Bermagui

Bermagui is a town on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia in the Bega Valley Shire.

Bermagui is a town on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia in the Bega Valley Shire. It lies on the shores of the southern end of Horseshoe Bay. The name is derived from the Dyirringanj word, permageua, possibly meaning "canoe with paddles".

A wharf was built in Horseshoe Bay in 1888 for the coastal trade. The port was serviced by the Illawarra and South Coast Steam Navigation Company.A 1910 article, "Bermagui – In a Strange Sunset", published by Henry Lawson in The Bulletin describes a steamer journey from Bermagui to Sydney.Lawson was probably travelling with the Illawarra Steam Navigation Company.In 1880, the Government geologist, Lamont Young, and four others disappeared while on a boat trip from Bermagui.Their boat was found near Mystery Bay, which is about 15 kilometres north of Bermagui, midway between Bermagui and Narooma, near Tilba.The bay received its name because of the disappearance.Zane Grey, the well-known big-game fisherman of the 1930s and author of Westerns, was patron of the Bermagui Sport Fishing Association for 1936/37 and anchored his yacht, the "Avalon" in Horseshoe Bay. He returned briefly for a visit in 1939. He wrote of his experiences in the town.In 1943, the Japanese submarine I-21 sank the iron ore carrier SS Iron Knight off the coast of Bermagui. Local fisherman had tangled their nets on the wreck deep below the surface in 125 metres of water, but did not know the ship lay there until a team of divers confirmed its existence on 4 June 2006. On 29 July 2006 relatives and descendants of the ship's crew came to Bermagui for a memorial and commemorative service.A fishing harbour was built at Bermagui in 1959, the first in a new series by the Public Works Department.