built to last

The Bulli boat sheds, built to last, have weathered storms and fires and over 120 years later the sheds remain a beloved part of Bulli history.

Words Kirsten Hammermeister

Images From the collections of the Wollongong City Libraries and the Illawarra Historical Society

At Sandon Point in Bulli you will find a heritage-listed landmark nestled upon the shore. A reminder of the past, the boat sheds are the last remaining of these structures that were once common on the surrounding northern headlands of Bellambi, Woonona, Austinmer, Coledale and Stanwell Park. From three boat sheds in 1899, to over 30 in the 1960s, there now remains twelve which are still used to this day.

An important ceremonial site, burial site and meeting place for the Wodi Wodi people, the area provided an abundance of food for these gatherings. Around 1817, began the colonial occupation of the Sandon Point area and by the late 1800s the area was supporting brickmaking, coal mining and coking. Bulli became known as the Black Diamond district.

The economic depression of the 1890s saw the emergence of fishing in the Illawarra as more than a recreational activity and instead as a necessity for providing food for the European settlers and their families, just as it had been for the traditional owners.

From these circumstances the first boat sheds were constructed to support the growing boating community and those who lived off the sea-life on Illawarra shores. The first boat sheds stood by the old Bulli Colliery’s sea jetty — a construction that had been rebuilt and damaged by a number of storms over the years, finally succumbing after a succession of storms in 1943.

The turn of the twentieth century brought with it a surge in popularity for fishing in the area. Jacob Glass, a local businessman, and others took the initiative to organise a fishing competition which attracted twelve boats in 1907. This contest, held along the shores of Bulli, continued for many years under the leadership of Glass, etching a history and breathing life into the Sandon Point boat sheds. In the 1920s, explosives were used to create a channel carved into the rock ledge in front the sheds for boat launching. This was again done in the 1950s to create a second channel.

The corrugated metal structures carry the history of Bulli’s early angling families. The Bourkes, Chilbys, Critchers, Fritz, Glasses, Gwythers, Haberleys, Hobbs, Johnsons, Nicklins, Orvads, Rixons and Taylors and many other families fished in the Sandon Point area – from the sheds, the jetty or along the coast.

The original boat shed owners paid a yearly rent to George Adams, owner of the Bulli Colliery. By the time the early 1940s rolled around, the colliery ownership had changed hands to Australian Iron & Steels who charged shed renters six shillings a year. After the closure of the jetty, the Bulli Shire Council collected rent charging the same amount. In Austinmer, council charged ten shillings for similar sheds.

In 1998 after a storm, a 6000-year-old skull of an Aboriginal man – Kuradji, or ‘clever man’ – was uncovered in the sand dunes at McCauley’s beach, just north of Sandon Point. Many more remains had been uncovered during the ‘70s in the area, as well at Bellambi Point. In 2009, the boat sheds were recognised for their recreational and economic history and were listed as local heritage items. Over time, the Bulli boat sheds have been rented from family to family or to friends – passing on their piece of history. An icon of the area, the sheds are beautiful to witness and to capture through the lens of the camera.

Each photograph will tell a story stretching back thousands of years to the land where the Wodi Wodi people met, to the history of families living off the abundant sea-life, the resilience of these metal structures, the community that built them and the community they build.