Bermagui is well known as a working fishing centre, but prior to that locals were employed in timber mills and on dairy farms.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At the launch event of the 2022 Sapphire Coast whale watching season, Allan Douch, president of the Bermagui Historical Society, explained how Bermagui's economy had been shaped by fishing and boats for more than 100 years.
Initially though, sailing ships came from Sydney to pick up Bermagui's dairy produce, wattle bark that was used for tanning leather, and timber.
The owner of Bermagui's saw mill also made boats, Mr Douch said.
By the 1940s, local shipwrights were so skilled in their craft that they made two ships for the navy on the bank of the Bermagui River.
READ ALSO:
Bermagui Bridge was built in 1888 and a new steamer wharf in Horseshoe Bay was operational by 1890.
In the 1900s timber sleepers were shipped from Bermagui to build Sydney's railways.
Mr Douch said unlike Eden, there was no history of whaling in Bermagui, although dolphins were hunted and harpooned for their teeth for a short period in the 1920s.
By this time, Bermagui had an ice factory so that the locally caught fish could be kept cold while being shipped up the coast.
There was considerable dredging in 1937 that gave fishing boats better access, which Mr Douch said was another indication Bermagui had a viable fishing industry.
Access to the wharf was further improved in 1958 when rock walls were built to stop the entrance silting up.
At that point Bermagui's first fishing co-op had been operating for 10 years.
Game fishing
Mr Douch said big marlin caught off the coast in 1935 put Bermagui on the international stage for game fishing.
Zane Grey, the author of many 'Western' books, travelled from the US to Bermagui in 1936 and 1938.
He made a camp at the headland near the site of the current Reflections caravan park.
He was due to make a third trip in 1939 but died prematurely.
Another international visitor drawn to Bermagui's game fishing was Scottish comedian and singer Sir Harry Loader.
The chicken of the sea
Poling tuna with bamboo poles started in the 1950s and continued through to the 1970s.
"It really put Bermagui on the map for commercial fishing," Mr Douch said.
The tuna ran from September through to November.
Most of it was sent away but some was canned in Bermagui.
"They called it the chicken of the sea," Mr Douch said.
An annual tuna festival ran for 10 years, featuring floats around the oval and a ball.
"I am hoping the whale trail becomes something similar," Mr Douch said.
Love your regional news? Then sign up for the Voice of Real Australia, daily news from across the country delivered free to your inbox
