Narooma

Narooma is a town in the Australian state of New South Wales on the far south coast.

Narooma is a town in the Australian state of New South Wales on the far south coast.The town is on the Princes Highway, which crosses the Wagonga Inlet to North Narooma. The heritage town of Central Tilba is nearby to the south.

The name Narooma is said to be derived from a word in the local Aboriginal language (one of the Yuin dialects) meaning "clear blue waters".

At the 2016 census, Narooma had an urban population of over 3,000 people.

Before European settlement of the area, the Yuin people inhabited the lands along the stretch of coast, with the Walbunga/Walbunja clan being the traditional owners of the Narooma area. The name Narooma is said to be derived from a word in the local Aboriginal language meaning "clear blue waters". The language of the Walbunja was probably a dialect of Dhurga.There had been an earlier settlement nearby at Punkalla, which was a port for Bodalla and Nerrigundah; a ruined jetty and timber mill can still be seen there.Gold was discovered nearby at Central Tilba in 1880 and a post office was opened at present-dayCorunna (to the south, in Eurobodalla Shire),named "Noorooma".A township was surveyed at the present location of Narooma in 1883 and given the name Noorooma, which it held until 1972. It was declared a port in 1884.Its school opened in 1886 and its post office in 1889.Transport to Narooma was first from the sea.From 1894 a hand-worked punt crossed Wagonga Inlet, linking Narooma to North Narooma and on to Moruya.A daily mail coach ran through the town between Bega and Moruya.Narooma was regarded as a tourist destination from the early twentieth century.The local oyster industry was established around 1900.The Uniting (formerly Methodist) Church on the Princes Highway dates from 1914.Together with the associated parsonage, it is regarded as an excellent example of the Australian Federation Carpenter Gothic architectural style.

In 1929 a petrol-driven punt that had previously operated at Batemans Bay was installed.The Narooma bridge was the first major bridge constructed on the Princes Highway by the Main Roads Board as part of its efforts to develop the highway.The bridge was built between 1929 and 1931 and crosses the Wagonga Inlet. The bridge has three spans and is made of steel and concrete.It is one of two bascule span bridges of its type remaining in New South Wales in 2002; the other was being threatened with demolition in 2002.A footpath was added to the eastern (seaward) side of the bridge in 1960.A fish cannery opened in 1937 or 1940 to process tuna and salmon.

In 1972 the name was officially changed from Noorooma to Narooma.

Narooma has an oceanic climate (Cfb) with mild temperatures throughout the year. It is fairly sunny, getting 104.3 clear days annually. The town's drier winters are owed to its position on the leeward side of the Great Dividing Range, which block moisture from the westerly cold fronts that arrive from the Southern Ocean and therefore they would become Foehn winds as they reach the coastal plain.