Nowra (/naʊərə/) is a city in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia.[2] It is located 160 kilometres (99 mi) south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about 120 kilometres (75 mi) as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated population of 22,584. Situated in the southern reaches of the Sydney basin,[3] Nowra is the seat and commercial centre of the City of Shoalhaven.
The region around Nowra is a farming community with a thriving dairy industry and a significant amount of state-owned forest land. It is also an increasingly popular retirement and leisure area for people from Canberra and Sydney. The naval air station HMAS Albatross is located about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south-west of Nowra.
History
Kinghorn Street in 1930
Prior to European arrival, the part of the Nowra region south of the Shoalhaven river was inhabited by the Wandi-Wandandian tribe of the Yuin nation, while the region north of Shoalhaven was inhabited by the Dharawal people.[citation needed] The name Nowra, originally written by Europeans as 'nou-woo-ro' (pronounced Nowa Nowa by the Indigenous Australians of the area), is an Aboriginal word for the black cockatoo.[4]
Circa 1824, ex-convict Mary Reibey applied for a land grant in the Burrier area, on the southern side of the Shoalhaven River. The Nowra township was officially recognised in 1852. Less than ten years later, in 1861, a postal service was established. In 1861, the racehorse Archer, which was trained in Nowra by Etienne de Mestre, won the first Melbourne Cup. Nowra was declared a town in 1885[5] and a city in 1979.
Bundanon Homestead
A major landmark in the area is the house Bundanon, which renowned Australian artist Arthur Boyd and his wife Yvonne donated to the people of Australia in 1993 along with an adjoining property that had been previously owned by Boyd's brother-in-law, the equally famous Australian artist Sidney Nolan.[6][7] Bundanon began as a single-storey weatherboard structure built around 1840. In 1866, a two-storey sandstone house, made of locally quarried stone, was built immediately in front of the original weatherboard house. The sandstone house features timber verandas and is now listed on the Register of the National Estate.[8]
Heritage listings
Nowra has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Along the north of Nowra is the Shoalhaven River, which formerly hosted the Australian National wakeboarding championships and is a popular fishing location. The Nowra Bridge connects it to North Nowra and Bomaderry. The Shoalhaven River is a saltwater river, although it does not flow into the sea. The Shoalhaven River meets the sea through the canal that joins the Shoalhaven and Crookhaven Rivers, which was dug by convicts under the direction of local entrepreneur and pioneer Alexander Berry.
Nowra area from Cambewarra Lookout
Climate
Nowra has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) under the Köppen climate classification. This makes it the southernmost city on the coastal strip to be within this climate zone. Interestingly, nearby coastal cities to the north, such as Wollongong and Kiama, are not in this zone and instead have an oceanic climate (Cfb) because their warmest month's average temperature do not reach the 22 °C threshold.[11] Due to its position on the leeward side of the Great Dividing Range, Nowra experiences a foehn effect, particularly in late winter and spring.[12]
Climate data for Nowra (HMAS Albatross), elevation: 109 m, averages 2000–2019
According to the 2021 census, Nowra has a population of 22,584. This covers suburbs only south of the Shoalhaven River.[1] The population is slightly younger than the state and country as a whole, with an average age of 37 compared to 38 for both Australia and New South Wales. However, the population is bimodally distributed, with a larger percentage of children and the elderly than the state and national averages.[1] 79.7% of the population were born in Australia and 82.1% speak only English at home, both above the state and national averages.[1]
Nowra has a lower level of tertiary education than typical for the state and nation. Only 15% of the population of Nowra hold a tertiary qualification, compared to 23.3% of Australia and 23.8% of New South Wales.[1]
The top five reported ancestries in Nowra at the 2021 census were Australian (40.9%), English (37.7%), Australian Aboriginal (10%), Irish (9.5%), and Scottish (8.3%).[1] Most (63%) people had both parents born in Australia, higher than the state and national averages.
The population of the suburb of Nowra (central Nowra) at the 2021 census was 9,956.[1] The Australian Bureau of statistics also recognises a larger built-up area including suburbs north of the Shoalhaven, North Nowra-Bomaderry, which had a population of 16,098 at the 2021 census.[1]
Economy
Nowra shops (Junction Street)
Nowra Town Hall was built in 1948 and is in the Central Business District. This district contains many services, including banks, health services and a library.
Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre
Nowra has a growing tourist industry, especially in the summer months, when visitors (mostly from Sydney and Canberra) flock to the beaches to enjoy swimming, surfing, fishing, shopping, and relaxing in the restaurants and cafés.
Nowra sits in the Shoalhaven region, where there are several vineyards.
Education
Nowra has three public high schools: Nowra High School, Shoalhaven High School and Bomaderry High School. There are also several non-government schools, three of which are religiously affiliated:
Nowra Christian School: a K–12 Christian-based school located in South Nowra
Nowra Anglican College: a K–12 Anglican college in Bomaderry
The district also has an independent school of special assistance. The Shoalhaven River College commenced classes in 2019 and enrols 60 students in years 9-12 in the mainstream curriculum.
There are seven public primary schools in the Nowra area: East Nowra Public School, Nowra Public School, Bomaderry Public School, Illaroo Road Public School, North Nowra Public School, Nowra Hill Public School, and Terara Public School.
The University of Wollongong has a campus in Nowra, and there is a campus of TAFE NSW Illawarra Institute in Bomaderry.
The four major codes of football in Australia are all popular in the Nowra area. Rugby union is represented by the Shoalhaven Rugby Club, who play out of Rugby Park in South Nowra. The club won the 2008 premiership in the Illawarra district competition, and has produced international and provincial players such as Andrew Walker and Alex Kanaar. Australian rules football is played by three clubs from the Shoalhaven area, with the Nowra Albatross Vikings playing at West Street Oval and the Bomaderry Tigers at Artie Smith Oval. Further south, the Bay and Basin Bombers play at the Leisure Centre at Vincentia. These four clubs are all members of the South Coast AFL, fielding junior and senior teams. Rugby league was traditionally represented by the Nowra Warriors and Bomaderry Swamprats. However, at the end of 2007 these teams merged to form the Shoalhaven Jets Rugby League Football Club.
Archer was an Australian thoroughbred racehorse trained in the Nowra area who won the first and the second Melbourne Cups in 1861 and 1862. He won both Cups by a significant margin. Archer is one of only five horses to have won the Melbourne Cup on two or more occasions, and one of only four horses to have won two successive Cups.
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