Hyams Beach is a seaside village in the City of Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia, on the shores of Jervis Bay.
Hyams Beach is a seaside village in the City of Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia, on the shores of Jervis Bay. At the 2016 census, it had a population of 112. The village, 180 km south of Sydney, is bordered by two beaches, Chinaman's Beach to the north and Seaman's Beach (sometimes referred to as "Sailors Beach") to the south, with Hyams Beach being in the centre. A seaside resort, its beach is known for having turquoise/aqua-coloured waters and fine, squeaky, brilliantly white sand that's composed of pure quartz. The village is a 3-hour drive from Sydney and can be accessed via Princes Motorway from the Sydney CBD or Hume Motorway from Greater Western Sydney.
History
The area now known as Hyams Beach lies on the traditional lands of a group of the Yuin, members of what early settlers called 'the Jervis Bay tribe'. The 'Jervis Bay tribe' are also known as the Wandandian people and spoke Dharamba, which was probably the northernmost dialect of the Dhurga language.
Hyam's Beach is named after Michael Hyam, who was granted 41 acres of land there in 1859.Developer Henry Halloran, who bought up tracts of land around Jervis Bay following the declaration of the Jervis Bay Territory. was offering land for sale at Hyams Beach around 1916. Hyams Beach would have been adjacent to his far larger 'Pacific City' development, which never eventuated. In the mid-1920s, Halloran was erecting holiday cottages for letting at Hyams Beach. As late as 1938, the village still had no electricity.
Weather
Things to do
Most accommodation in the village ranges from basic cottages to architecturally designed luxury beachfront houses, with some featuring bed and breakfast. There is one café store in the village. The seaside village also features bush and coastal walks which provide panoramic views of the bay, the surrounding National Park and the ocean, which is ideal for fishing, swimming, snorkelling, diving and also whale watching, making it an ideal tourist spot. The encompassing bushland is home to many native animals and dozens of bird species.
Tourism and infrastructure financed has assisted in transforming Hyams Beach to one of the popular areas within the NSW tourism industry. Due to tourists visiting the area frequently and in masses, a freeway reaching the whole 190 km to Sydney was finished in 2017, costing at $580 million. A NSW tourist movement has featured the beach's radiantly white sand on the rearside of Sydney buses. The seaside village has also appeared in TV ads, thanks to its publicity by Lonely Planet and also has a large social media presence.