Chilby Photography

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Happy Fathers Day to all the Father's and Grandfathers! This photo was taken at Berkeley on Lake Illawarra. Did you know...
05/09/2026

Happy Fathers Day to all the Father's and Grandfathers!

This photo was taken at Berkeley on Lake Illawarra.

Did you know the idea of Fathers Day came out of the USA in around 1910 and the first Fathers day in Australia was recorded in Newcastle in 1936, it was celebrated in Wollongong and across the nations in the years to follow and grew in popularity in the late 1950's and 1960's. In earlier years Fathers Day was recognised in church services and family gatherings and the gift giving took off in the 1970's, when retailers adopted and promoted the day. The government designated the first Sunday in September as the official day in 1964. The USA and UK celebrate Father's Day in June but Australia and New Zealand chose September for the warmer weather and there was also a gap in commercial calendar to fill.

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Windang and Lake Illawarra The mouth of the lake seperates Wollongong City and Shellharbour City. In the indigenous lang...
03/09/2026

Windang and Lake Illawarra

The mouth of the lake seperates Wollongong City and Shellharbour City.

In the indigenous language, Windang meant the scene of a fight and Windang had many Indigenous people living in the area at the time of settlement. There were numerous middens and ceremonial sites around Windang, suggesting the area was heavily used as a source of food as well as for ceremonies and as a meeting place for possibly thousands of years.

Bass and Flinders were the first official Europeans to make contact with the Aboriginal people of Windang. Although there were already white men and women living among the tribe, they were thought to have been escaped convicts from Sydney.

Bass and Flinders called the mouth of Lake Illawarra Canoe River and also noted that the indigenous people called the Illawarra region Allowrie also spelled Elouera, which is where the word Illawarra comes from. The exact meaning is not known, but it is believed to have meant 'a pleasant place'.

In the 1920's, Windang became a popular tourist destination, and many camped alongside the river. One of the biggest draw cards was the abundance of Lake Illawarra prawns.

Later on, many will remember the Merinda cruises on Lake Illawarra in the 1980's and the Windang boat sheds that were sadly removed.

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Woonona Ocean Pool with Mt Keira peeking out from behind the pavilion. Right here at Collins Rock was the first attempte...
30/08/2026

Woonona Ocean Pool with Mt Keira peeking out from behind the pavilion.

Right here at Collins Rock was the first attempted landing spot of Captain James Cook (then a lieutenant) on Australian soil in April 1770. The crew were very low on water, and they tried to land here in a small boat to get fresh water from Collins Creek. Heavy surf prevented them from landing, and after 2 hours, they moved on, and they landed at Kurnell, Botany Bay, the next day. 

It is also here where Captain Cook and crew saw the indigenous people up relatively close for the first time. Four Aboriginal men headed briskly to the beach, and two were carrying a canoe on their shoulders. They didn't enter the water as Cook expected and waited for the boat and men to come ashore, but as they approached, the indigenous men headed back into the bush which was dominated by cabbage tree palms and other small trees with little undergrowth. There were other canoes and some small shelters near the beach, which were recorded by Captain Cook.

Captain Cook noted his disappointment as they were excited to meet and talk to the indigenous people for the first time. They were also hoping to get a close-up clear view of them. Imagine being any of these people in this encounter as two far-away worlds collided, changing the course of the continent forever. It must have been a very bizarre out of this world sight for the locals to see a tall ship and very different white people attempting to come ashore. Cook also noted lots of camp fires at night along the coast.

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Sea Cliff Bridge. This bridge was constructed between 2003 and 2005 after many rock falls and landslides caused closures...
28/08/2026

Sea Cliff Bridge.

This bridge was constructed between 2003 and 2005 after many rock falls and landslides caused closures off the coast road. If you look to the old road when travelling across, you will see the large boulders that continue to fall from these very unstable cliffs.

The location of the bridge is steeped in history and was the first place that coal was discovered in Australia, hence the name Coalcliff. The coal was discovered in 1797 by 3 survivors of the Sydney Cove Ship Wreck who walked from Victoria back to Sydney, well before any settlements were established along the route. You can still clearly see the coal seams today.

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northernillawarra illawarraescarpment

This photo was captured at sunset overlooking Boonerah Point jetty and Lake Illawarra, Shellharbour NSW. Boonerah Point ...
26/08/2026

This photo was captured at sunset overlooking Boonerah Point jetty and Lake Illawarra, Shellharbour NSW.

Boonerah Point jetty would have to be my favorite local spot for sunset. It is the 4th longest jetty on the lake at 65 metres long and has a beautiful escarpment backdrop looking straight into the sunset.

Boonerah is said to mean wind in the Dharawal language, which makes sense being on the east side of the lake as the westerly roar across the lake.

In 1770, Captain Cook (Lieutenant Cook) made reference to camp fires along the shore, just before dark in the Shellharbour area. This was most likely referring to Bass Point.

In 1816, 22 free grants were issued to settlers. In 1851, a settler called D'arcy Wentwoth named his large property Peterborough, and the area took on that name until it was named Shellharbour in 1885. Shellharbour was named as such for very obvious reasons; the harbour and foreshore were covered in shells. The harbour was first built in the 1820s and was used to ship out red cedar. It was further developed in the 1860s.

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Coledale Ocean Pool. This ocean pool was built in 1914 and 1915 by local coal miners. It didn't officially open until 19...
22/08/2026

Coledale Ocean Pool.

This ocean pool was built in 1914 and 1915 by local coal miners. It didn't officially open until 1921 when it was launched with a swimming carnival.

The name Coledale was first recorded in 1902, but it was actually spelled wrong. It was called Coaldale prior to 1902 after the large coal deposits found in the area, but when the railway platform sign went up, it said Coledale and the spelling stuck as it did in Austinmer. The original railway platform was 100 metres from its current location.

Some of the first settlers were given land grants in the 1800's, but they didn't settle or develop the area for many years, it was still bushland until the 1880's. A bush track was cut from Bulli to Clifton in 1868 and by 1886 it had improved from a rough route to a dirt road. This track eventually evolved into Lawrence Hargrave Drive.

The first coal mine opened in 1889 and this led to the development of the town, but the Coledale mine didn't last long before closing in 1898 due to underground issues. It reopened in 1903 as the North Bulli Colliery, which went very well for a decade and expanded to have coke ovens, but it closed in 1926. It re-opened again in 1942 and operated until 1974, when it closed for the final time. It was one of the last mines in New South Wales to have pit ponies.

Coledale school opened in 1912, the Coledale surf club opened in 1913, the Coledale hospital in 1915 and the RSL opened in 1948.

Another interesting fact about Coledale is that John Simpson Kirkpatrick better known as Simpson and his Donkey worked at Coledale colliery in 1910, before heading to Gallipoli. He later would become a legend known for rescuing many wounded Australian soldiers under heavy fire, with his donkey named Duffy.

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A lone figtree at Dunmore NSW.Dunmore is a small historic locality in the Shellharbour region. For the best part of its ...
20/08/2026

A lone figtree at Dunmore NSW.

Dunmore is a small historic locality in the Shellharbour region. For the best part of its history following European settlement, it remained a rural district, but in recent years, like much of the surrounding region, it has transformed with rapidly growing suburbia and the development of the new Shellharbour Hospital.

Dunmore was once part of the Peterborough Estate, which was granted to D’Arcy Wentworth in 1821. The area was named Dunmore in 1865, when George Lawrence Fuller purchased property along the Minnamurra River and named it Dunmore. In 1880, he built Dunmore House from local materials.

In 1887, Dunmore railway station opened, initially serving as the main railway station for the Shellharbour region.

Basalt quarrying begun in 1900 by the Fuller family.

In 2014, Shellharbour Junction station opened, replacing the old Dunmore station.

The new hospital is due to be completed late next year.

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Jamberoo ValleyIn the Dharawal language, Jamberoo means track or path, and many of the local roads we use today follow o...
18/08/2026

Jamberoo Valley

In the Dharawal language, Jamberoo means track or path, and many of the local roads we use today follow old Aboriginal trails. Jamberoo was the busiest centre in the Kiama area in the 1850s, and in 1838, there was another township called Woodstock just to the west of Jamberoo. This was a timber mill town, and after the mill closed in 1873, the town disappeared off the map.

Here is a great quote about the Illawarra region from the 1800's: 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, impenetrable 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, sown snakelike from the trees. Quote by the mill manager's daughter.

One of the most interesting landmarks in the village of Jamberoo is the pub built in 1857 and also known for its family connection to former Australian Socceroo legend Johnny Warren. Jamberoo is the birthplace of Illawarra Short Horn dairy cattle breed and was home to the first dairy, butter, and cheese co-operative, which opened in 1884.

Most of the dry stone walls in the Kiama area were built by Thomas Newing, who arrived in Australia from Kent in 1856. Kiama is one of the few areas in Australia to use stone wall fences similar to those in Britain and Ireland. Thomas Newing worked 8 hours a day, 6 days a week for 60 years to build the hundreds of walls throughout the district, and they stretch from the coast right up to the sheer upper reaches of the escarpment, to an elevation of about 650 metres above sea level.

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newsouthwales

With all of our amazing mountains, beaches, lagoons, the lake, rainforests and spectacular scenery we don’t have many bi...
16/08/2026

With all of our amazing mountains, beaches, lagoons, the lake, rainforests and spectacular scenery we don’t have many big rivers along the coastal region of the Illawarra unlike the rivers you will see on a drive further down the coast or even in the Sydney area.

The reason for this is the escarpment, in many parts along the top of the escarpment the peak is on the edge of the escarpment with the land tilting slightly downhill in a westward direction on the other side. There are smaller creeks cut through the escarpment, but large rivers were unable to form other than the Minnamurra and Crooked River in the south. Over the mountain we do have the Cateract, Loddon, Corgeux and Avon rivers which now form and feed our dams. The Macquarie Rivulet is not quite a river, but it is a spectacular water system that runs from the highlands, through beautiful rainforest and eventually feeds into Lake Illawarra.

All of that said, did you know that 3 of Sydney’s rivers start in Wollongong. The Hacking River most
associated with the Audley, Bundeena and Cronulla areas begins near Kellys Falls in the Stanwell Tops area and it flows northward, The Woronora River starts near Darkes Forest and also flows northward. The Georges River starts between Wollongong and Appin and flows west, then north before making its way eastward to Botany Bay.

The Hacking River is 26km long. It flows northward and descends 84 metres before flowing into Port Hacking. The river was once home to platypus, but they were declared extinct in the system in 1970 after an oil tanker crash on the Princes Highway spilled oil directly into the river’s catchment waters in the Garrawarra area. Today some platypus have been realised into the Hacking River again.

Here are 30 photos of the Hacking River taken in the Northern Illawarra part of Wollongong. Mainly at Stanwell Tops, Otford and the southern part of the Royal National Park, the photos towards the end are taken near Audley, Bundeena and Cronulla.

A lone figtree at sunset, Dunmore NSW.Dunmore is a small historic locality in the Shellharbour region. For the best part...
13/08/2026

A lone figtree at sunset, Dunmore NSW.

Dunmore is a small historic locality in the Shellharbour region. For the best part of its history following European settlement, it remained a rural district, but in recent years, like much of the surrounding region, it has transformed with rapidly growing suburbia and the development of the new Shellharbour Hospital.

Dunmore was once part of the Peterborough Estate, which was granted to D’Arcy Wentworth in 1821. The area was named Dunmore in 1865, when George Lawrence Fuller purchased property along the Minnamurra River and named it Dunmore. In 1880, he built Dunmore House from local materials.

In 1887, Dunmore railway station opened, initially serving as the main railway station for the Shellharbour region.

Basalt quarrying begun in 1900 by the Fuller family.

In 2014, Shellharbour Junction station opened, replacing the old Dunmore station.

The new hospital is due to be completed late next year.

See more landscapes at www.chilby.com.au

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