The original Bega Cheese Factory was converted into a heritage and tourism centre. Today it encloses a cafe, shop, and a museum. It is a hot spot for school excursions, and tourists.

Bega Heritage Centre

Bega Cheese Heritage Centre

Eden, as discussed in my blog regarding the coast’s history, has always been home to Whales. In more recent times several whale watching businesses have emerged. You can see more here – http://www.sapphirecoast.com.au/attractions/whale_watching.php. The main business is Cat Balou who have been in business since 1987. They cater for national and international tour groups.

Eden Whale Watching

Whale Watching at Eden

Mumbula Falls is a natural rock formation, surrounded by National Park. There is a a waterfall which can be used as a waterslide, a large rockpool for swimming, and picnic facilities. Mumbula Falls lie on sacred Yuin ground, but it is open to the public.

Mumbula Falls

There are so many places to explore, and things to do on the South Coast.

The Far South Coast was originally the home of the Yuin tribe. It was a rich land in which small nomadic groups hunted and fished. Fish and vegetable foods were plentiful. These earliest inhabitants gave their attractive names to many of the South Coasts’ beautiful and unique places. Other coastal towns, like Batemans Bay and Mount Dromedary, were named by Captain James Cook.

Indigenous Map of Australia

King Merriman of the Yuin people

A major land mark on the south Coast is the Bega Cheese Factory. Bega Cheese is an internationally recognised brand. in 1900 a butter factory was opened where the current factory stands. In 1969 the cheese factory was commissioned, and by 1984 Bega Cheese was servicing most of the country with cheese products. Today, the factory is a tourist destination, as well as a fully functioning factory that provides jobs to locals and makes 95,000 tonnes of retail-ready cheese products annually.

Historical Bega Co-operative Creamery Corporation

As part of the South Coast the Eurobodalla region was hit with ‘fifties fever’. Gold was discovered in the Moruya district in 1851. Araluen proved to be one of the three principal goldfields in Australia producing more than 26 tonnes of pure gold. In 1857 gold was found near Broulee and in 1858 Cabbage Tree Creek at Mogo sprang into the news. In 1860 good gold deposits were found at Mt Dromedary.

“The Death Flurry” by Sir Oswald Brierly, painted in the 1840s of a whalehunt in Twofold bay with stylised small killers in attendance.
The unfortunate right whale is in its last moments, with its blowhole spouting blood.

Eden’s coast has always been a home to killer whales. The Yuin people had an intricate bond with the ‘orcas’. An oral tradition tells us, that when they called the killer whales, they would herd other forms of whales and fish and these animals would beach themselves, in order to escape the death of the killer whale. Thus the tribes were provided with food. European settlers took advantage of this system. They employed Yuin men to get into large wooden boats, row the European men out to a whale that the killer’s had herded, and then harpoon them, and row them back to shore. No part of the dead animal was left, it was either eaten or sold. Ask any local, they will tell you who ‘Old Tom’ is. Old Tom was one of the killer whales who led the hunt on so many occasions working with both the Yuin tribes, and European settlers. He eventually became the most trusted and valued killer whale on a hunt. The death of Old Tom on the 13th of September 1930, effectively ended the whaling industry in Eden.

The Far South Coast has a rich and diverse history.