Jervis Bay, NSW, Travel Information

Jewel of the Shoalhaven

Some 15 kilometres long and 10 kilometres wide, Jervis Bay is one of the truly magic places on the NSW South Coast. Any visit to the Shoalhaven district would not be complete without experiencing the bay’s richly extensive natural attractions.

Located 170 kilometres south of Sydney, Jervis Bay was sighted by Captain James Cook in 1770, but it wasn’t until 1791 that it was named in honour of a Royal Navy admiral. Protected by headlands, including the massive Beecroft Peninsula to the north, Jervis Bay is known by sailors to be the deepest sheltered harbour in the country. The bay and surrounding countryside supports an amazing array of flora and fauna. Whales are common sights in the protected waters, as is a resident pod of 60 bottlenose dolphins. There is also a colony of penguins located on Bowen Island. Outdoor lovers come to fish, sail, canoe, kayak, bushwalk and soak up the sun on the famous white-sand beaches.

Accommodation Huskison & Vincentia, Jervis Bay

The towns and villages dotted around the edges of Jervis Bay include Callala Beach, Culburra Beach, Currarong, Huskisson, Hyams Beach, Jervis Bay and Vincentia. The evocatively named Green Patch, a popular place to camp, is situated in the midst of the Booderee National Park – formerly Jervis Bay National Park – which takes in the southern headland. The Booderee National Park frames the southern edge of Jervis Bay, as well as nearby Wreck Bay and St Georges Basin.

It’s a haven for a number of endangered species, including the white-bellied sea eagle and the eastern bristlebird. The 80 hectare Booderee Botanic Gardens, formerly known as the Jervis Bay Botanic Gardens, were established in 1951 as an annex of the Australian National Botanic Gardens.

With upwards of one million people visiting it each year, its importance was formally recognised with a listing on the Register of the National Estate. In 1995, the Booderee National Park and Botanic Gardens were handed back to their traditional owners, the Wreck Bay Aboriginal community.

Timber cutters were the first Europeans to traverse the area, and as the land was cleared, dairy farmers moved in. In 1840, the NSW government established Huskisson, on the western edge of Jervis Bay, as a port from which to ship wool to Sydney. Following the Federation of the Australian States, and the search for the location of our national capital, it was considered important that the new city should have coastal access. So in 1908, 7,500 hectares of land on the southern edge of Jervis Bay was ceded to the Federal Government for a port and naval base.

In 1915, the Royal Australian Naval College, otherwise known as HMAS Creswell, opened at Captain Point. It was this original land that became the base for Booderee National Park. The Naval College no longer operates but its many historic buildings are still in evidence and are occasionally opened to the public for inspection. A tragic moment in naval history occurred in 1964, when the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne collided with HMAS Voyager, killing 82 people. A number of other ships have been wrecked in the waters in and near Jervis Bay, and many are popular with scuba divers. These include the SS Merimbula, which sank in 1928, and the Wandra. Huskisson had a thriving boat-building industry in the late 19th century. Much of the early history of the town can be experienced at the Lady Denman Heritage Complex, which includes the restored Sydney Harbour ferry of the same name. This fascinating museum is divided into three sections. One concentrates on the history of Huskisson, while another draws together surveying equipment and memorabilia dating back to the 1700s.

The Jervis Bay Museum of Science and The Sea Gallery have an amazing number of artefacts, including ballast from HMS Sirius, part of the First Fleet, and pieces of one of the Japanese midget submarines that invaded Sydney Harbour in 1942.

Aside from Huskisson, the towns of Vincentia and Hyams Beach offer a varied range of accommodation and attractions. Vincentia lies four kilometres from Huskisson and was originally known as South Huskisson. Hyams Beach is a quiet village that claims to have the whitest sand in the world. It is also a recommended dive spot at high tide.