Foxground is a locality in the

Municipality of Kiama The Municipality of Kiama is a local government area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is situated south of Shellharbour and the City of Wollongong and is located adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, the Princes Highway a ...

, in the

Illawarra 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 ...

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 two kilometres from the Princes Highway, 10 kilometres south west of

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 ...

. Broughton Creek flows through the valley. The name ''Foxground'' is derived from the once abundant

Grey-headed Flying Fox The grey-headed flying fox (''Pteropus poliocephalus'') is a megabat native to Australia. The species shares mainland Australia with three other members of the genus ''Pteropus'': the little red '' P. scapulatus'', spectacled '' P. conspicill ...

es. Foxground was originally known as "The Flying Foxes Camping Ground". The

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

of this area are from the Wadi Wadi and

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 ...

tribes. The first white men to explore the valley were likely to be

Cedar Cedar may refer to: Trees and plants *''Cedrus'', common English name cedar, an Old-World genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae *Cedar (plant), a list of trees and plants known as cedar Places United States * Cedar, Arizona * ...

cutters in the 1820s or possibly earlier. As early as 1814, cedar cutters explored the area around nearby

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 ...

. In 1890 explosions were detonated in an attempt to remove the Flying Foxes. After clearing of the rainforest, the area was used mostly for dairy farms. The first white settler was John Blow. His original house was built from split timber slabs, with a bark roof. However, as his circumstances improved, he built a new home, "Willow Glen" which still stands today. An attractive rural valley; now without the shops, school, churches, or the combined milk depot/post office of the past. The school closed in 1950. The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

structure was built in 1873, and destroyed by fire in 1954. A

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

church was built in 1861, and sold in 1901. Photographer

Jeff Carter Jeffrey J. Carter (born January 1, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Los Angeles Kings ...

moved onto a 45-hectare abandoned farm in the area with his Californian wife Mare in 1962 and together they set up a wildlife sanctuary which is documented in her book ''A Wild Life - Bringing up a Bush Menagerie''. The relatively fertile soils and generous rainfall produced high quality sub-tropical rainforest in the area. Significant species include Australian Red Cedar,

Camphorwood ''Camphora officinarum'' is a species of evergreen tree that is commonly known under the names camphor tree, camphorwood or camphor laurel. Description ''Camphora officinarum'' is native to China south of the Yangtze River, Taiwan, southern ...

, Yellow Ash, Deciduous Fig, and

Illawarra Plum ''Podocarpus elatus'', known as the plum pine, the brown pine or the Illawarra plum, is a species of ''Podocarpus'' endemic to the east coast of Australia, in eastern New South Wales and eastern Queensland. It is a medium to large evergreen tree ...

. The rare Socketwood occurs here in private property. Average annual rainfall at nearby Kiama is 1,256 mm. However, in 1950 Foxground received 4,263 mm, one of the highest annual rainfalls ever recorded in New South Wales.

References

Towns in New South Wales Municipality of Kiama {{Kiama-geo-stub

See also

References