View across the Pambula Valley

Pambula
Small rural town in the hinterland behind the coast
The historic village of Pambula is located 473 km south of Sydney via the Princes Highway on the far south coast of New South Wales. It is a pretty little town spread on both sides of the Pambula River valley.

The area was first explored by Europeans on 18 December 1797 during the southern voyage of George Bass. Taking shelter in an inlet during a gale Bass travelled up the Pambula River noting the beauty of the spot in his diary. This site has been marked by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The Imlay Brothers, pioneers and landowners in the area, were probably the first European settlers, establishing their head station on the banks of the Pambula River in the 1830s. When the brothers were broken by the depression of the early 1840s the Walker Brothers obtained the property.

In 1845 a road, passing through Pambula, was established from Monaro to Eden. The growth of traffic prompted the Walker Brothers to build the Governor Fitzroy Hotel, one of the first hotels between Moruya and the border.

The residents of the early town realised they had settled on a flood plain when the river overflowed its banks in 1851. Over time the centre of settlement shifted to higher ground. Typical of the problems was the Pambula Cemetery. The original site, east of the Highway and still marked by an enclosure around some remaining graves, was prone to flooding and many of the older headstones were shifted to the new site.

The discovery of gold at Kiandra gave the town a boost. Timber, maize, wattlebark, dairying and oyster farming (commencing 1891) were important aspects of the economy in the late nineteenth century but it was the discovery of gold on the banks of the Yowaka River in 1888 which provided the greatest excitement.

According to legend the two prospectors who discovered the gold had decided to abandon their fruitless search and it was only on the way back to town, when they washed the dirt they had gathered, that they made their discovery. By 1891 there were eleven mining companies in operation at the Mount Gahan site.

In the early years of the twentieth century the town's prosperity and population went into a decline as the local dairying, maize and wattlebark industries encountered difficulties and gold production virtually ceased around 1915. Because it has changed little this century, modern day Pambula has retained some of its old-fashioned charm.

Things to see:  

Pambula Court House

Historic Buildings in Pambula
The Commercial Hotel, on the corner of Toalla and Quondola Sts, was established in 1878 on the site of an earlier inn, using materials from Pambula's old National School. If you continue west along Toalla Street you will find the Court House (1860) and, next door but set back from the road, is St Peter's Catholic Church (1867).

Opposite the Shell Service Station on Quondola Street is 'The Retreat' (c.1850). Unoccupied at the time of writing the building originally belonged to Syms Covington who opened 'The Forest Oak' inn there in 1857.

Sir William McKell, Australian Labor politician, premier of NSW (1941-47) and governor-general of Australia (1947-53) was born in Pambula in 1891 at the site now occupied by McKell's Eating House and Emporium on Toalla St.

The Grange

Historic Buildings in the District
If you cross the flats into South Pambula you will see 'The Grange' on your right, built by Captain John Lloyd, a veteran of the battle of Trafalgar who, in 1844, received a grant of 300 acres in the area in lieu of retirement pay. Lloyd did a good deal of rescue work in his boat during the floods of 1851.It is believed that the stone used in its construction came from Devon as ship's ballast. At one time boats could be moored just below 'The Grange' but the river changed its course in the floods of 1860. While settlers such as the Imlay Brothers employed and got on with the local Aborigines, others were less at ease. Lloyd had the windows of 'The Grange' barred for this reason.

At the junction of the road to Bombala is the former Roan Horse Inn (c. 1850s), one of the early caterers to the traffic, while further down the Bombala Road is an old butter factory dating from the end of the nineteenth century.

South along the Princes Highway you will encounter a building that was moved to its location from a point somewhere south of Boydtown. It is now the Settler's Cottage tearooms and craft shop.

In the District
South of the town is a turn-off to the left which will take you to Pambula Estuary where the Sinbad Cruises offer cruises along the lake and river. The trip ventures into Ben Boyd National Park past large Aboriginal middens on the river banks that are over 2000 years old. If you are headed for Wyndham or just looking for an outing, 9 km west of South Pambula you will find Pambula River Picnic Area on the Wolumla Peak Road, just off the Wyndham Road.

Pambula Beach

If you turn left along Bullara St, you will find yourself at Pambula Beach and the headland of the river mouth. The beach, located at the southern end of Merimbula Bay, is long and impressive and is noted for its surfing. There is a walking track and lookout nearby and a caravan park immediately adjacent.

	Tourist Information
	Pambula Newsagency Toalla St Pambula NSW 2549 Telephone: (02) 6495 6606
	Motels
	Colonial Motor Inn Princes Hwy Pambula NSW 2549 Telephone: (02) 6495 6700 Rating: **
	Idlewilde Town & Country Motor Inn Princes Hwy Pambula NSW 2549 Telephone: (02) 6495 6844 Rating: ***
	Hotels
	Commercial Hotel Quondola St Pambula NSW 2549 Telephone: (02) 6495 6012
	Royal Willows Hotel/Motel Quondola St Pambula NSW 2549 Telephone: (02) 6495 6005 Rating: *
	Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
	Roan Horse Inn Pambula Soutn Pambula NSW 2549 Telephone: (02) 6495 6110 Facsimile: (02) 6495 7612
	Caravan Parks
	Holiday Hub Pambula Beach Rd Pambula NSW 2549 Telephone: (02) 6495 6363 Rating: ***
	Kalorama Caravan Park Princes Hwy Pambula NSW 2549 Telephone: (02) 6495 6366 Rating: ***
	Restaurants
	Pambula - Merimbula Golf Club Arthur Kaine Dve Pambula NSW 2549 Telephone: (02) 6495 7012
	The Grange Wyndham Rd Pambula NSW 2549 Telephone: (02) 6495 6169
	Cafés
	The Caterers Choice Cafe 22 Toalla St Pambula NSW 2549 Telephone: (02) 6495 7012