As residents steel themselves to confront the damage of out-of-control bushfires that raged into the town without warning on Sunday, the attention of the rest of the country is once again on the Bega Valley Shire.

Tathra is said to mean "beautiful country" in a local Aboriginal dialect, and like many Australian coastal towns, it's a popular holiday spot thanks to its picturesque beaches and sleepy charm.

But for a town of just 1600 people, it has had more than its fair share of tragedy.

In 2008, young father Shane O'Neill was fishing off the famous wharf with his two young sons, Riley and Travis, when the younger, in a pram, fell five metres into the water below.

In the ensuing panic, the older boy, just two years old, fell in as well, with their father behind them. All three died in the rough seas below the wharf.

Six years later, in 2014, local resident Christine Armstrong was taken by a four-metre shark while swimming near the wharf.

A keen swimmer and member of the local surf club, she was with out with a group of regular swimmers, including her husband, when she disappeared.

And now, around 70 homes and businesses have been destroyed, dozens of families without homes, and part of the town are in ruins, after a bushfire crossed the Bega River and tore through seven kilometres of bushland into the township.

Although there have been no reported deaths, residents are once again left reeling as they assess the damage.