NSWFarming
Avoca Beach
An Irish officer’s vineyard by the lagoon, long before the surf crowd.
1830John Moore’s land grant
WHAT STARTED IT
Land beside the lagoon now called Avoca Lake was granted to Irish army officer John Moore in 1830, and he grew fruit, grapes and cereals there. He named it Avoca, an Irish name said to mean ‘where the river meets the sea’.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Moore left for the goldfields in the 1850s, and Tom Davis later leased much of the district for timber, hauling logs by tramway to his mill at Terrigal. Weekenders, many built by people from Sydney’s North Shore, followed; a school opened in 1935 and the Avoca Beach Picture Theatre in 1951.
TURNING POINTS
1830Irish army officer John Moore is granted 640 acres and names the area Avoca.
1850sMoore leaves the area for the goldfields.
1935Avoca Beach’s new school opens in May.
1951The Avoca Beach Picture Theatre, seating 600, opens in December.
2011The former warship HMAS Adelaide is scuttled offshore on 13 April as a dive site.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A residential surf suburb of about 4,700 people, with a small village centre and a historic cinema. Avoca Lake still marks its northern edge.