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 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 & South Coast Steam Navigation Company.
A
1910
Events
January
* January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military.
* January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...
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 period ...
in ''
The Bulletin'' describes a steamer journey from Bermagui to
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. Lawson was probably travelling with the Illawarra Steam Navigation Company.
In
1880
Events
January
*January 27 – Thomas Edison is granted a patent for the incandescent light bulb. Edison filed for a US patent for an electric lamp using "a carbon filament or strip coiled and connected ... to platina contact wires." gr ...
, 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 Tilba, New South Wales, Central Tilba is nearby t ...
, near
Tilba. The bay received its name because of the disappearance.
[ (page 26)]
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 frontier ...
, the well-known
big-game fisherman of the 1930s and author of
Westerns
The Western is a genre of fiction typically set in the American frontier (commonly referred to as the "Old West" or the "Wild West") between the California Gold Rush of 1849 and the closing of the frontier in 1890, and commonly associated wit ...
, 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 f ...
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 islan ...
is at its closest point to the mainland and hence there is good fishing. anglers were allowed to catch, or
tag and release marlin
Marlins are fish from the family Istiophoridae, which includes between 9 and 11 species, depending on the taxonomic authority.
Name
The family's common name is thought to derive from their resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike.
Taxonomy
T ...
, and tuna such as
yellowfin,
bluefin Bluefin or Blue Fin and variants may refer to:
Fish
* Bluefin tuna, multiple species of tuna
* Bluefin damsel (''Neoglyphidodon melas''), damselfish
* Bluefin driftfish (''Psenes pellucidus'')
* Bluefin gurnard (''Chelidonichthys kumu''), fish i ...
, and
albacore
The albacore (''Thunnus alalunga''), known also as the longfin tuna, is a species of tuna of the order Scombriformes. It is found in temperate and tropical waters across the globe in the epipelagic and mesopelagic zones. There are six distinct ...
, which are sought after "
game fish
Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish species pursued by recreational fishing, recreational fishers (typically angling, anglers), and can be freshwater fish, freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be fish as food, eaten aft ...
".
Gulaga National Park
Gulaga National Park is a national park on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, about south of Narooma. The park is dominated by Gulaga, also known as Mount Gulaga (formerly Mount Dromedary). The former Wallaga Lake National Park, Go ...
is about north of Bermagui.
Transport
There is a fishing harbour.
Bermagui is served by sealed road connections to
Tathra (44 km south),
Cobargo (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, the
Dhurga and
Djiringanj languages, and associated cultures since 2019.
Bermagui has a
local post
A local post is a mail service that operates only within a limited geographical area, typically a city or a single transportation route. Historically, some local posts have been operated by governments, while others, known as private local ...
,
Bermagui Local Post, operating within the town.
In the arts
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 frontier ...
filmed part of his shark film ''
White Death'' (1936) and wrote the storyline for
Rangle 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 1950s, detective writer
Arthur Upfield lived in the town and made it the setting for one of his novels, ''The Mystery of Swordfish Reef''.
Dorothy Hewett (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'' (2001) starring
Billy Connolly
Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, musician, television presenter, artist and retired stand-up comedian. He is sometimes known by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his idiosyncratic and of ...
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 Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
,
Mark Latham
Mark William Latham (; born 28 February 1961) is an Australian politician and media commentator who is a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council. He previously served as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the ...
, and his family retreated here from the media, before his decision to resign as ALP leader and from Parliament, writing in ''
The Latham Diaries'' that "God has given us Bermagui, let's enjoy it".
In 2010, Bermagui was mentioned in the fictional television series ''
Rake
Rake may refer to:
Common meanings
* Rake (tool), a horticultural implement, a long-handled tool with tines
* Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct
* Rake (poker), the commission taken by the house when hosting a poker game
...
'' as the location of Nicole Vargas' (Kate Box) holiday home. The home was built with embezzled funds from her employer, Cleaver Greene (Richard Roxburgh).
The historic wooden Wallaga Lake Bridge north of Bermagui was the setting for a scene in the 2014 film ''
Unbroken''.
See also
*
King Merriman
Umbarra, or King Merriman (died 1904) was an Aboriginal elder, elder of the Djirringanj/Yuin people of the Bermagui, New South Wales, Bermagui area on what has become called the Sapphire Coast since European Colonial settlement of far-southern ...
*
Yuin
The Yuin nation, also spelt Djuwin, is a group of Aboriginal Australians, Australian Aboriginal peoples from the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coast of New South Wales. All Yuin people share ancestors who spoke, as their first language, ...
*
List of ports in Australia
This is a list of ports in Australia. It includes all gazetted ports, harbours, havens, roadsteads and marinas.
This list is complete with respect to the 1996 Gazetteer of Australia. Gazetteer of Australia (1996). Belconnen, ACT: Australian ...
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