Bermagui is a town on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia in the

Bega Valley Shire The Bega Valley Shire is a Local government in Australia, local government area located adjacent to the South Coast, New South Wales, south-eastern coastline of New South Wales, Australia. The Shire was formed in 1981 with the amalgamation of t ...

. It lies on the shores of the southern end of Horseshoe Bay. The name is derived from the

Dyirringanj Dyirringañ, also spelt Dyirringany and Djiringanj, is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Yuin people of New South Wales. It is not listed in Bowern (2011), but the people are ethnically Yuin. The only attestation of the language are man ...

word, ''permageua'', possibly meaning "canoe with paddles".

History

A wharf was built in Horseshoe Bay in 1888 for the coastal trade. The port was serviced by the

Illawarra and South Coast Steam Navigation Company The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...

. A 1910 article, "Bermagui – In a Strange Sunset", published by

Henry Lawson Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and bush poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial perio ...

in '' The Bulletin'' describes a steamer journey from Bermagui to

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 Mountain ...

. Lawson was probably travelling with the Illawarra Steam Navigation Company. In 1880, the Government geologist,

Lamont Young Lamont H. Young (1851–1880) was an Australian assistant geological surveyor for the New South Wales Mines Department. He mysteriously disappeared while on field-work at Bermagui, New South Wales. Disappearance Young was inspecting the new g ...

, and four others disappeared while on a boat trip from Bermagui. Their boat was found near Mystery Bay, which is about 15 kilometres north of Bermagui, midway between Bermagui and

Narooma Narooma is a town in the Australian state of New South Wales on the far south coast. The town is on the Princes Highway, which crosses the Wagonga Inlet to North Narooma. The heritage town of Central Tilba is nearby to the south. The name Naro ...

, near Tilba. The bay received its name because of the disappearance.

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American frontie ...

, the well-known big-game fisherman of the 1930s and author of

Westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

, was patron of the Bermagui Sport Fishing Association for 1936/37 and anchored his yacht, the "Avalon" in Horseshoe Bay. He returned briefly for a visit in 1939. He wrote of his experiences in the town. In

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

, the Japanese submarine ''I-21'' sank the

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

carrier SS ''Iron Knight'' off the coast of Bermagui. Local fisherman had tangled their nets on the wreck deep below the surface in 125 metres of water, but did not know the ship lay there until a team of divers confirmed its existence on 4 June 2006. On 29 July 2006 relatives and descendants of the ship's crew came to Bermagui for a memorial and commemorative service. A fishing harbour was built at Bermagui in 1959, the first in a new series by the

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

Population

In 2016, there were 1,536 people in Bermagui. 77.9% of people were born in Australia and 89.0% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 35.2%, Anglican 22.5% and Catholic 15.5%.

Geography

It is said that offshore from Bermagui the edge of the "

continental shelf A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...

is at its closest point to the mainland and hence there is good fishing. anglers were allowed to catch, or

tag and release Tag and release is a form of catch and release fishing in which the angler attaches a tag to the fish, records data such as date, time, place, and type of fish on a standardized postcard, and submits this card to a fisheries agency or conservati ...

marlin Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes about 10 species. A marlin has an elongated body, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long, rigid dorsal fin which extends forward to form a crest. Its common name is thought to deri ...

, and tuna such as yellowfin, bluefin, and

albacore The albacore (''Thunnus alalunga''), known also as the longfin tuna, is a species of tuna of the order Perciformes. It is found in temperate and tropical waters across the globe in the epipelagic and mesopelagic zones. There are six distinct sto ...

, which are sought after "

game fish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish pursued by recreational anglers, and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, or released after capture. Some game fish are also targeted commerciall ...

Gulaga National Park Gulaga National Park is a national park on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, about north of Bermagui. The park is dominated by Gulaga, also known as Mount Gulaga (formerly Mount Dromedary). The former Wallaga Lake National Park, ...

is about north of Bermagui.

Transport

There is a fishing harbour. Bermagui is served by sealed road connections to Tathra (44 km south),

Cobargo Cobargo is a village in the south-east area of the state of New South Wales in Australia in Bega Valley Shire. At the , Cobargo had a population of 776 people. It is 386 km south of Sydney on the Princes Highway between Narooma and Bega ...

(20 km west) and 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 (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...

(15 km to the north) near Tilba.

Facilities

Bermagui Public School is a primary school, which has taught local

Aboriginal languages Aboriginal language may refer to: * Indigenous language * Australian Aboriginal languages * Taiwanese aboriginal languages * Indigenous languages of the Americas * Aboriginal Malay languages The Malayic languages are a branch of the Malayo-P ...

, the Dhurga and

Djiringanj language Dyirringañ, also spelt Dyirringany and Djiringanj, is an Australian Aboriginal language of the Yuin people of New South Wales. It is not listed in Bowern (2011), but the people are ethnically Yuin. The only attestation of the language are manu ...

s, and associated cultures since 2019.

In the arts

filmed part of his shark film '' White Death'' (1936) and wrote the storyline for ''Rangler River'' (1936) while camped at Bermagui. His book of his game fishing adventures here ''An American Angler in Australia'' was published in 1937. He also worked on his epic Australian Western novel ''Wildness Trek'' while in Bermagui, which was not published until after his death in 1944. During the 1940s and 1950s, detective writer

Arthur Upfield Arthur William Upfield (1 September 1890 – 12 February 1964) was an English-Australian writer, best known for his works of detective fiction featuring Detective Inspector Napoleon "Bony" Bonaparte of the Queensland Police Force, a mixed-race ...

lived in the town and made it the setting for one of his novels, ''The Mystery of Swordfish Reef''.

Dorothy Hewett Dorothy Coade Hewett (21 May 1923 – 25 August 2002) was an Australian playwright, poet and author, and a romantic feminist icon. In writing and in her life, Hewett was an experimenter. As her circumstances and beliefs changed, she progressed ...

(author and well known feminist and communist) wrote her gothic love story ''Neap Tide'' (1999) set in the fictional town of "Zane" while camped at Umbi Gumbi, Cuttagee to the south of Bermagui. Outdoor scenes from the film ''

The Man Who Sued God ''The Man Who Sued God'' is a 2001 Australian comedy film starring Billy Connolly and Judy Davis, and directed by Mark Joffe. The film was a financial success, debuting at number one at the Australian box office in the week of its launch. Plot ...

'' (2001) starring

Billy Connolly Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...

were shot in Bermagui. There are scenes of the Bermagui Boat Harbour, the main street, and surrounding beaches. Many locals are in the movie, and the classic boat is a local charter fishing boat. Bermagui locals thoroughly enjoyed Billy Connolly's visit . In January 2005, the

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

Mark Latham Mark William Latham (born 28 February 1961) is an Australian politician and media commentator, currently serving as a member in the New South Wales Legislative Council. He previously served as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and ...

, and his family retreated here from the media, before his decision to resign as ALP leader and from Parliament, writing in ''

The Latham Diaries ''The Latham Diaries'' () is a political memoir by the former Federal Parliamentary Australian Labor Party (ALP) leader, Mark Latham. The book, published in 2005 by Melbourne University Press, attracted a great amount of criticism. Much of the co ...

'' that "God has given us Bermagui, let's enjoy it". The historic wooden Wallaga Lake Bridge north of Bermagui was the setting for a scene in the 2014 film '' Unbroken''.

References

External links

Bermagui
(South Coast NSW)
Bermagui
( Visit NSW] {{authority control Towns in New South Wales Towns in the South Coast (New South Wales) Coastal towns in New South Wales