The day I was almost bashed-up sticking up for a South Coast town

It all started on a recent summer sojourn to the Gold Coast where I was enjoying a refreshing sundowner (or two) in the beachside Coolangatta Hotel with a couple of just-met locals.

Sounds pretty tame so far, doesn't it?

But the mood soon soured when I mentioned in passing that their town wasn't Australia's original Coolangatta.

"What are you on about?" quipped one bar fly, while his mate turned on me just as quick, even having the audacity to question if I'd "caught a bit too much sun out there today for a southerner".

"Are you mad mate, there's only one Coolangatta," he hollered.

When I attempted to explain that Australia's first Coolangatta was actually on the NSW South Coast and that they "should know more about the history of their town", things deteriorated even further.

"Wanna sort it out in the car park?" threatened the bigger bloke, while angrily downing another schooner of XXXX Gold.

Fortunately I eventually managed to defuse the situation and prove my point by Googling 'Coolangatta'. Heck, who knows how many stitches I may have received if I didn't have my smartphone on me. Oh, and buying the next round of drinks probably helped too.

The unfortunate saga got me wondering how many other people are unaware of the two Coolangattas. I wasn't brave enough to ask others at the bar, but I imagine most Queenslanders wouldn't have a clue about the NSW Coolangatta, nor that the two are intrinsically linked. For that matter, back home and a straw poll around the office revealed most of us 'southerners' are just as unenlightened.

So in a bid to restrict any further interstate biff to State of Origin time, I thought I'd set the record straight on the two Coolangattas. So here goes.

The origins of the NSW Coolangatta date back to 1822 when Alexander Berry and Edward Wollstonecraft established the first European settlement on the South Coast - located on the northern side of the mouth of the Shoalhaven River, east of present day Nowra.

After landing his cutter Blanche near the mouth of the river in July 1822, Berry climbed a nearby hill that the local indigenous people referred to as 'Cullunghutti', meaning 'a fine view'.

However good the vista over his parcel of land, due to the dangerous navigation channel of the river, Berry's main stumbling block in establishing a settlement was safe harbour. Having maritime access was critical to the prosperity of the area because in the early 1820s, the sea route was the only means of transport for goods and people to and from Sydney.

With some nifty engineering ingenuity and teaming up with Hamilton Hume (yes, of Hume and Hovell fame) and a party of convict labourers Berry soon overcame this obstacle and cut a canal linking the Shoalhaven River to the adjacent Crookhaven River (which had a safer bar).

Completed in under two weeks, it was the first canal constructed in Australia. In fact regular readers may recall this column's exposé on this colonial feat earlier this year.

Anglicised as Coolangatta, the settlement fast-developed into a self-supporting village and soon Berry was exporting cedar to Europe, thoroughbred horses to India, and cattle and wheat to Sydney and beyond.

To aid this boom in export, Berry established his own shipbuilding yard, and in 1843, he built an 88-tonne Brigantine (a two-masted sailing ship with a square-rigged foremast and a mainmast rigged fore and aft) ship named after his estate. Unfortunately after encountering storm half-way up the east coast, the Coolangatta was beached on August 19, 1846. I bet you can guess where. Yes, just north of the Tweed River on the now NSW/Queensland border.

The shipwrecked crew then walked some 110 kilometres north to Stradbroke Island where they were rescued by the passing steamer, the Tamar, and shipped back to Sydney. Later that year, an audacious attempt to re-float the vessel was thwarted by strong winds pushing the vessel into a worse position than before.

With the beached brigantine showing no signs of budging, in 1883 surveyor Henry Schneider named a nearby creek and the growing township after the wreck. Just for the record of my drinking buddies, that's 61 years after the NSW settlement was so-named. Just saying.

On March 22, 1974 a cyclone exposed the wreck high on the beach. Souvenir hunters quickly fleeced what they could but thankfully parts of the wreck ended up in public hands and are now on display. This includes a fragment of the wreck in Queen Elizabeth Park on the foreshore at Queensland's Coolangatta, and another remnant at the location of Berry's original settlement on the Shoalhaven River.

So just what happened to Berry's Coolangatta settlement?

Following his death in 1873, Berry's estate fell into disrepair and centuries of history looked certain to be lost. Then in 1950 Colin Bishop began to use the land for dairying and 20 years later began major restoration work to restore the old convict-built buildings to their former glory.

While the days of shipbuilding and logging at Coolangatta Estate are long over, the Bishop family now runs the historic property as a winery, accommodation and event centre.

Since returning from the Gold Coast, I've been tempted to post a bottle of Coolangatta Estate Semillon to my Queensland drinking 'mates'. However, after decades of XXXX, I suspect their palate wouldn't appreciate a good wine, even if it was sculled.

Instead, I might keep it and have a glass or two on New Year's Eve!

Coolangatta QLD: Laid-back beachside town located at the southern end of the Gold Coast, in Queensland. Warning: some pubs are more friendly than others.

Coolangatta Estate NSW: Experience 19th century charm in 21st century comfort, staying in one of Coolangatta Estate's lovingly restored convict-built rooms or suites. Scattered throughout the property, each room is just a short walk from the Estate's cellar door, restaurant, tennis court, croquet lawn and swimming pool.

Many standards of accommodation are available to suit your taste, budget and family size. 335 Bolong Road, Coolangatta NSW. Great for the school holidays - the kids will love the Bigfoot Bus trip to the top of Coolangatta. www.coolangattaestate.com.au

Curious link: Five years after arriving at Coolangatta, Berry married Edward Wollstonecraft's sister Elizabeth who was a cousin of Mary Godwin - the author of Frankenstein.

Did You Know? In the mid-1900s, a series of storms buried and then exposed the wreck of the Coolangatta and in 1973 the Queensland government unsuccessfully tried to blow it up as it was proving a hazard to shipping and surfers.

Coolangatta Confusion: Despite being located over 1000 kilometres apart, it's not just Australia Post which occasionally mixes up Australia's two Coolangattas. The main confusion is when there is a festival or event in Coolangatta, QLD and someone has booked accommodation here at the Estate, reports Monica Hinkley, the operations manager of Coolangatta Estate. "They ring us from Coolangatta Airport in QLD wondering how to find us and how long it will take to get here," she says. "Our reception staff certainly have a giggle when they have to advise the 12-hour drive time."

Town duplicates: Have you ever confused two towns of the same name? Many may recall the famous case with travellers confusing Sydney in Nova Scotia, Canada, to the Australian host city of the 2000 Olympic Games. Maybe you've confused Perth in northern Tasmania for the capital of Western Australia. Let me know, I'd love to hear about it.

CONTACT TIM: Email: timtheyowieman@bigpond.com or Twitter: @TimYowie or write c/- The Canberra Times, 9 Pirie St, Fyshwick.

Clue: Harbourside

Degree of difficulty: Medium

Last week: Congratulations to Doug Reckord of Kalaru NSW who was first to correctly identify last week's photo as magical Mowarry Beach in Ben Boyd National Park on the Light to Light walk south of Eden.

Wherever you are this week, whether you are at home, visiting friends and family or on a deserted beach (if only) like Mowarry, I wish all readers of this column a safe and happy Christmas.

There's no rest for the wicked so this column will continue over the holiday period.

How to enter: Email your guess along with your name and address to timtheyowieman@bigpond.com. The first email sent after 10am, Saturday 21 December 2019 will win a double pass to Dendy - The Home of Quality Cinema.

The birds, bees and echidnas

This column continues to receive photos of thirsty animals venturing into backyards looking for a drink.

While in terms of numbers kangaroos are at the top of the list, several echidnas have also been searching out a backyard drink.

"We often see this echidna in our garden, but this is the first time we have noticed it doing the full immersion bit in our low-level pond," reports Ian Davenport of Melba, adding "Blue Tongue lizards also use it, as well as birds of course".

Meanwhile even bees are thirsty. Check out these European bees lined up like shearers at a pub on a day off, on the Snowy River at Box Ridge south-east of Jindabyne.