Jervis Bay

Jervis Bay formed part of an Aboriginal coastal country whose food grounds extended from sheltered waters to the surrounding forests. On the Bherwerre Peninsula, shell middens, stone-working places and ceremonial grounds preserve traces of long occupation. Shellfish gathering and net-fishing were especially important, supplemented by yams, berries and animals taken inland. The bay belonged to a connected inhabited landscape well before its appearance on British charts.

In August 1791 Richard Bowen entered the bay aboard Atlantic and gave it the name Jervis, honoring the naval commander under whom he had served. Shipping along the New South Wales coast subsequently brought the district closer to the colony at Sydney. An encounter on the adjacent ocean shore showed how much newcomers still depended on local people. In December 1835 the convict transport Hive ran aground at Bherwerre Beach in Wreck Bay, south of Jervis Bay. Aboriginal residents helped the survivors communicate with European settlers, including Alexander Berry, and a rescue and salvage operation followed. The sheltered bay and exposed outer beaches thus offered sharply different conditions to mariners approaching this coast.