Guide to Coolangatta New South Wales Australia

Coolangatta is a locality at the foot of Mount Coolangatta, beside the Shoalhaven River near Shoalhaven Heads. In 1822 Alexander Berry and Edward Wollstonecraft chose this spot for the headquarters of their huge land grant, which makes it the first European settlement on the South Coast. The Queensland town of the same name is called after a ship that was named for this place.

Known For

• The first European settlement on the South Coast
• Convict-built estate buildings
• A vineyard and cellar door

Things To Do at Coolangatta

Coolangatta Estate

The surviving buildings of the Berry estate, among them the stables, the coach house, the blacksmith’s shop and workers’ cottages, have been restored as a resort and winery. Visitors can taste wine at the cellar door, eat in the restaurant, walk around the village and, on some days, take a tour up the mountain by four-wheel-drive bus.

Mount Coolangatta

The mountain, known to the local Aboriginal people as Cullunghutti, is a place of great spiritual importance. It dominates the river flats for kilometres around.

Where To Stay

The estate offers rooms in the historic buildings. Shoalhaven Heads has a holiday park and villas.

History

Berry arrived by sea in June 1822 and had convicts cut a canal to link the Shoalhaven with the Crookhaven, giving safe access for ships. The estate grew to more than 26,000 hectares, with its own shipyard, mills and tenant farms, and was broken up after 1889.

Getting to Coolangatta

From the Princes Highway at Bomaderry, follow Bolong Road east for about 15 minutes.