Batemans Bay

The traditional custodians of the land surrounding Batemans Bay are the Walbunja people of the Yuin nation.[5]

The language spoken by the Walbunja people is Dhurga, one of the Yuin–Kuric languages.[6]

A number of sites in the region are considered culturally significant to the Walbunja people, such as Bhundoo and Hanging Rock.[7]

The Walbunja name for the bay is Yangary.[8]

According to the 2021 census, there were a total of 8,581 people in the Batemans Bay urban centre. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 8.3% of the population, significantly higher than the state average of 3.4% and national average of 3.2%.[1]

On 22 April 1770 explorer James Cook first sighted and named the bay.[9] Cook gave no reason for the name, which may commemorate either Nathaniel Bateman, the captain of HMS Northumberland when Cook was serving as her master from 1760 to 1762,[10] or John Bateman, 2nd Viscount Bateman, a former Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty in the 1750s.[11]

A colonial vessel, Fly, was driven into Batemans Bay by bad weather during April 1808. Her crew engaged in a conflict with the local Indigenous peoples, initially firing their muskets from the vessel; after the muskets were fired, spears were thrown in return, resulting in three Fly crew fatalities.[12] In 1821, Lt Robert Johnston entered the bay and explored the lower reaches of the Clyde River on board the cutter Snapper.[13] Snapper Island within the bay is named after Johnston's boat. Johnston returned with Alexander Berry and Hamilton Hume and they traced the river to its source.[14] When the district was surveyed in 1828, a deserted hut and stockyards were found. Cedar getters and land clearers were in the district in the 1820s. From 1820s through to the 1840s, the area to the Moruya River was the southernmost official limit of location for the colony of New South Wales.

The Illawarra and South Coast Steam Navigation Co found the Clyde River to be navigable in 1854. Regular services by the company in the 1860s and 1870s contributed to growth of the district.[15]

The village of China Bay was surveyed in 1859. Oyster farming commenced in 1860, and by 1870, there was a fleet of 40 oyster boats. A sawmill was erected in 1870. The port and town was proclaimed in 1885.[3] A ferry service across the Clyde ran from 1891 until the bridge was opened in 1956. In 1942, during World War II, a trawler was attacked by a Japanese submarine between Batemans Bay and Moruya.[16]

The change of population of Batemans Bay since 1881.

• 1881 was 266
• 1961 was 1,183
• 1981 was 4,924
• 1996 was 9,568[17]
• 2006 was 10,845[18]
• 2011 was 11,334[19]
• 2021 was 15,134[1][2]

In May 2016, an estimated 120,000 grey-headed flying fox (bats) suddenly descended upon and swarmed the town, prompting the town to declare a state of emergency. The grey-headed flying fox is listed as a vulnerable species threatened by extinction and is protected by conservation laws;[20] due to this status, they had to be removed using non-lethal methods, including smoke, noise, lights and removal of vegetation.[21] The town received AUS$2.5 million to relocate the bats.[22]

In December 2019, the town was under the threat of a catastrophic bushfire, which ultimately cut Batemans Bay off from all external road links, isolating the town.[23]

The bushfire gradually increased in intensity and severity, peaking on New Year's Eve and rapidly moving towards the town. The bushfire resulted in thousands of locals sheltering at beaches around the town, a large number of buildings lost, and lingering economic damage.[24]

Due to the difficult mountainous terrain surrounding Batemans Bay, much of the firefighting efforts could only be fought from the air, with a number of firefighting aircraft tasked to defend the town. With the difficulties of the highway closures cutting the town off from outside links on the ground, Moruya Airport proved to be a vital resource in the protection of the local region from the devastating bushfires.

With its stunning natural features at the forefront, and an aged population,[29] the arts and cultural scene in Batemans Bay was seen for some time as underdeveloped for a regional hub. As the town has recently enjoyed a renaissance of its CBD,[30] so too its arts and cultural landscape, with a growing and interesting calendar of events[31] and a strong community of practicing artists.

This shift is best illustrated in the announcement of 26 million dollars toward the development of an indoor aquatic and cultural centre.[32] To be built at the Mackay Park precinct, the cultural facility will include a purpose-built exhibition and performance centre, as well as workshop and storage space that will serve the wider region's 18 art, dance and theatre groups. (While welcomed by many, the centre is not without controversy, with several community groups questioning Eurobodalla Shire Council's design and community consultation process.)[33][34][35]

A recent push by digital creatives and artists into Batemans Bay's industrial estate also signals this new chapter. Based at the South Tribe and Cultivate Space business and arts incubators, these grass roots non-government centres spawned a thriving and growing community of artists, creatives, freelancers, entrepreneurs and digital nomads.[36]

On 26 July 2020, the owners of South Tribe and Cultivate Space announced the closure of the centre on their Facebook page, citing difficulties with the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.

A ten-day art festival celebrating imagination in 3D, debuted in 2017 as a bold and generous new acquisitive art prize. Set along the foreshore of the pristine Clyde River, it is one of Australia's richest 3D art prizes. Presented by The Batemans Bay Tourism and Business Chamber, the festival is open to professional, emerging and novice artists worldwide with 2018 prize money to the value of $70,000. The inaugural acquisitive prize was won by Dora A. Rognvaldsdottir for Duet.[37]

South East Arts (SEArts) is the regional development organisation for arts and culture in the Bega Valley, Eurobodalla and Snowy Monaro.

Batemans Bay is located at the junction of the Princes Highway which runs down the south coast of New South Wales and the Kings Highway, which runs from Canberra to the coast.

Batemans Bay is the only place where coastal traffic can cross the Clyde River. From 1915 to 1954 a motorised punt allowed traffic to cross the river. The former Batemans Bay Bridge was officially opened in 1956 and became a much loved landmark of the town.[41] It was a steel vertical lift truss bridge with a maximum height of 34 metres. In 2019 work began on a replacement concrete bridge with a clearance of 12 metres.[42] Due to this replacement project, the former steel truss bridge has been disassembled and removed, with parts of the former bridge to be turned into a sculpture on the foreshore.[43] The new concrete bridge formally opened on 27 March 2021, with a public event for the local population that morning.[44] The former bridge is now commemorated in public art throughout the town, including a mural on the new one, a mural on the Boatshed restaurant, and a sculpture made from its material, titled Tides.

Moruya Airport is located approximately 30 km south of the town; flights service the route between Sydney and Moruya.