Celebrate Kiama’s amazing heritage
Visit the Pilot’s Cottage Museum, Blowhole Point
Treat yourself to a fascinating trip down memory lane. Learn how Aboriginal people and white settlers have made their mark on the local area. Find out more about the marks left by cedar gatherers, farmers and quarry workers.
Discover Kiama’s leading history society
See how local people are fighting to defend the area’s heritage buildings and places, and celebrating the history of the area. Why not join up and become part of a growing movement that cares about our neighbourhoods?
Find out more about our local history
Find helpful hints on where to look for more information on the history of the area now known as the Kiama local government area. This includes on the Internet, and names of helpful organisations.
Historical Society news
Kiama Historical Society (KHS) celebrated a 50 year birthday in 2025 but there’s no sign of us slowing down! We have a record number of 235 paid members, making us one of the largest voluntary organisations in the area. Click here to join the fun.
With growing numbers of museum volunteers, from July we moved to 4 day weekend museum opening. It’s a great way to meet new people and share pride and knowledge of the amazing place we live in. Interested? - email Helen.
We also have a small army of volunteers helping in other ways: Peter with gardening (see picture), Helen with volunteering, Sheena and Barb with publicity, Boni with oral history, Heather and Ross with accessioning, Bob and Andrew with curation, Gordon with cleaning, Grahaeme with technology and Bret with handywork. Please email Tony Gilmour if you’d like to help out.
Our busiest Saturday
On 18 July we welcomed the Royal Australian Historical Society (RAHS) to Kiama. Established in 1901, the ‘Royal’ is the oldest historical society in Australia, They helped establish Kiama Historical Society in 1975, and were part of the defence when Council threatened to move the museum from Blowhole Point
KHS vice president and RAHS board member Tony Gilmour, RAHS senior vice president Christine Yeats, RAHS president Carol Liston with Kiama Mayor Cameron McDonald
KHS patron Aunty Dr Joyce Donovan welcomed 55 morning workshop participants to Country. She is a keen researcher and historian, tracing her local Wodi Wodi ancestry back over many generations.
Catering was supplied by dedicated volunteers from the Gerringong branch of the Children’s Medical Research Institute. This group, established in 1959, has raised over $2 million for worthy causes.
In the afternoon Carol Liston gave a revealing presentation to over 90 guests on the Rutter sisters. From a tragic start when sent to the Female Orphan School in 1821, three young girls become pioneer local settlers. Cecilia, Caroline and Catherine married into the Hindmarsh, Kendall and Chapman local families. But it was their determination and carefully inherited wealth that helped the success of three Kiama and Gerringong dynasties.
Events
We’ve a packed program lined up for Winter and Spring. Alongside our traditional speaker events, we’ve arranged fun events to celebrate the 150th birthday of Robertson Basin, Kiama Harbour
South Coast shipwrecks
Peter Lacey. Saturday 15 August, 2.00 pm, Kiama Library Auditorium
$3 KHS members, $5 guests. Includes afternoon tea. No pre-booking required
Up to the 1950s, ships were the lifeline connecting South Coast residents, farmers, and businesses to the outside world. However, this vital link came with significant risks, leading to around 200 shipwrecks along the South Coast.
This presentation delves into where and why these shipwrecks occurred, sharing stories of some of the most fascinating wrecks. Attendees will gain a deeper appreciation of the crucial role shipping played in the region's history and the frequent perils faced by those who took to the sea.
Peter Lacey is president of the NSW South Coast History Society. The photo is of the SS Merimbula which ran aground on Beecroft Head, near Jervis Bay, in 1928.
Celebrating 150 years of Robertson Basin, Kiama Harbour
Tony Gilmour. Saturday 19 September August, 2.00 pm, Kiama Library Auditorium
$3 KHS members, $5 guests. Includes afternoon tea. No pre-booking required
Ships had moored at what we now call Kiama Harbour since the early days of European settlement. However, it was the construction of a deeper water protected mooring that enabled the port to thrive. Started in 1868, Robertson Basin was officially opened on September 20, 1876. This heralded a quarrying boom in Kiama, bringing prosperity for the area.
To celebrate the 150 year anniversary, Tony Gilmour will explain how and why the basin was built, and its major economic and social impact on Kiama.
A week-long series of events will include a return of the ever-popular ‘night at the museum’ and guided walks around the harbour. More details to follow.
Blackbirding: a reckoning with Australia’s unspoken history of slavery
Ryan Butta, interviewed by Tony Gilmour. Saturday 10 October, 2.00 pm, Kiama Library Auditorium
Joint event with Friends of Kiama Library (FOKL). New book available for purchase
$8 KHS/FOKL members, $10 guests. Includes afternoon tea. Pre-booking required through this link
Between 1860 and 1906, more than 60,000 Pacific Islanders were brought to Australia to work the Queensland sugarcane fields. Men, women and children were taken from their homelands through coercion, deception or outright abduction. Forced into contracts they could not read, unpaid until the end of their service and denied basic rights, they endured brutal working conditions that led to the deaths of nearly 15,000 people.
Leading historical author Ryan Butta confronts one of the least acknowledged episodes in Australian history.
Exposing a deliberate ‘engineered forgetting’ that has kept these stories out of the national memory, Ryan will bring the hidden history of blackbirding into the light. He will be interview by KHS vice president Tony Gilmour.
Our publications
Dr Tony Gilmour, our vice president was busy writing during 2025!
Celebrating history tells how for over five decades Kiama Historical Society has brought to life fascinating stories from the area’s past. It has battled to preserve valuable local heritage against demolition and insensitive development.
Read all about Kiama’s legendary figures the Society has helped rediscover. From progressive writer and colourful character Charmian Clift to legendary Hollywood multi Oscar winner Orry-Kelly.
Click on the book image or button to buy the book for $25 + 50c fee (local delivery is free). All profits go to Kiama Historical Society
Published in 2025 Tony’s 286 page Rascals and respectables book tells the thrilling tale of hotels in Kiama, Jamberoo and Gerringong. From the first hotels in 1837 to the present day, drinking venues have shaped social life and character.
Kiama was once a place of ‘besotted and shameless drunkards’, Bombo hosted an illegal ‘sly grog’ shop and Kiama’s 1899 great fire led to mass bingeing on stolen alcohol.
Click on the book image or below to buy the book for $29.90 + 50c fee (local delivery is free). All profits go to Kiama Historical Society. This is a popular book - we’re on our second imprint.
Previous events - time to Podcast!
Our friends at Kiama Community Radio (KCR) have many of our recent events recorded as podcasts. Click on the images below to go to the Podcast.
