Shellharbour Village

Shellharbour Village, originally known by the Aboriginal name 'Yerrowah' and later renamed 'Peterborough' before settling on its current name, is one of the oldest European settlements on the NSW south coast, established in 1817. The village's sheltered harbour and rocky coastline have claimed at least nine shipwrecks, the earliest dating from 1851, making the waters around Shellharbour some of the most treacherous on the coast. The Beverley Whitfield Ocean Rock Pool, carved into the rock shelf at the southern end of the beach, commemorates the Shellharbour swimmer who won gold at the 1972 Munich Olympics. The village's heritage streetscape preserves sandstone buildings from the 19th century, and the waterfront reserve contains Aboriginal shell middens that record thousands of years of occupation before Europeans arrived. Today, Shellharbour Village retains the character of a small fishing hamlet despite the rapid development of the surrounding suburb.