Nelligen is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

on the Clyde River on 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 ...

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is located on the Kings Highway.

Location and services

The village is situated on the river's western bank near a junction with Nelligen Creek, and inland from

Batemans Bay Batemans Bay is a town on 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 ...

. Local services include a general store, hotel, and general cemetery.

History

The original inhabitants of the land were Aborigines of the

Walbanga The Walbunja, also spelt Walbanga and Walbunga, are an Aboriginal Australian people of New South Wales, part of the Yuin nation. Language The Walbunja language may be a dialect of Dhurga. Country Walbunja Country covers a region from Cape Dro ...

, Murrinjari and Bergalia clans. The origin of the name is unclear and was already in use at the time of the first survey in 1828. The surveyor

Robert Hoddle Robert Hoddle (21 April 1794 – 24 October 1881) was a surveyor and artist. He is best known as the surveyor general of the Port Phillip District (later known as the Australian state of Victoria) from 1837 to 1853, especially for creation of ...

described the site of the future township as of "good forest land at Nellican Creek" and by the 1830s timber cutters had cleared a site for settlement and work had begun on a road to Batemans Bay. The village of Nelligen was gazetted in 1854 and a road inland to Braidwood was completed two years later. No bridges existed across the Clyde at the time, so produce and minerals from southern New South Wales were delivered to Nelligen for transport by twice-weekly steamer 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 ...

; the town was serviced by the

Illawarra Steam Navigation Company The ''Illawarra Steam Navigation Company'' was a shipping company that serviced the south coast of New South Wales, Australia from 1858 to the early 1950s. It was formed through the amalgamation of the General Steam Navigation Company, the Kiam ...

. The post office opened in 1858 and a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

church was constructed in 1872. The existing

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church dates from 1895. By 1892 the population had grown to 500 but construction of several coastal bridges and the growth of Batemans Bay began to reduce local trading opportunities. By 1934 the population had fallen to 350, and by 2006 this had further declined to 228. At the , it had a population of 332, although this includes the surrounding area. Between about 1860 and 1915 there were some gold workings in the Nelligen district. A punt service across the Clyde River was begun at Nelligen in 1895 and continued until 1964 when the Nelligen bridge was completed.

Gallery

Image:NelliganMechanicsInstitute1903.jpg, Mechanics' Institute at Nelligen, New South Wales built 1903

References

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