Villages of the South Coast

by By Jane Sandilands
(Bermagui)

By Jane Sandilands

The villages of Mogo, Bodalla and Central Tilba add much to the traveller?s experience of the Eurobodalla Coast, going well beyond the experience of somewhere to go when it's not beach weather. They present the history of working towns which still have a reason for being, of a history of gold mining, of cheese making and above all, of welcoming the visitor to participate in their own particular brand of community. As well, they showcase the many talents of artists and craftspeople, of innovative and original thinkers and the kind of excellence for which the South Coast is becoming known.

Mogo: Roses and Snow Leopards

Alf Uptin is the keeper of roses at Mogo, the small village 10 kilometres south of Batemans Bay that was touched with the excitement of its own gold rush in the mid-nineteenth century where over 20,000 miners worked claims and which is recreated today in Old Mogo Town where visitors can experience the excitement and privations of the diggers.

Defying the conventional wisdom that roses shouldn?t be grown south of the Blue Mountains especially on the coast, Alf Uptin has planted four acres next to the Princes Highway with 90 different varieties of perfumed hybrid tea roses which attracts rose growers from around Australia to stop, admire and talk to Alf about the secrets of roses.

And it?s not only roses that attract visitors to look over Alf Uptin's fence. They're joined by jockeys and racegoers who stop to pay homage to Stanton, who won 16 races including the Goulburn and Wolumla Cups and prize money of $50,000. In 1994, jockey 'Chicka' Pearson left a note on Alf?s door 'please ring Chicka'. When Alf did, Chicka told him that a retired racehorse, Stanton needed a home or was destined for the knackery. Alf and Carol welcomed him and his life is spent with the ducks, geese and magpies that frequent the rose and vegetable garden and occasionally strolls to the fence when callers arrive.

Animals of a more exotic kind are at nearby Mogo Zoo, where Sally Padey presides over the only privately owned zoological park in Australia dedicated to the conservation of exotic endangered animals.

Under its banner 'Doing Good Things for Animals', this remarkable Mogo Zoo is committed to the survival of endangered species. It has links with zoos across the world and is recognised by the international studbook keepers of various species, who rate various animals according to their genetic value and their viability. In spacious enclosures surrounded by vegetation are snow leopards - the first bred in Australia in captivity in ten years - Nepalese red pandas, otters, jaguars, Syrian brown bears, Sumatran and Bengal Tigers and others equally rare and exotic. But for the many international tourists who expect to see a koala, Mogo Zoo no longer keeps them. However, Birdland at Batemans Bay has several healthy specimens along with wombats and many other Australian natives. Well-informed keepers give regular talks to visitors at feeding times check their brochure and the Zoo has more recently expanded to an area of open plains savannah for giraffe, zebras, ostrich and rhinoceros.

Of the eight snow leopards in Australia, four are at the Mogo Zoo. The Zoo hosts work exchange students from England and Europe and attracts staff from all over the world. Half a million people visit the Zoo?s website each year and it attracts 90,000 visitors through its gates each year.

And exotic animals are not the only treasures to be found at Mogo. Alison Miers has operated J & P Miers Jewellery for over twenty years, helping give Mogo its reputation for a place where rare and unusual treasures can be acquired. Two jewellers work full time, much of the furniture is made nearby, woollen throws are made by a local woman and work in mixed mediums such as wrought iron and leadlight is also custom made locally to tempt travellers from Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

The fascination of local crafts, rare and unusual plants at the heritage-listed Mogo Nursery, the delights of choosing a good place to eat and simply wandering, ice-cream in hand, in this picturesque historic town are one of the Eurobodalla Coast's great pleasures.


Bodalla: Cheese And The Church

Don McPhee started to make cheese in Tilba Tilba in 1966 and moved to Bodalla in 1970 when if you said 'Bodalla', people immediately thought of cheese.

For several years, McPhee traded as South Coast Cheese, practising his craft in an industrial shed a few hundred metres down Potato Point Road, establishing a regular clientele for 600 kilograms of good quality aged cheese that leave his premises each week. More recently, Nic and Erica Dibden purchased the business and while many of his customers drop in, taste the cheese and choose their supply from their well stocked refrigerator, overnight post packs to other parts of New South Wales means that those living away from the district can also enjoy the cheeses of Bodalla.

All Saints Church stands as a mark of the commitment of wool industry pioneer Thomas Sutcliffe Mort to Bodalla. The Mort of pastoral company Elder Smith Goldsbrough Mort, he owned 13,000 acres in the district and H.J. Gibbney?s History of the Moruya District records him pursuing his dream of a model estate at Bodalla, realised in the 1860s and which attracted the attention of those interested in farm technology all over Australia.

Mort chose the site for All Saints Church, its architect, Edmund T. Blacket and the builder, Joseph Zeigler from Moruya. The granite to build the church was quarried on Mort's estate. Mort died in 1878 aged 62 and did not see the foundation stone laid but anyone who enters the church cannot fail to be aware of his influence. On the chancel arch are his last words: "Thine Eyes Shall See the King in his Beauty", given by the people of Bodalla in memory of Mort and his wife. Mort is buried in the local cemetery.

When visitors stroll up Bodalla's gently curving hill under the magnolia grandiflora, there's plenty to tempt those looking for the unusual - and the homely. The bakery still makes a traditional loaf of bread, using an old wood oven and only rainwater in the mix and at the post office, postmaster John Davies will sell you stamps across the original old wooden counter. In the same building as the post office is The Postmaster?s Gallery, exhibiting the work of three local artists. Bodalla is also the place for interesting antiques, and a stroll around town reveals much of its early history, including the farrier next to the bakery.

Just before leaving Bodalla, notice the rustic bird feeders, wishing wells and bridges in Paul Blinman's front garden. He uses recycled, salvaged and untreated timber to create unusual garden furniture. A blind craftsman, Blinman's card says he "may not have sight but still has great visions".

Tilba: Coffee And Community

If there's one key to the lasting fascination travellers have for the heritage town of Central Tilba, it is the warmth of community life in the village which extends its welcome to include visitors.

Kay Ewin of Wirrina bed and breakfast has lived in the town for many years and has seen a gradual shift in how visitors enjoy their time there. While Central Tilba attracts people for its undoubted beauty where the whole valley, as well as the town is heritage listed, now, she says, it?s also the very evident sense of community that draws them. Among events that happily include visitors are the local get together on Friday nights and Sunday evening at the Mt Dromedary Hotel which features local bands and a low cost dinner. Contemporary art exhibitions at Ish Gallery include openings featuring local musicians and performers and various events at the newly refurbished 100-year-old Tilba Hall including live theatre and concerts performed by local theatre groups and musicians.

One of Tilba's great success stories is its annual Festival, held on Easter Saturday and coming up to its 25th year. Around 10,000 visitors come to town and the Festival is a great example of the community at work. A farmer hires out his paddock for a car park where the signs read: "This is normally a cow park, not a car park - please be careful where you walk" and teams of local Scouts marshal hundreds of vehicles into organised rows.

Despite its picture postcard beauty, Central Tilba also holds firmly to its working town past. Woodturning, leatherwork, local art, a prizewinning bakery and interesting clothes all reflect quality local work. And there's a selection of good places to have coffee and something to eat.

And just two kilometres down the road, Tilba Tilba adds another dimension to life in this protected valley overlooked by Gulaga formerly known as Mt Dromedary. Here, The Foxglove Spire Gardens hosts thousands of visitors each year to wander through over six acres of gardens transformed from a paddock surrounded by dairy farms.

All the villages of the Eurobodalla Coast have what Kay Ewin describes as a "lived in character". They've grown from nineteenth century working origins and they're still proud to celebrate that fact early in the twenty first century.