The Jamberoo Pub

 

Jamberoo
A quiet and attractive village in the Jamberoo Valley. It is surrounded by nature reserves and National Parks which are ideal for bushwalking and birdwatching.
Jamberoo is a small and charming village 113 km south of Sydney via the Princes Highway and 7 km west of Kiama. It is situated in lush, green dairy pastures surrounded by towering escarpments, and hills that would today be described as rolling, though only because they have been denuded of their original dense subtropical forest. For the most part all that remains are some exotic cabbage-tree palms which appear strangely out of place.

A vivid impression of the original landscape has been left by a local mill manager's daughter who married T.H. Huxley, one of the most and influential scientists of the 19th century. Huxley reputedly visited Jamberoo in the 1840s:

'From Wollongong to Jamberoo, the road was a mere day track through a forest of tropical foliage; gum trees 200 [feet] or more in height, gigantic india-rubber trees with broad shining green leaves, lofty cabbage palms, and many other kinds of tree towered above us, so that their tops made a twilight canopy, unpenetrable to the sunlight, save for an infrequent clearing in the forest made by the settler's axe. Huge lianas, some as thick as a man's arm, hung down snakelike from the trees.'

The first inroads were made by cedar-getters who took the wood to Kiama for shipment to Sydney. The clearing of the land enabled the establishment of grazing runs and the area was settled in the 1820s. The township, which developed on the private land of the Hyam Estate, was described as a 'thriving hustling village' in 1836. The first denominational school was established at the Roman Catholic Church in 1839.

Although there has been considerable development on the outskirts of the town, time seems to have stood still in Jamberoo. This historic and rather English feel is accentuated by the dry stone walls which separate some of the farms in the area. These stone fences were erected from the 1850s by one man, Thomas Newing of Kent, who brought the craft with him from England and took it with him when he died in 1927.

As transportation to Sydney improved, dairying became central to the life in Jamberoo and the prosperity it brought is apparent in the substantial buildings that were erected.

 

Flooding in the Jamberoo Valley

 

 

 

 

Things to see:  

Buildings in Jamberoo
1. Jamberoo Pub
The pub in Allowrie Street, originally constructed in 1857 and recently renovated in quasi-Elizabethan half-timbering, has a kind of olde worlde charm and is a popular haunt, particularly on Sundays when bush bands perform.

 

2. Fredericks General Store
Opposite is Fredericks General Store, established early in the twentieth century. The interior layout remains largely unchanged although in recent years the produce has become a miraculous mixture of the practical and the boutique.

 

3. St Stephen's Presbyterian Church
A little further on from the hotel, on the same side of the road, is St Stephen's Presbyterian Church (1876), an attractive building designed in the Norman style by local citizen, James Colley, with a square tower and rounded arches.

 

4. Uniting Church
To locate the gothic-style Methodist (now Uniting) Church take the narrow branch road off the main street next to the church and turn left into Wyalla St. It is two blocks along, to the left. The spire blew down in 1897, the year it opened, and was never replaced.

 

5. Anglican Church of the Resurrection
The Anglican Church of the Resurrection was designed by noted 19th-century Australian architect Edmund Blacket in 1864. One of his typical Norman brick churches the parishioners found it too plain. They had the funds to alter the design, adding a tower and a great deal of elaborate stone detailing courtesy of local stonecarver John Simmons. The splendid if idiosyncratic finished product was opened in 1867. Unfortunately, since that time, the red brick has been cemented both inside and out. In the small churchyard lie the graves of William Keevers and his wife who were at the famous Battle of Waterloo.

 

To the East of Jamberoo
Australia's First Co-operative Butter Factory
A monument marking the site of Australia's first butter co-operative factory (1884) is situated about 2 km from the Princes Highway along the Kiama-Jamberoo Road. It is a small white obelisk surrounded by four posts on the eastern side of Spring Creek. This road to Jamberoo essentially follows the same route as that laid down by the local roads committee in 1841.

 

Terragong
Further west, about 4 km east of Jamberoo, on the left-hand side of the road, is 'Terragong' (c.1858), a charming house in the Georgian tradition that is still owned by the descendants of John Marks, one-time mayor of Kiama. The original kitchen and back section were burned down but rebuilt c.1890. If you are approaching from Kiama watch for Swamp Road which branches off to your right, continue down the hill and the house is situated on the corner, opposite the power station, with a large verandah and enormous fig tree out the front. It is currently a cream-coloured building. This is not open to the public.

 

Saddleback Mountain Lookout
About 2 km east of Jamberoo, Fountaindale Road branches off to the south. Saddleback Mountain Lookout lies along this route. The turnoff is signposted. Eventually you will reach a T-intersection. A road to Kiama leads to the left and the lookout reserve is to the right. It is open from 8-4 daily. There is one lonely table for picnickers and a concrete slab noting distances and directions to other locales. The reserve itself is modest but the mountain, which is the point where the escarpment turns into a series of foothills which run down to the sea, offers one of the most dramatic and interesting views on the whole of the south coast. From Saddleback you can see north to the steelworks of Wollongong, south to Jervis Bay and inland to the edges of Jamberoo and the Kangaroo Valley.

 

Hoddles Track
At the western end of the Saddleback carpark is a green sign stating 'Hoddles Track'. In 1830 Robert Hoddle was assigned the task of cutting a route from the agricultural hinterland through to the coast so that produce could be shipped quickly and cheaply to Sydney. This remnant of that trail from Bong Bong to Kiama boat harbour leads westwards to Barren Grounds Nature Reserve. The track is marked with green posts to indicate the route. It is rough, very steep at times, and takes about four hours return. When you reach the second marker you can go left or right, the left being a steeper descent. Stone fencing can be seen here and an old trail branches off to the left, leading to Foxground Road, which, in turn, leads south to the Princes Highway. Climb over the stile to enter Barren Grounds. The ascent up Noorinan Mountain is steep but you are surrounded by remarkable and cool rainforest and the breath-taking views from the summit make the effort worthwhile. Looking out to the coast, Seven Mile Beach and, beyond that, Jervis Bay lie to the south. To the north are Kiama and Wollongong. A shorter, if more strenuous route to the top, is by a rope which dangles down just before the track turns to the left as it begins its ascent to the lookout.

 

Minnamurra House
As you enter Jamberoo from the east along the main street (Allowrie St) you will come to a crossroad with Minnamurra Lane. Turn right and follow it for two kilometres across the Minnamurra River. The road turns to the right. Along here, on the right-hand side is Minnamurra House, built around 1840 and reputedly the oldest building in the Illawarra. It was erected for Dr Menzies and his wife Margaret who left Scotland in August 1838. They took up two 300-acre blocks in Jamberoo. The stone for the two-feet thick walls was quarried locally. The shingles for the roof have now been replaced by iron sheets. It is a private dwelling and not open to the public.

 

 

Minnamurra Falls

 

To the West of Jamberoo
Minnamurra Rainforest
Head north out of Jamberoo and turn west onto the Jamberoo Mountain Road. Follow it for a short distance and you will see a sign on your right directing you to a surviving remnant of subtropical rainforest (400 hectares) at Minnamurra Falls Reserve, declared in 1903.

The first trails were established during the depression by people on relief. Located in Budderoo National Park it is open 9-5 daily (except Christmas day). On the right at the entrance is Kelly's Cottage (1853). There is a rainforest education centre, with a display of rare rainforest plants and information about the site. There are 90 different species of ferns (two-thirds of the fern types in NSW) and 80 species of native trees in the reserve.

The walking track, in its entirety, is 4.2 km and takes about two hours. There are two parts to this walk: the Rainforest Loop Walk (1.6 km) and the Falls Walk (an additional 2.6 km). The latter can only be reached via the former and so, in order to see the falls, the entire 4.2 km walk must be undertaken. There are information posts along the way.

Minnamurra Reserve has two falls, one a 50-metre and one a 25-metre-drop into a narrow rainforest gorge where ferns and vines grow in profusion under the dense canopy.There is a raised wooden pathway along the route, which protects the environment and makes it wheelchair accessible. The gradient is suitable for children and the elderly and there is interpretive signposting along the way.

Trees include the sandpaper fig, used by Aborigines to sand their wooden tools, the Illawarra fig tree, a giant stinging tree, its leaves covered in fine hairs that are saturated with concentrated acids for self-protection, red cedar, cabbage tree palms, bush cherry and staghorns.

 

 

 

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Jamberoo