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26/11/2004: "Historic Wharf .................Tathra. (Near Bega) NSW"

Always a delight to see when visiting the NSW south coast, the most scenic region on the east coast. The last of the old wharves in NSW. Nearby at Merimbula an almost identical wharf was foolishly demolished in 1978 and replaced by a much smaller fishing platform.

The surrounding underwater rocks were once thick with abalone but years of beaurocratic delay at NSW Fisheries (in regulating the catch-rate) saw the once prolific beds stripped almost bare. Professional abalone diving was well established by 1964 in this area by Ern Hendry and Eddie Keollner.

Ron Taylor, Bob Grounds and I tried our hands at professional abalone diving near here for a few freezing days once. Bob kept at it and at one time held licenses in three southern states similtaneously, worth about $15+ million today!

Extenable text A US Liberty ship torpedoed off Tathra in deep water; white pointer sharks caught from the wharf; scuba dive site popular under wharf; Bob Grounds and Sea Coatings protect rotting wharf piles; pictures of the original wharf (1963, onwards and the newly repaired wharf thereafter, 35mm transparencies); 16mm Kodachrome under actual wharf with white pointer shark remains.