Hyams Beach, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Shoalhaven
The City of Shoalhaven is a Local Government Area in south-eastern New South Wales , Australia, two hours south of Sydney. It is more or less conterminous with an area referred to as The Shoalhaven. It is on the Pacific Ocean and the Princes Highway and is the terminus of the South Coast line...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, on the shores of Jervis Bay. The village, roughly 3 hours drive south of Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, is bordered by 3 beaches, Chinaman's Beach to the north, Hyams Beach and Seaman's Beach (sometimes referred to as "Sailors Beach") to the south. Hyams Beach is the middle beach in the centre of the village. Seamans Beach is the longest of the three, stretching for approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi).
All beaches face roughly east, out across Jervis Bay and Point Perpendicular to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. The sand at these beaches is fine, soft and brilliantly white.
The Guinness Book of Records reports Hyams Beach as having the whitest sand in the world.
The village is bordered by Jervis Bay National Park
Jervis Bay National Park
Jervis Bay National Park, formerly known as Jervis Bay National Park , consists of several protected areas on the western and northern foreshores of Jervis Bay, on the south coast of New South Wales...
to the north and Booderee National Park and Botanic Gardens
Booderee National Park and Botanic Gardens
Booderee National Park and Botanic Gardens are located in the Jervis Bay Territory of Australia. The reserve is composed of two sections:* the Bherwerre Peninsula, on the southern foreshore of Jervis Bay, Bowen Island and the waters of the south of the bay...
to the south which gives Hyams Beach a 'natural bush' feel with an abundance of native plants, animals and birdlife.
In 2006, the population of the State Suburb of Hyams Beach was 122.