What's old at Nelligen

Unveiling of the War Memorial in 1921 Trucks loading up with goods which had arrived by steamship at the Nelligen I.S.N.Co. Depot, to be taken to Braidwood and Araluen The Clyde Road, now known as the Kings Highway, just past the Steampacket Hotel along Nelligen Creek Ferry in front of old Steampacket Hotel Ferries taken from eastern side; old Steampacket Hotel in background Ferry, taken from eastern side Ferry, taken from eastern side Last trip of the ferry at 11 a.m. on 12th December 1964 when the bridge was opened

 

Welcome to NELLIGEN INDUSTRIAL ESTATE

Don't bother to find a word for it: there isn't one!

What's in a name?

A certain Nelligen butcher had a wife by the name of Nell. Apparently, he did away with her and threw the body in the river. From time to time it would float to the surface prompting locals to exclaim, “Here comes Nell again”.

This is NOT the official version of how Nelligen got its name but it's as good as all the others because mystery still surrounds the origins of the town’s name. Colonial government policy at the time was to adopt aboriginal place names where possible. With no indigenous written language, however, European translation of aboriginal locality references was approximate at best.

“Nelligen” may be a corruption of an aboriginal term relating to its locality description, its function, a person, or perhaps of a dreamtime event. In the early years the town and its fresh water creek were spelt at different times: Nellican and Nellikeng.

The first $1million-plus sale in Nelligen

We've had several sales in Sproxton Lane just a touch below the $1million-mark in the past; this week we've broken through the $1million-mark with the sale of # 5 Sproxton Lane at $1.2million. Congratulations, Jack and Pam!

Jack & Pam's 3-bedroom/1 bathroom house sits on a 1771 square-metre block of land. Two more properties of similar size are still for sale in the Lane at $1.39million and $1.95million respectively.

And then there is the best of them all, "Riverbend", a large 2-storey brick residence sitting on 29,200 square metres of absolute waterfront land. That's 18 times the average block size in Sproxton Lane! And yet it's on sale for just $2million!

Form an orderly queue, please!

New Year's Eve at "Riverbend"

Happy New Year to you all! (well, to the ONE person reading this blog ☺ )

Last chance!

31 Sproxton Lane, Nelligen, $750,000

"Last vacant block in Sproxton Lane. Moor your boat out the front and build your dream home. WON’T LAST!! Exceptional opportunity to own deep-water front on the banks of the beautiful Clyde River.

The land is situated in a rural setting but close to the historical town of Nelligen and only a few minutes drive from Batemans Bay CBD and beaches on the coast. ENQUIRIES: DAVID 02 4478 1105"

So runs the advertisement by the local real estate agent. $750,000 is a lot of money for a piece of dirt just 19 metres wide and 85 metres long. 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself' because you'll never be far away from them. ☺

If it sells, we can expect another six months of building noise. We will be somewhat insulated from it down here at the end of the lane, but spare a thought for the new owners of # 33 who've just spent close to a million dollars for a bit of peace and quiet!

Nelligen gets seal of approval

Nelligen has a new, high profile resident - complete with flippers, fur and fangs.

An Australian fur seal bull took up residence at the Thule Road boat ramp in Nelligen about three weeks ago, and has made himself at home ever since.

Nelligen residents say the seal spends plenty of time in the water, but the boat ramp is his favourite patch of land.

“I don’t know how he got here, he must be lost,” a nearby resident said.

“He must be getting a feed in the river.”

The resident said that boat owners had tried to retrieve their vessel via the ramp recently but had been unable to do so because the seal didn’t feel like moving.

“He just comes out of the water, has a scratch and a yawn, lies there and goes to sleep,” he said.

“When people get near him, he just opens one eye, then closes it.”

The resident said that someone had tried to feed the seal sardines on Monday.

“It was no good; he didn’t take it,” he said.

Nelligen Café proprietor Rick Patman said it was thought the seal followed the cruise boat Merinda up from Batemans Bay.

“My daughter has named him Luka,” he said. “He’s a very good fisherman - he’s cleaned out our fish stocks.”

Nelligen oyster farmer Rick Christensen has reported seeing a smaller seal near the oyster leases near Nelligen.

National Parks and Wildlife Service ranger Libby Shields said that the two seals were unlikely to be related in any way.

“They are fairly solitary animals,” she said.

Ms Shields said that seal numbers were on the increase and this would explain the bull’s appearance.

“They are popping up all over the place,” she said.

By law, people are required to stay at least 40 metres from a seal.

“We realise this is difficult in such a place but they can get aggressive, so we would advise people for their own safety not to get close to him, try to feed him or let their dogs get close to him,” she said.

She said that the NPWS would not relocate the seal or take any other measures.

“He looks fine so we won’t intervene.”