NSWMining
Austinmer
Named for a coal company director, kept alive by summer visitors.
1884North Illawarra Coal Company starts mining
WHAT STARTED IT
A coal company opened a mine at North Bulli in 1884 and built a jetty at Hicks Point to ship its coal from the narrow strip between escarpment and sea. Its directors named the township beside the mine Austinmer.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
The jetty was in use by January 1887 and the railway platform opened that September, but the mine was worked out by 1895. After the Kennedy estate was sold as building blocks in 1906, the village turned into a seaside holiday and health resort.
TURNING POINTS
1837Robert Marsh Westmacott builds his house, Sidmouth, on his North Bulli grant.
1884The North Illawarra Coal Company is formed and begins mining at North Bulli.
1887The Hicks Point jetty ships coal, and Austinmer station opens on 1 September.
1895The mine is worked out and closes.
1906The Kennedy estate is subdivided and auctioned as building blocks.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A beachside village of about 2,700 people on the South Coast line, with a surf beach and rock pools. The Hicks Point coal jetty, wrecked by storm and then fire by 1915, has gone.