SOUTH COAST TRAVEL GUIDE

BATEHAVEN is just a few minutes away from the Batemans Bay CBD yet has a different feel all together to its bustling cousin. At its heart are the local shops and there is a village feel to the mood as locals stop to talk, often strolling with a dog or with young ones in prams.

Batehaven was once a busy thoroughfare along the coast road that links the smaller towns together however since it was by-passed it has settled into a quiet, family friendly area that has embraced coastal time.

The local Corrigans Beach is a summer playground of water based sports from kayaking to stand up paddle boarding and off- the-beach sailing. A family safe cycleway connects the town to Batemans Bay while also providing pedestrian and cycling access to the nearby Hanging Rock Sporting precinct that offers quality tennis courts, a basketball stadium, groomed fields to kick a footy and the areas primary boatramp.

The Batehaven area hosts three caravan parks and a choice of motels and restaurants. In summer the area is always abuzz and visitor numbers swell over January when Corrigans Reserve is transformed into an annual day/night carnival.

Just around the corner from Batehaven you will find Observation Point and Caseys Beach, Sunshine Bay, Denhams Beach, Surf Beach and Wimbie Beach. Each of these residential areas have their own unique little bays and secret beaches that should be explored. Some are covered in the BEACHES section of this Guide.

 

Batehaven has a very strong connection with our local aboriginal families.
 

“....When I was 5 or 6 we first lived at Corrigans Beach, then we lived at the old racetrack where the hospital is now. My Uncle Hubie and his family lived there in an old house. Then we moved into Hanging Rock and lived in a bush camp. Hanging Rock was very important to our people as a meeting place. When we lived at Hanging Rock I remember walking along Corrigans Beach to get pippis. Further along they'd dive or we'd fish off the rocks under Observation Head there. When I was a young girl, the whole lot of us would get together and walk around here. Once me and Noelene Chapman my first cousin got a big flathead down off the rocks. High tide was best for divers; sometimes they'd swim from Observation Head to Snapper Island.  Georgina Parsons 8.2.2011
 

Violet Parsons recalls camping at Chapman's Beach. The family would wait for the tide to go out before venturing onto the rocks to catch lobsters and muttonfish. There was no need to dive for muttonfish; they were exposed on the rocks at low tide. The kids would get conks and muttonfish hiding beneath the seaweed. A feast was had on the rocks, where the food was collected..... We would always have a fire going before people went diving, so when they got out, they could get warm quickly. After having a fill of food at the beach, if there was any left they would take it home to share with family. There is a certain area for cooking and throwing away the shells, like the rubbish tip [ie Shell Middens].....lobsters are better boiled, so it was always good to take them home to cook, whereas Muttonfish and conks taste better when cooked on the hot coals ....Violet Parsons 6.4.2006
 

....Observation Head was a place to get tucker. There is Wondarma bush, dotter vine, and cherry tree here at Observation Head. The old people use to tell us not to pick the Kangaroo tails when they are green or you'd bring a storm. The quartz here would be used to sharpen the spears. Kooris used the black quartz found here to keep the heat in the fire, there's lots of black quartz here. They are like little hot plates to cook on. They hold the heat. The ones here are smashed. The hollow trees were used to store water and other things. There is one hollow spotted gum there at Observation Head that would have been used to store things. ...... Georgina Parsons 8.2.2011
 

...There is also red clay down below. When I went walk about I'd eat that, but not now I don't know what is in it. The special clay was eaten when we had to have vitamin when we were carrying our babies, unborn babies that is. We collected that red one and the white pipe clay you get around Wallaga and Nerrigundah straight out of the bank, when ever we needed it. Our mother's told us how to do that to stay healthy when we were having our babies. The knowledge was passed onto us; we'd go to where the clean clay was up past the cattle.... Georgina Parsons 8.2.2011

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