Heritage studies and resources
We aim to work with the community in a variety of studies - as needs are identified and resources become available.
Preserving identified heritage items and places is often managed through a listing in our local environmental plans.
Additionally, the Eurobodalla Heritage Strategy guides Council and the community in the recognition and preservation of our cultural heritage.
Studies and plans
This page covers some of our recent heritage studies, and offers local resources and contacts for anyone interested in the area's heritage.
A heritage study:
- investigates items and places of heritage significance that demonstrates an area's history
- explores and explains why the items are significant
- recommends ways to manage and conserve this significance.
Eurobodalla's conservation management plans set out what is significant about a place and what management actions are appropriate to enable that significance to be retained in its future use and development.
For most of these local places, the conservation management plan deals with the management of change.
Moruya Showground
Former Mechanic's Institute and School of Arts
Moruya Heads Pilot Station
- This plan was prepared in response to a brief by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. A copy of the plan is held at Council's Customer Service Centre, Moruya.
Moruya Quarry and Wharf
- This plan was prepared in response to a brief by the NSW Department of Lands. A copy of the plan is held at Council's Customer Service Centre, Moruya.
Nerrigundah (Pollock's) Store (destroyed by bushfire in January 2020)
- This Conservation Management Plan (CMP) presented information in relation of the owner's wish to seek consent, under Clause 28D of Eurobodalla Rural Local Environmental Plan 1987, to establish a new use for the commercial area of the property. The use was prohibited at the time.
- Nerrigundah (Pollock's) General Store (3.2 MB)
Community Based Heritage Study 2009-2011
This study reviewed and updated the earlier shire-wide heritage study, and investigated nominations from the community for new listings.
The study was conducted by a working group of community volunteers, including members of the Heritage Advisory Committee, led by Council's Heritage Advisor. Community members worked alongside the consultant for the duration of the project, undertaking research, nominating items, and considering recommendations for the future management and promotion of local heritage items.
Shire-wide Heritage Study 1995-1997
This study was conducted by a firm of experienced heritage consultants. The aim was to investigate, identify, and assesses items and places of heritage significance that demonstrate the history of our community.
Aboriginal heritage studies aim to:
- collate the oral history of Aboriginal people in Eurobodalla
- map sites of significance to Aboriginal people and look towards ways of conserving and restoring those sites
- develop and implement on-ground projects on Aboriginal land.
Our study areas include all of Eurobodalla, which is serviced by the Batemans Bay, Mogo, Cobowra, Bodalla, Wagonga and Merriman's Local Aboriginal Land Councils.
Some recent studies and projects are:
- Caring for the Ancestors: Wallaga Lake 2014 to 2015
- Aboriginal Heritage Study 2004 to 2008 and projects that followed up on recommendations from this study, including:
- Invisible Places: A history of Aboriginal reserves in Eurobodalla
- Exploring the significance of totems in Aboriginal culture
- Gravesites within the Wallaga Lake Cemetery
- Dhurga Timeline Project.
These main street studies aim to guide the development of any future plans for private and public works in the main streets of these historic villages. This will ensure that future works are responsive to the wishes of the local community.
Council began the Nelligen and Bodalla main street studies in 2010, with the aid of a grant from the then NSW Department of Planning's Heritage.
At its meeting on 23 August 2011, Eurobodalla Shire Council adopted the Nelligen and Bodalla Main Street Studies:
The studies provide specific and general advice on heritage and urban design issues for Bodalla and Nelligen's main streets with the aim of assisting private property owners and Council to carry out appropriate conservation and improvement work to their properties and public areas.
It should be noted that the delivery of the actions in these plans will be subject to Council's ability to resource, fund and prioritise through its future delivery program, the development of which will include community consultation.
The significance of Bodalla's cultural landscape has been recognised by members of the local community, Eurobodalla Shire's Heritage Advisory Committee and Council (in the Community Based Heritage Study 2009-2011)
As resources became available, Council followed up with this study.
This study aims to:
- clarify the heritage values of the Bodalla cultural landscape
- make recommendations if appropriate, eg adjustment to the boundary or further study.
It is not the study's purpose to make recommendations regarding the manner in which the area's values should or should not be managed.
Discussions with property owners in the study area with regard to listing the area as a Heritage Conservation Area in the Eurobodalla Local Environmental Plan will continue as resources allow.
Dairying has been a significant industry in Eurobodalla since European settlement. It has impacts on produce, employment, and shaping the physical and cultural landscapes. The dairy industry has also contributed to the scenic attraction of Eurobodalla as a tourist destination.
Economic changes (such as deregulation of the dairy industry in 2000 and developmental pressure to open rural land for residential and 'hobby farm' activities) gave rise to concerns of the potential to alter the appearance of the landscape that may lead to the deterioration of dairy farm buildings, including:
- farms, barns, sheds
- feed silos, milking stalls, feed stalls,
- cisterns, wells
- cheese and butter factories.
The need for a scoping study of the Eurobodalla dairy industry was based on the historical importance of the industry, and the threats that closing dairies could have to the heritage of that industry and its structures.
The 2006 scoping study was carried out as the first part of a project to assess and protect the significant Eurobodalla dairy industry. The following stages aimed to identify significant dairy industry properties, sites, and moveable heritage items that are 'at risk', and pursue documenting and conservation of those places.
There was no intention within the study to place further restriction on sites related to an industry facing pressures through regulation, competition for land and competition for markets. The purpose of the study was to document and conserve significant aspects of the dairy industry.
Council's Heritage Advisory Committee, in conjunction with local historical societies and chambers of commerce, developed a tourism map focusing on some of the main areas of heritage interest in Eurobodalla.
The area's rich heritage enhances the local tourism industry, and our interactive map encourages and educates visitors who are interested in heritage.
Grants and other resources
People with properties that are heritage listed or in a heritage conservation area can participate in grant programs that help preserve and celebrate Eurobodalla's cultural heritage:
These resources explore different aspects of heritage and conservation:
- Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Heritage consultants directory
- Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Heritage
- Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Heritage listings
- Eurobodalla Council: A guide to Heritage Impact Statements
Historical societies
Batemans Bay Heritage Museum:
- 3 Museum Place, Batemans Bay
- PO Box 448, Batemans Bay NSW 2536
- T: 02 4472 1635
- W: Batemans Bay Heritage Museum
Moruya and District Historical Society and Museum:
- 85 Campbell Street, Moruya
- PO Box 259, Moruya NSW 2537
- T: 02 4474 3224
- W: Moruya and District Historical Society and Museum website
Narooma Historical Society:
- PO Box 439, Narooma NSW 2546
- E: Narooma Historical Society
Narooma museum items display:
- Lighthouse Museum, 45 Princes Highway, Narooma NSW 2546
Advisory committees
Eurobodalla Council's Heritage Advisory Committee and Aboriginal Advisory Committee work with us to ensure that our heritage work is aligned with the needs and desires of the wider community.
Contact us
For more information please contact Council's Strategy Planner:
- T: 02 4474 1324
- E: council@esc.nsw.gov.au