Kiama

The title of this article is ambiguous. For the long-distance runner of the same name, see Charles Munyeki Kiama .

Kiama
Panorama of the city
State :  Australia State : New South Wales Founded : 1839
Coordinates : 34 ° 40 ′  S , 150 ° 51 ′  E Coordinates: 34 ° 40 ′  S , 150 ° 51 ′  E Height : 10  m Area : 259  km²
Residents : 13,453 (2016) Population density : 52 inhabitants per km²
Time zone : AEST (UTC + 10) Postal code : 2533 LGA : Municipality of Kiama
Kiama

Little blowhole

Kiama is a town on the Princes Highway in the Illawarra region 120 km south of Sydney , New South Wales , Australia . It is the seat of the administrative area of the same name (LGA) Municipality of Kiama and had 13,453 inhabitants at the last census in 2006. Kiama is the first rural town south of the Sydney metropolitan area. Numerous day-trippers come from there because of the well-known Kiama Blowhole and the popular beaches.

history

The location of Kiama is located at a point where two strong lava flows, called the Gerringong Volcanics , overlap. They came from the 600 m high Saddleback Mountain , now a collapsed volcanic vent. The Kiama Blowhole was created by erosion processes on this younger rock made of columnar basalt and latite .

Long before the first Europeans came to this area, Aborigines from the Tharawal tribe lived in this area. Finds of discarded mussel shells near Bass Point show that humans have lived here for more than 17,000 years. During this time, the entire coastal region was covered by rainforest and cedar thickets. There is evidence of a thriving culture, with intricately crafted possum capes , a well-developed cycle of songs and stories, and a deep understanding of the many plants in the rainforest. Today the rainforest only exists in a few pockets along the Illawarra edge, such as in the Minnamurra Rainforest Center .

On December 6th, 1797, George Bass became the first European to pass through this area. He anchored here on his voyage of discovery to Bass Strait and noticed the beauty and diversity of this area and was amazed when he saw the Kiama Blowhole for the first time .

About 15 years later, around 1810, the so-called Cedar getters , a violent bunch of convicts, ex-convicts and refugees, came to the area around here to cut the Australian red cedar , known for its tough and durable wood. In the following time, Kiama, along with Gerringong and Shellharbour, became one of the most important ports for the cedar trade with Sydney. According to Surveyor General John Oxley in 1826, 90% of the cedar wood handled in Sydney came from this area.

With David Smith, the first settler came to Kiama. The sawmill settled here in 1821 and, after being allocated land in 1831, built the first permanent building one year later, which 6 years later also became the city's first hotel, called the Gum Tree Inn . The official appointment to the city was in 1839.

After the rainforest was cleared, Kiama became one of the first dairy centers in Australia. In 1880 butter was exported directly to England from here. The second important industry was the quarries . This is where the basalt was mined, which was formed during the two volcanic eruptions 240 million and 66 million years ago and which was an important raw material for the growing colony. The basalt was needed for road construction and for the track bed of the railways. The first quarry opened in 1855 and with the opening of the port of Kiama in 1883, over 400 tons per day could be transported to the capital with the specially set up Stone fleet .

Kiama Light the lighthouse at Blowhole Point near the famous Blowhole was built in 1887.

climate

Kiama has a maritime climate ( Effective Climate Classification Cfb ) typical of central and southern New South Wales, with warm summers and mild winters. Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year, with the wettest months in autumn and the driest in spring.

Average monthly temperatures and precipitation for KIAMA Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) 27.2 25.2 24.3 22.3 20.1 17.7 16.9 18.2 20.0 21.8 22.4 24.3 O 21.7 Min. Temperature (° C) 17.5 17.8 16.5 13.8 11.9 9.4 8.5 8.9 10.7 12.4 14.0 16.3 O 13.1 Precipitation ( mm ) 108.6 120.2 143.1 130.7 119.6 122.9 88.3 81.4 73.9 87.0 89.5 92.4 Σ 1,257.6 Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 9.1 8.5 7.8 6.7 6.2 5.8 5.2 6.6 7.4 8.1 8.7 9.1 O 7.4 Rainy days ( d ) 9.1 9.1 9.8 8.7 8.0 7.8 6.7 6.6 7.0 8.1 8.7 8.4 Σ 98 Source:

sons and daughters of the town

• Charmian Clift (1923–1969), writer and essayist
• George Fuller (1861–1940), former Prime Minister of New South Wales
• Orry George Kelly (1897–1964), award-winning costume designer

Web links

Commons : Kiama, New South Wales  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Kiama Tourism - The Official Guide to Kiama
• Kiama Municipal Council homepage

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Australian Bureau of Statistics : Kiama ( English ) In: 2016 Census QuickStats . June 27, 2017. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
2. ↑ http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/NationalParks/parkSector.aspx?id=N0069&s=20080510000000124
3. ↑ ^{a b} Kiama Library: Red cedar . Retrieved October 3, 2011. (English)
4. ↑ ^{a b} The Sydney Morning Herald : Kiama - Culture and History  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , dated November 21, 2008. Retrieved October 3, 2011. (English)  
5. ^ Kiama Lighthouse ( English ) In: New South Wales Lighthouses . Lighthouses of Australia Inc. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
6. ↑ Climate statistics for Australian locations (KIAMA BOWLING CLUB) ( English ) Australian Government - Bureau of Meteorology . Retrieved June 6, 2009.