The River
Notes from Behind Broulee by W.A. Bayley, published by Eurobodalla Shire Council 1951 Revised 1964:
"April 22, 1770. Captain James Cook in The Endeavour sailed past the Tomaga River mouth, probably on this date."
"December 15, 1797. George Bass sailed past the Tomaga River mouth in a whaleboat, probably on this date."
"1880s. Sawmills sprang up and on the seacoast ports shipyards appeared. Tomago in the eighties grew around the sawmill; stores of each kind and a day and Sunday school were established. Schooners traded to the Tomago River. ... Lynch had a mill at Mogo. ... Tomakin had the Pioneer mill where schooners shipped sawn timber for Queensland and northern ports, and ships were built".
"1900-10. The bark of the wattle trees, abundant throughout the forests of the district, has also been a source of wealth. All the settlements from Nelligen to Nerrigunday have exported the bark, sometimes it was chopped and bagged for export and at times the extracted tannin alone was sent away".
Notes from Eurobodalla History of the Moruya District by H. J. Gibbney, published 1980 by Eurobodalla Shire Council:
"... As usual, small wooden ships were built close to the mill. The village of Tomago grew at the rivermouth. There was another Tomago near Newcastle so the village name was changed to Tomakin in 1880. "
A Mossy Point Progress Association record from a gathering of historical information in about 1980 notes "The Field Book of surveyor James Florance, compiled in 1828, speaks of Tomahgan (sic) River and Cundalgah Creek."
Actually the Progress Association record misspells Tommaghan. The Field Book shows Florance's original transcription of the aboriginal name of the river as Tommaghan, which evolved into Tomakin.
Interestingly, when Florance did his survey the rivermouth was much further north, half way along Tomakin Beach where there's now a very narrow sand spit.
From Mossy Point Progress Association Record 3 March 1981: “The timber port at the mouth of the River was originally Tomago but became Tomakin in 1880 to avoid confusion with a place near Newcastle.”
"April 22, 1770. Captain James Cook in The Endeavour sailed past the Tomaga River mouth, probably on this date."
"December 15, 1797. George Bass sailed past the Tomaga River mouth in a whaleboat, probably on this date."
"1880s. Sawmills sprang up and on the seacoast ports shipyards appeared. Tomago in the eighties grew around the sawmill; stores of each kind and a day and Sunday school were established. Schooners traded to the Tomago River. ... Lynch had a mill at Mogo. ... Tomakin had the Pioneer mill where schooners shipped sawn timber for Queensland and northern ports, and ships were built".
"1900-10. The bark of the wattle trees, abundant throughout the forests of the district, has also been a source of wealth. All the settlements from Nelligen to Nerrigunday have exported the bark, sometimes it was chopped and bagged for export and at times the extracted tannin alone was sent away".
Notes from Eurobodalla History of the Moruya District by H. J. Gibbney, published 1980 by Eurobodalla Shire Council:
"... As usual, small wooden ships were built close to the mill. The village of Tomago grew at the rivermouth. There was another Tomago near Newcastle so the village name was changed to Tomakin in 1880. "
A Mossy Point Progress Association record from a gathering of historical information in about 1980 notes "The Field Book of surveyor James Florance, compiled in 1828, speaks of Tomahgan (sic) River and Cundalgah Creek."
Actually the Progress Association record misspells Tommaghan. The Field Book shows Florance's original transcription of the aboriginal name of the river as Tommaghan, which evolved into Tomakin.
Interestingly, when Florance did his survey the rivermouth was much further north, half way along Tomakin Beach where there's now a very narrow sand spit.
From Mossy Point Progress Association Record 3 March 1981: “The timber port at the mouth of the River was originally Tomago but became Tomakin in 1880 to avoid confusion with a place near Newcastle.”
The river was known locally as the Tomakin River from the 1930s to the 1980s, when it began to be more often called the Tomaga River, the name used by the Eurobodalla Shire Council. Old timers still call The River "the Tomakin River". In The River there were no oyster leases with racks of oysters as there are today, but there were leases over rocks that were naturally oyster covered. For people other than the lease holder, you could not harvest oysters from a lease and take them away, but you could quite legally eat them on the spot. |
In January 1939 Christian Banks, William Banks and Thomas Southwell were fined in all £32 at Batemans Bay court on a charge of depositing a substance (fish heads and bones) on an oyster lease belonging to Andrew Nye, at Connells Point. Each appealed, the appeals were heard at Bega in March 1940.
Evidence was given that the three had filleted some fish on the public jetty and had thrown the heads and bones into the water over Nye's lease [In the Tomaga River].
The Government Astronomer's Tide Chart was produced, it showed that the water in question would have been about five feet (1.5 metres) deep.
Evidence was given that the three had filleted some fish on the public jetty and had thrown the heads and bones into the water over Nye's lease [In the Tomaga River].
The Government Astronomer's Tide Chart was produced, it showed that the water in question would have been about five feet (1.5 metres) deep.
Frank Stephens (father of Stan Stephens, and who ran a farmlet off Hilmer Ave) and Louis Radclyffe (175 Annetts Pde) gave evidence that the heads and bones were thrown on a sand bank 40 yards from the lease; and that if they had been thrown into the water over the lease they would have been swept away by the incoming tide. Radclyffe and the appellants had thrown a piece of seaweed into the water at the same tide, it was swept 30 yards in 33 seconds.
The court found in favour of the appellants, and awarded costs against Nye. As well, though it was not necessary for this case, his Honour ruled that the Act was never intended to refer to substances such as fish heads and bones.
We know that there must have been a lot more to this story, but it's been lost over time. There are pages for the Banks and Nye families, and there are entries for the Stephens and for the Radclyffe families at the A to Z page.
The court found in favour of the appellants, and awarded costs against Nye. As well, though it was not necessary for this case, his Honour ruled that the Act was never intended to refer to substances such as fish heads and bones.
We know that there must have been a lot more to this story, but it's been lost over time. There are pages for the Banks and Nye families, and there are entries for the Stephens and for the Radclyffe families at the A to Z page.
The narrow part of the dunes at Tomakin Beach was breached a few times after flood tides in 1952. The mouth of The River was last dredged in 1951, it didn't do any good.
In January 1961 holidaymakers Rattigans brought along their plywood launch with an 18 hp motor. On 2 occasions Richard Rattigan, Richard Fisher and Brian Curtin waterskied on the River at high tide. Believed to be the first to do it, and It was quite acceptable back then. Times were different.
In 1982 some interested parties, who wanted to make money out of bigger boats in The River, proposed broaching the narrow spit (that's where the rivermouth was in 1827) and building training walls to keep the entrance open to large boats.
Eurobodalla Shire Council set up an Estuary Management Committee in the late 1990s to look at how the river management could be improved. A Processes Study was completed in 2003, a Management Plan in 2005.