Somebody just sent me this clip with the comment, "Stick this on your blog!"
Yes, it is our village store.
NO, 50,000 does NOT BUY you the property!
Yes, you pay $50,000 - reduced from its original $139,000 - to LEASE the business plus a weekly rent.
Can't see any queues - yet.
Here is the current lessee's sales pitch.
Next Tuesday Padma will be back at "Riverbend" and things will be back to 'normal'!
A certain member whose Greek name shall be withheld, voiced his concern at owners of un-masted vessels (e.g. Deltacraft et al) becoming members.
Resolution: "That owners of un-masted vessels may, in lieu of a proper mast, step a broom-stick on the foredeck. The owner of the broom-stick may accompany the owner of the vessel, if so desired."
Moved: Nick Ligakis
Seconded: Peter Goerman
Until 1964 Nelligen was the end of the line in the sense that all commerce and goods from the hinterland made their way to the town from where they were loaded onto ships for the ensuing sea journey to Sydney.
In those days, Nelligen was a busy trade and commercial centre and much larger than it is today. In 1964, with the coming of a concrete bridge across the river, Ossie Emery set out to photograph every person aged over 70 (as well as a few other local identities) in the riverside town of Nelligen.
As the punt across the river gave way, Nelligen's heydays as a port and traders town came to an end. This little book, "70+", tries to immortalise this era. Click on the book's cover to view some of the pictures.
Jeff, the Bay's marina boss and would-be-member of the Nelligen Yacht Club, rang yesterday afternoon to tell me that an ocean-going yacht was making its way upriver and would probably spend the night at anchor at Nelligen. And she didn't just drop anchor but berthed alongside the Nelligen wharf which made it even easier for me to introduce myself to the skipper, Bruce from Tasmania, and his beautiful Alaskan Malamute.
Bruce turned out to be a mad-keen snooker player, and so we spent the evening at the Steampacket Hotel, playing snooker, drinking beer, and swapping yarns. Bruce has been sailing for the past year in his yacht "ARIA" and is now on his way north to the Coral Seas and points beyond. No real plans, no real time limits; as he said, "I stop when the money runs out!" I saw him off with a couple of sailing novels and Alan Lucas's "Cruising the Coral Coast" which will be of more use to him than me!
He's now heading downriver again to catch the lunchtime bridge-opening at the Bay. Good luck and fair winds, Bruce, and a pat on the back for Max the Malamute!
Should persons of non-Anglo and non-Saxon background be admitted as members?
Resolution: "That Greeks who bear gifts, especially retzinas, be made welcome."
Moved: Peter Goerman
Seconded: Jeff Percival
Motto: "I DON'T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB Australia's most exclusive Yacht Club (don't spoil it by joining!) |
or write toThe Commodore-Secretary-Treasurer-only Member
all-in-one
Nelligen Yacht Club
"Riverbend"
Nelligen N.S.W. 2536
Australia
or click here to view and print the brochure
Most travellers speed across the modern bridge that spans the Clyde River and fifteen minutes later reach Batemans Bay. Before 1964 they would have joined the long queue of vehicles waiting to be ferried across on the punt. 30,000 vehicles used the punts at Nelligen in 1963, the year before the bridge opened.
But a lot has changed at Nelligen. In its heydays Nelligen was a busy seaport and coastal town. The village was laid out in 1854 when the Illawarra Steam Navigation Co (ISN) began operating here.
Nelligen became a depot for supplies brought down the coast from Sydney and up the Clyde River by the ISN. From here they were transported mostly to Braidwood and the neighbouring goldfields.
By 1860 fine hundred horses and nearly as many bullocks were carrying the trade between Nelligen and Braidwood. By that time the village boasted four public houses, two stores, two blacksmiths, a baker and a watchhouse manned by two policemen.
Today Nelligen is a quiet little backwater, but still fulfilling the role of a rest stop for the traveller as it has done since the "road" via the Clyde Mountain was opened in 1856.
It is a picturesque little town, nestled as it is on the banks of the slow-flowing Clyde River. Nelligen has an air of history and old-time charm about it, remaining untainted by the progressive developments down the road at Batemans Bay.
Click here for an early-morning view of Nelligen and the Clyde
Nelligen Community Notice Board
Bygone Days of Nelligen & Batemans Bay
