site vans and cabins available. Another camping area (basic) is located at the southern end of the South Beach, adjacent to Moruya Airport and Moruya River (boat ramp). There are other accommodation options including a motel, bed and breakfast establishments, and holiday cottages for rent. Activities in the area include

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

wind surfing Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

(beach, rock, estuary, ocean) walks,

bicycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of bicycle pedal, pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the ...

. Vehicle touring to nearby scenic beaches and headlands is popular. There are 4WD opportunities in nearby State Forests and National Parks. In recent years, the numbers of visiting

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully Aquatic animal, aquatic placental mammal, placental marine mammals. As an informal and Colloquialism, colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea ...

s especially the

southern right whale The southern right whale (''Eubalaena australis'') is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus ''Eubalaena''. Southern right whales inhabit oceans south of the Equator, between the latitudes of 20� ...

(may rest and stay in the area, sometimes entering into

) and

humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the monotypic taxon, only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh u ...

s show increase in adjacent waters.

Bottlenose dolphin The bottlenose dolphin is a toothed whale in the genus ''Tursiops''. They are common, cosmopolitan members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Molecular studies show the genus contains three species: the common bot ...

Australian sea lion The Australian sea lion (''Neophoca cinerea''), also known as the Australian sea-lion or Australian sealion, is a species of sea lion that is the only endemic pinniped in Australia. It is currently Monotypic taxon, monotypic in the genus ''Neopho ...

s, and

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerh ...

s can be observed from shores as well.

Mogo Mogo is a superhero appearing in publications by the American publisher DC Comics. Mogo is a sentient planet, and as a member of the interplanetary police force known as the Green Lantern Corps, appearing as a supporting character in storylines ...

is a nearby village with artists, crafts and food, as well as historic Mogo Goldfields and the

Mogo Zoo Mogo Wildlife Park (formerly Mogo Zoo) is a small privately owned zoo in Mogo, on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. Description Mogo is a member of the Zoo and Aquarium Association and has had success in breeding programs for ...

. Broulee is a popular weekend destination for residents of

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

and the Australian Capital Territory.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Towns in New South Wales Towns in the South Coast (New South Wales) Eurobodalla Shire Coastal towns in New South Wales

History

Landmarks and townships

Tourist attractions

See also

References

External links