Pambula, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
Pambula is a town in Bega Valley Shire on the far south coast of New South Wales
, Australia
473 kilometres (293.9 mi) south of Sydney via the Princes Highway
. At the 2006 census
, Pambula had a population of 1,146 people.
name, pronounced "panboola", meaning 'twin waters'. In 1797, the European voyager George Bass
explored the area.
Pambula is a historic village with its first European settlers thought to have been the Imlay brothers who established cattle runs on the Pambula River flats in the 1830s. The village of Pambula situated on the flats near the river was planned in 1843 by surveyor Townsend and the first school and churches were built there, but frequent flooding led to the village being relocated to its present site on higher ground.
Captain John Lloyd, RN, acquired land in 1844 with his severance pay when he left the Royal Navy
, and built The Grange on the hill near the river. At about that time he invited the family of Syms Covington
to move there. Covington had joined the second survey expedition of HMS Beagle
as a fiddler and cabin boy
. He became an assistant and manservant to Charles Darwin
during the voyage and for a few years afterwards before emigrating to Australia. In 1854 he became Postmaster of Pambula, and managed an inn called the Forest Oak Inn which still stands at a bend on the coast road.
The main land uses were grazing and agriculture, and tented accommodation on stock routes was replaced by slab and bark huts, then by more permanent buildings providing homes, housing, smithies, and hotels. Pambula had five licensed hotels by 1856 and the foundation stone for the courthouse was laid in 1860. Pambula was proclaimed a town in 1885.
In 1888, gold was discovered and villages grew up around the mines at nearby Yowaka River and Pipeclay Creek. This created a boom in the town, but in the early 20th century production of gold ceased and the prosperity of the town went into a decline.
Pambula continued to be the dominant town of the district, providing facilities which came to include commercial premises, banks, courthouse, hospital, newspaper, and a school of arts. Agriculture developed on the river flats, producing prize crops of maize and potatoes, and a dairying industry became established. Timber felling was carried out in the surrounding forests, and oyster farming was developed in the river.
and has its own hospital, a small supermarket and primary school. The nearest secondary school is a private secondary school in nearby Pambula Beach
. The nearest public secondary schools are in Bega
and Eden
.
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...
473 kilometres (293.9 mi) south of Sydney via the Princes Highway
Princes Highway
The Princes Highway extends from Sydney to Port Augusta via the coast through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia, a distance of 1941 km or 1898 km via the former alignments of the highway ....
. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Pambula had a population of 1,146 people.
History
The area was populated by the Thaua Aboriginal people, with shell middens dating back 3000 years. The name Pambula is derived from its DharwaTharawal language
Tharawal is an Australian Aboriginal language.-Classification:Southern New South Wales groupClans and Families of The Northern Dharawal*Noron-Geragal*Targarigal*Goonamattagal*Wodi Wodi...
name, pronounced "panboola", meaning 'twin waters'. In 1797, the European voyager George Bass
George Bass
George Bass was a British naval surgeon and explorer of Australia.-Early years:He was born on 30 January 1771 at Aswarby, a hamlet near Sleaford, Lincolnshire, the son of a tenant farmer, George Bass, and a local beauty named Sarah Nee Newman. His father died in 1777 when Bass was 6...
explored the area.
Pambula is a historic village with its first European settlers thought to have been the Imlay brothers who established cattle runs on the Pambula River flats in the 1830s. The village of Pambula situated on the flats near the river was planned in 1843 by surveyor Townsend and the first school and churches were built there, but frequent flooding led to the village being relocated to its present site on higher ground.
Captain John Lloyd, RN, acquired land in 1844 with his severance pay when he left the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, and built The Grange on the hill near the river. At about that time he invited the family of Syms Covington
Syms Covington
Syms Covington was a fiddler and cabin boy on HMS Beagle who became an assistant to Charles Darwin and was appointed as his personal servant in 1833, continuing in Darwin's service after the voyage until 1839. Originally named Simon Covington, he was born in Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, the...
to move there. Covington had joined the second survey expedition of HMS Beagle
Second voyage of HMS Beagle
The second voyage of HMS Beagle, from 27 December 1831 to 2 October 1836, was the second survey expedition of HMS Beagle, under captain Robert FitzRoy who had taken over command of the ship on its first voyage after her previous captain committed suicide...
as a fiddler and cabin boy
Cabin boy
A Cabin boy or ship's boy is a boy who waits on the officers and passengers of a ship, especially running errands for the captain....
. He became an assistant and manservant to Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
during the voyage and for a few years afterwards before emigrating to Australia. In 1854 he became Postmaster of Pambula, and managed an inn called the Forest Oak Inn which still stands at a bend on the coast road.
The main land uses were grazing and agriculture, and tented accommodation on stock routes was replaced by slab and bark huts, then by more permanent buildings providing homes, housing, smithies, and hotels. Pambula had five licensed hotels by 1856 and the foundation stone for the courthouse was laid in 1860. Pambula was proclaimed a town in 1885.
In 1888, gold was discovered and villages grew up around the mines at nearby Yowaka River and Pipeclay Creek. This created a boom in the town, but in the early 20th century production of gold ceased and the prosperity of the town went into a decline.
Pambula continued to be the dominant town of the district, providing facilities which came to include commercial premises, banks, courthouse, hospital, newspaper, and a school of arts. Agriculture developed on the river flats, producing prize crops of maize and potatoes, and a dairying industry became established. Timber felling was carried out in the surrounding forests, and oyster farming was developed in the river.
Facilities
Pambula is situated approximately 4 kilometres (2 mi) south of MerimbulaMerimbula, New South Wales
Merimbula is a coastal town on the Far South Coast or Sapphire Coast of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2006 census, the population within a 10km radius of the Merimbula Post Office was over 8,775, Merimbula has a town population of 3,851 people...
and has its own hospital, a small supermarket and primary school. The nearest secondary school is a private secondary school in nearby Pambula Beach
Pambula Beach, New South Wales
Pambula Beach is a small town in New South Wales, Australia not far from Pambula. At the 2006 census, Pambula Beach had a population of 655 people....
. The nearest public secondary schools are in Bega
Bega, New South Wales
Bega is a town in the south-east of New South Wales, Australia in the Bega Valley Shire. It is the economic centre for the Bega Valley.-Place name:One claim is that place name Bega is derived from the local Aboriginal word meaning "big camping ground"....
and Eden
Eden, New South Wales
Eden is a coastal town in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The town, south of the state capital Sydney near the border with Victoria, is located between Nullica Bay to the south and Calle Calle Bay, the northern reach of Twofold Bay, and built on undulating land adjacent to a...
.